Support the club's fundraising efforts by enjoying a festive evening at Grange Loan.

Enjoy a 3 course meal and party games, including 'knock the head off the snowman!' created and designed by our club captain Fraser Watts!

It's a steal at just £10 (£5 for students!). And bring a few guests for just £5 each!!

Contact your player representative or Stevie Gilmour (stevie.gilmour@carltoncc.co.uk) to get your tickets NOW!

Full details below:

 

 

CARLTON CRICKET CLUB

CHRISTMAS PARTY

 

Saturday 19th December

7pm till late @ Grange Loan

 

FOOD and Entertainment

 

Test your skills in games including…..

‘Knock the head off the Snowman!’

‘Riding Rudolph Races!’

‘Pie Eating Contest!’

Prizes to be won

‘Let’s get together and share some

Christmas cheer (and beer!)’

                                                                                            (D.F. Watts 2009!)

Adults: £10

STUDENTS: £5

Non Members/Guests: £5*                     Tickets available from your reps

* Available to members when buying their ticket(s)

Carlton CC is delighted to announce the appointment of Steven Gilmour as the club's new Head Coach.

Following a detailed discussion at a meeting of the full club Council, Carlton has decided to back Cricket Scotland's latest national league reconstruction proposal.

Although expanding the top league to 14 brings a danger of reduced standards, the club feels that the potential benefits of the scheme make it well worth supporting. In particular the reduction of fear of relegation should remove any remaining reluctance on the part of clubs to blood youngsters at the top level of club cricket. The proposals should also encourage clubs to have less reliance on the performance of their paid player on the field and more on their coaching performance off the field and in the local community.

While supporting the initiative, Carlton wish to underline the necessity for Cricket Scotland to hold good on their promise to closely monitor the implementation of the TopClub development scheme. In particular, the club believes it is essential that Cricket Scotland apply strict and effective sanctions to clubs, regardless of status, who fail to meet TopClub criteria for junior development.

We acknowledge that there will be challenges ahead in the implementation and practicalities of the league 'split', however we trust that Cricket Scotland will work closely with the clubs and the other leagues to overcome these challenges.

Finally, we recognise how far Cricket Scotland have moved their position from their original proposal, hopefully as a result of listening to clubs. While this may not be a perfect solution it addresses many of the issues we, as a club, feel are important for the improvement of the game in Scotland.

2009 was a season that began and ended with silverware. It saw a host of talented youngsters break into all four adult teams and brought Scottish Cup Final appearances for our Under 13s and Under 15s. And, while the story of the 1st XI might be a tale of underachievement, 2009 also saw some major contributions from our senior players, including our evergreen skipper.

 

April

In many ways, the highlight of the season came right at the outset. A wet August (does that sound familiar?) in 2008 meant that the final of the Murgitroyd National Twenty:20 Trophy took place in mid April at Grange Loan. The coloured clothing provided a summery contrast to the chill, spring weather as Carlton dismissed Dunfermline for under 100. Any thoughts of an easy win were quickly dispelled when Cedric, Fraser and Jamie were back in the pavilion in next to no time. However, a classy partnership between Bryn and Stevie saw Carlton eventually ease home by seven wickets to deliver a first ever national trophy to Grange Loan.

 

May

May saw young Cheeky improve on last year’s best bowling of 4 for 0 as he picked up 6 for 20 in the Fours’ season opener against Largo. The Twos and Threes got off to poor starts, while the Ones had to wait until week 3 to take to the field as they beat Watsonians before playing out a thrilling tie at Grange the following week. The month also saw the first appearance of our Under 11 hardball side, who defeated their counterparts at Grange in an entertaining tussle. There was a further junior highlight on the last Saturday of the month as young Fraser Allardice (left) bowled eight overs for our Fours against Kismet 2nd XI, notching a remarkable five wickets for just six runs.

June

In the first week of June, with Fraser and Gordon in World T20 action in London, a stunning unbeaten 143 from Ced (below left) – who was batting with a dislocated finger – took an inexperienced Carlton side to a fine win at Uddingston. New boy Ross Lyons also hinted at his batting potential with a powerful 80 in the same innings. On a less cheerful note, by the weekend of the 20th of June the 2nd XI were firmly rooted to the bottom of East League Division One. However, the return of crocked skipper Charlie for the home game against Boroughmuir delivered a home win - largely inspired by a fine 68 from opener Tom Barrett - and began a winning streak that saw the Twos complete the rest of the league season unbeaten.

There were a couple of fine Gordon Drummond inspired cup wins over Watsonians in the second part of the month. First Drummo’s old club were dumped out of the Scottish Cup as the Scotland 4-day skipper (above right) hit an unbeaten 75 at Myreside as the visitors won a nailbiter by 3 wickets. Nine days later he repeated the medicine in the Masterton Trophy semi-final, smashing a brutal unbeaten 78 to seal a crushing win at Grange Loan.

The final Sunday of the month saw Carlton’s Under 13 and Under 15 sides travel to Stirling to take part in Scottish Cup Finals day. Semi- final wins over Huntly and Clydesdale respectively meant that both Carlton sides reached their finals – a fantastic achievement. While ultimately neither side managed to bring home silverware it was surely a sign of great things to come in the years ahead.

July

July

July saw the 1st XI season begin to falter with two league defeats and a hugely disappointing last ball defeat in the Scottish Cup Quarter Final at Greenock. However, the Twos resurgence continued, with their highlight being a thrilling win at eventual champions Fauldhouse. A see-saw match seemed to slip away from Carlton, leaving the last wicket pair of Fraser and Stevie (left) needing 30 off 17 balls. A six apiece and some lightening running brought the target within reach before the last ball was hit for four to spark an undignified pitch invasion from the visitors.

The Threes finally found their feet in July, with the highlight being a fine 98 from Alan Pedgrift in a thumping win over Heriot’s 3rd XI. However, the individual highlight of the month was undoubtedly a scintillating 102 at Peebles by Fours batsman Mike Kennedy that included no fewer than 11 sixes!

August

For the first XI, August began as July ended – with a disappointing Cup defeat. Hot favourites to defeat RH Corstorphine in the Masterton Trophy final and win the silverware for the fourth year in succession, Carlton bowled poorly and, despite a brave late flurry with the bat from Gordon Drummond, they fell just short. In the league, fine Grange Loan centuries by Fraser and Cedric delivered wins against Uddingston and Heriot’s; the latter victory being sealed by the Premier League’s best bowling return of 2009 – 7 for 30 from Omar Ahmad (below).

The Second XI sealed third place in the East League with their 8th successive league win and the final weekend also saw great wins for our Threes and Fours, before the season was sealed with victory at the Anglo Scottish Sixes at Berwick.

The curtain finally came down on the season at Grange Loan on Saturday in sensational mid September sunshine when Carlton Under 13s played out a thriller against their Largo counterparts.

Carlton, inspired by prominent performances from all three Everett brothers, won the friendly match off the last ball of the game. Older brothers Craig and Euan (left) top scored for the home side, while young Calum featured in a great unbeaten last wicket stand with last-ball hero Gavin Rittoo. Dad Johnny now has all winter to contemplate his rapid decline from one-time Scottish internationalist to fourth best batsman in his family.

Elsewhere the final promotion and relegation battles were settled in the SNCL and East League. Forfarshire beat Heriot's in a play-off match to join Dunfermline in the Premier League next year, with the Nails dropping down to Division One with Ayr.

Our Second XI will still be playing against Fauldhouse next year as the East League champions lost out in their SNCL play-off match against Kelburne. Promoted Grange 2s and Imans Edinburgh 2s join the top league to replace relegated Heriot's 2s and Murrayfield DAFS.

Akeel's 3rd XI will be joined in Division 5 of the East League next year by promoted Stirling County 3s and Musselburgh 2s. Relegated SMRH 2s and Watsonians 3s drop down from Division 4. Dropping out are Largo 2s and Heriots 3s, while Peebles County and Edinburgh South step up to Division 4.

Down in Division 8, our 4th XI will meet up with SMRH 3s and Dalgety Bay next year in place of promoted Broomhall 2s, Edinburgh South 2s and Peebles County 2s.

The annual club prizegiving took place in the pavilion on Friday 4th September. President Dave Carter presented the senior awards, while Scotland 4-day skipper Gordon Drummond handed out the junior awards.

This year's prizewinners included Leigh Kasperek, who picked up the award for outstanding prformance by a Carlton junior for her maiden One Day International 50 against Holland in August, and Alistair Duncan, who was a popular winner of the Jappy Trophy for his outstanding work with the Carlton Junior sides over many years.

After the awards were handed out, a hard fought family quiz night took place, with the questions posed by cerebral quizmaster Russell Weir. Sadly, the younger competitors were left in tears as the all-adult team led by big bad Brian carried off the first prize.

List of Prizewinners :

1st XI batting:	Cedric English
1st XI bowling:	Ross Lyons
2nd XI batting:	Craig Marshall
2nd XI bowling:	Steven Elder
3rd XI batting:	Jack Kennedy
3rd XI bowling:	Neil Irvine-Hess
4th XI batting:	Shaun Barrett
4th XI bowling:	Chayank Gosain
Six hitting:	Mike Kennedy
Topcat Fielding Trophy	Ani Majumdar
Topcat Wicketkeeping Trophy	Matthew Wells
Best Individual Performance 2009	Omar Ahmad
Jimmy Jappy Trophy, awarded for outstanding contribution to the club:	Alistair Duncan
Under 15 batting:	Grigor Brown
Under 15 bowling:	Gair Currie
Under 13 batting:	Rory Simpson
Under 13 bowling:	Haris Aslam
Most improved junior:	Euan Everett
Primary School Player of the Year :	Ruari Macpherson
Outstanding performance by a junior	Leigh Kasperek
Centurions Award	Nik Hunt

More photos

On the final competitive day of the season Carlton sent a youthful team down to the Anglo-Scottish Sixes in Berwick in search of the first senior silverware of the season for the club.  Led by Charles Legget and the old man of the team Tom Clarke, Omar Ahmed and Nik Hunt played whilst chauffeurs Tom Barrett and Jack Kennedy filled the remaining slots.  Upon arriving the tournament was already underway and the team was suitably excited by the announcer and speakers playing music at the fall of wickets and boundaries.

In the first match Carlton kept Strathearn to 51-4 in their 5 overs, Tom Clarke doing the damage in an over of subtle spin.  Carlton immediately impressed upon the rest of the competition that they meant business by setting a new standard of fielding in the tournament with a Clarkey run out and innovations such as backing up.  With young Tom and Nik opening the batting the total never looked out of reach, Tom hogging the strike and facing all but two balls of the 3 over run chase and finishing on an unbeaten 42.

Carlton faced the beer-swilling Northumberland Juniors whilst they were still able to run in straight lines, restricting them to 38.  In similar manner to the first game the target was reached in just over 3 overs, Tom scoring 31 not out, keeping all the strike for a second successive match whilst still finding time to run his namesake out.

Third up was the defending champions Berwick A, who posted a modest 41 thanks to tight bowling from Jack and Omar in particular.  In response a new look Carlton order proved as effective as ever, Clarkey and Legs bringing the match home in 4 overs without the loss of a wicket.

In Carlton’s penultimate match they faced the Renegades also known as Berwick juniors who set 28-5, equalling the lowest score of the day.  Omar however clung on to a diving one handed caught and bowled chance, impressive enough to get acclaim from the tournament announcer over the speakers.  Jack and Omar opened up and after Omar gave a return catch to the bowler first ball of the innings, Jack and Nik buckled down and took it home thanks to clean hitting from Nik and some huge two’s from Jack straight down the ground, prompting Clarkey to question whether he could physically reach the fielders on the rope.

The last game of the day pitted the all-conquering Carlton against the unbeaten Glasgow Accies’.  With the light fading fast Legs was faced with the dilemma of whether to stick with the tried and tested method of bowling first and resign themselves to batting in the dark.  Sticking with what he knew Legs elected to bowl first to the obvious surprise of the announcer who claimed the Accies’ had won the toss unable to believe the winning captain would choose to bowl.  Initially however the skipper’s decision was vindicated as Glasgow were restricted to 40-5 thanks to tight bowling and the regular loss of wickets.  Unfortunately as Tom B and Legs walked out to begin the chase to the strains of Candyman, the last semblance of light was fading fast and some sharp Accies’ bowling was proving near unplayable.  Tom was ran out by a direct hit with the score on 5 and when Nik was bowled in the next over the target was looking ever further away.  However Omar’s police training has obviously paid off as his night vision kicked in and he hit the seamers for a few boundaries.  With the target still looking distant the Accies’ ran out of pace and spinners were introduced to the obvious delight of Legs, the flipside of the light paying dividends as the fielders were unable to see any of the captain's big hits. 4 boundaries in the over including a final six onto the marquee won the game for Carlton and made them the winners of the 2009 Anglo-Scottish Sixes.

The inaugural Topcat fielding awards went down to the wire on the last day of the season, with the top fielder category decided with the last ball of Saturday’s match at Grange Loan just when it looked like a run-out assist at Hamilton Crescent might have seen the award heading to the 1st XI.

When Charles Legget whipped off the bails in Glasgow courtesy of a Fraser Watts return, the big bowler leapfrogged his skipper Cedric English at the top of the Topcat Fielders ranking.  Meanwhile at Grange Loan, gully specialist Ani Majumdar (left) had followed up a stylish knock with the bat against Glenrothes for the 2nd XI by snapping up a fine catch off the bowling of Brad McKay to pick up the first wicket of the visitors’ reply and bring him to within 4 points of Leggs. A further 8 Glenrothes wickets fell without Ani’s involvement before Rajan Bhopal found the thick edge of the number ten’s bat to give Ani the decisive catch and the seven points he needed to finish as the season’s top fielder.

In the same match, 2s keeper Fraser Boyd took a couple of catches to overtake Thirds gloveman (gloveboy?) Matthew Wells’ starting score. A quick chat with the watching Jamie Kerr told Boydie that his 1st XI counterpart had endured a blank afternoon in Glasgow so consigning JK to third place. Hopes of a Boyd victory were soon dashed, however, when Matt (left) phoned to say he’d picked up two catches and a stumping for the 3s at Leith to finish on top of the keepers’ table.

Congratulations to both Ani and Matt, who will be able to pick up their trophies at the club prizegiving this Friday evening. And many thanks to our friends at Topcat Fancy Dress for sponsoring the prizes and adding an extra twist to an excellent season.

If we turn a blind eye to a poor end of season performance by the 1st XI in Glasgow, which started to go downhill as soon as skipper Cedric English lost the toss, it was a great last weekend of the season for Carlton.

The 2nd XI finished off the season in style by notching their 8th successive league win with a comprehensive thumping of Glenrothes. Openers Ani Majumdar (left) and Tom Barrett got things off to a fine start with a century partnership before Ben Stewart and Nick Martin put the foot on the pedal to take the home side to a handsome 278 off their 50 overs. With the wily Brad McKay chugging uphill into the wind and Rob Thornton and then Jamie Davies tearing downhill, the Glenrothes top order was blown away. Tom Clarke and then Fergus Whatley spun out the middle order and it was left to Rajan Bhopal to pick up the final wicket, courtesy of a second catch to man of the match Ani. The Twos finish in third place in the East league and with thoughts of ‘what might have been’ had they started the season in anything like the form they finished it.

Our 3rd XI also notched up a final day victory with a comfortable win over Leith 2s at Leith Links. There were runs for Matthew, Akeel and Bob while skipper Akeel strangled the Leith reply, with the help of more quality keeping from young Mathew Wells, returning the remarkable figures of 6 for 13.

Fittingly the final day of the season at Grange Loan belonged to our (mostly) youthful 4th XI on Sunday. If anyone was jaded after a long season and doubting their love of cricket they should have been at the East League Division 8 fixture with Holy Cross 3rd XI to see our youngsters bat, bowl and field to an exceptionally high standard to trounce the promotion seeking visitors. The way these young players have developed this season has been a joy to see and it was fitting that the last ball of the last over of the season saw young Fraser Allardice dive to stop a drive off his own bowling before throwing down the stumps for a run-out. 

And the senior season ended in triumph for Carlton as our six-a-side team of Legs, Clarkey, Omar, Jack, Nik and Tom won the Anglo-Scottish Sixes at Berwick on Sunday.

We have three important dates for your diary in early September. Firstly, the Annual Prizegiving takes place at Grange Loan on Friday 4th September at 7.30pm. As well as handing out all the usual junior and senior trophies, this year also sees the presentation of the inaugural Topcat Fielding Awards. The prizegiving kicks off at 7.30 and will be followed by a family quiz night to which everyone is welcome - you don't need to bring a family with you to take part!

The annual post-season Players' Meeting will be held at the ground on Monday 7th September at 8pm. This meeting will appoint captains for 2010 and will discuss other important topics, including possible changes to the way things are done next year. It is VITAL that as many players as possible attend this meeting.

Finally, the annual club dinner takes place in the pavilion on Friday 11th September at 7.30pm. Tickets are already on sale for this highly popular event from Ann McConnell and team skippers. The price remains the same as last year- £30 - and this includes a glass of champagne (or alternative) on arrival.

On the penultimate weekend of league cricket a number of Carlton youngsters rose to the occasion and tuned in some excellent performances. However, the definitive contribution of the day came from the club's best known 'veteran' as skipper Cedric English (left) played a masterful innings to set up a win over Heriot's.

After Cedric's unbeaten 135 had helped the home side to 253 for 3 off their 50 overs, Heriot's made a brave fight of the reply forcing Cedric to turn to 16 year old debutant Rajan Bhopal to bowl at the business end of the innings and the youngster delivered seven overs of mature bowling when his skipper needed it most. The best figures though belonged to this season's most improved bowler, Omar Ahmad, who picked up no fewer than seven Nails' wickets.

The Carlton Second XI notched up their seventh consecutive league win at Boroughmuir as a punishing innings from another sixteen year old, Fergus Whatley, kick started yet another successful run chase for Charlie Paterson's men.

While our 3rd XI, who were beset by availability issues, were well-beaten by runaway Division Five winners Peebles, there was another great day for our youngsters as the 4th XI triumphed over their counterparts from Largo. After young Craig Everett top scored in the Carlton innings, skipper Alan Murray employed an all-under 13 bowling attack – a remarkable approach for a senior league match. Far from being daunted, the youngsters did their skipper proud as they dismissed the home side for just 128 with Ruari Macpherson and Fraser Allardice both picking up three wickets.

Saturday also saw Carlton field their youngest ever side as an Under 8 Kwik Cricket team fought out a titanic tussle with Grange in the shadows of the stands in place for the Scotland v Australia match on Friday. Well done to Murray, Ruairidh, Harry, Ross, Craig, Alister, Ollie and Gregor on their Carlton debuts!

Unavailability at all levels this weekend means that there will be a fresh look to all four Carlton teams on Saturday. With all of the teams in comfortable mid table positions with just two weeks of the season left, it's a great opportunity for many of our youngsters to get some valuable experience.

With Carlton's three One Day Internationalists on duty for Scotland at Aberdeen, there's a chance for teenager Rajan Bhopal to make a mark at Grange Loan as the 1st XI entertain relegation strugglers Heriot's. With the visitors desperate for a win, it is sure to be a stern test for the home side. Happily, Bryn Lockie has returned from his South American adventure, while kamikaze mountain biker Stevie Gilmour (left) returns from injury.

Charles Paterson, meanwhile, remains optimistic despite missing half of his normal side as the all conquering Twos travel the short distance to Boroughmuir. Carlton won the earlier fixture between the sides at Grange Loan this season, dismissing 'Muir for 132 after the visitors had been 45 for none off just 21 balls.

Akeel Aslam is expected to make a rare 2009 appearance as the Threes entertain Peebles County at Inverleith Park. As County currently have a 100% record in Division 5 of the East League it's sure to be a tough task for the inexperienced Carlton line-up.

Finally, the Fours, who are minus hamstrung opening batsman Shaun Barrett, travel to St Andrews to take on their Largo counterparts in what is sure to be an enjoyable match.

On Sunday, a Carlton XI are due to entertain our old friends Woodcutters CC in an afternoon friendly.

With all of Saturday's cricket washed out, focus turned to Sunday cricket with the Carlton 4th XI and our Under 11s in action.

The number of young, talented cricketers currently in the Under 11 age bracket at Carlton is remarkable and the team set off for the 8-a-side hardball tournament at Heriots on Sunday morning with high hopes of victory. The competition is played to Kwik Cricket rules but with full hardball gear. Each side starts their 8 over innings with a total of 200, scoring runs as in normal cricket but losing runs for every wicket lost.

In their three group games the Carlton youngsters inflicted a 'negative' score on their opponents Murrayfield DAFS, Grange and Heriots, leaving them all on less then 200 in each match and winning comfortably. In the final, Watsonians mustered 206 but our boys turned in a solid and mature batting performance to run out winners by 18 runs. Well done to Rory, Hari, Keshav, Calum, Dougal, Archie, Ollie and Harry. Official match report here.

On Sunday afternoon, it was the youngsters from Dunfermline Threes who took the honours at Grange Loan against Carlton 4th XI. A hundred from teenager Jordan Davidson was the mainstay of the visitors' 181 for 3 off their 40 overs.

Although openers Shaun Barrett and Kyle Macpherson got the Carlton reply off to an excellent start, the middle order became bogged down in the face of accurate bowling and fine fielding from the visiting youngsters.

Despite a typically aggressive knock from skipper James Hilton, supported by an excellent unbeaten 22 from 12 year old Euan Everett (left), who also opened the bowling, Carlton fell 21 runs short.

Euan was also to the fore the following evening when he picked up 4 for 4 while opening the bowling for the Under 13s in their 51 run victory over West Lothian at Grange Loan.

For the first time since the Carlton 4th XI was formed, all four of the Carlton senior sides picked up full points on Saturday.

The 1st XI came into their home match against Uddingston on the back of three disappointing defeats. Whatever was said in the dressing room before the match clearly had a galvanising effect on the Carlton side as they were unrecognisable from the disjointed outfit who took on Grange a fortnight before. Carlton’s 253 was built around a high class century from Fraser Watts (left), supported by excellent knocks from skipper Cedric English and Jamie Kerr. Uddingston’s reply was stifled at birth as big-hitter Hoffman was out off the 6th ball of the innings and their pro followed shortly afterwards. Eventually the visitors succumbed to 90 all out with Charles Legget (3 for 25) and Ali Evans (5 for 41) sharing 8 wickets between them.

Over at Myreside the Carlton 2nd XI met a Watsonian side who were clearly desperate for a win to halt their slide towards the relegation zone. It was a game that was settled by a battle between a group of seventeen year olds – Andrew Chalmers hit a fine undefeated 107 as the home side posted 235, but he was bested by the Carlton batting combination of Tom Barrett (78) and Nick Martin (63) as the visitors notched their sixth league win on the trot.

Over at Inverleith, the Threes scored a comfortable win over Holy Cross 2nd XI. There was a long awaited return to form for Ani Amjumdar who fired a fine 106, with the fearsome Fergus Whatley coming in with twelve overs to go and smashing an unbeaten 80 that included five 6s. Holy Cross appeared to only be interested in accumulating batting points and ended their innings 85 runs short with only four wickets down.

The final victory of the day came in less pleasant circumstances as Preston Village 2nd XI conceded their match against Carlton 4th XI as they couldn’t raise a team. Perhaps they were running scared of Cheeky after the game last year?!

Young leg-spinner Saif Azhar’s call up to the Scotland Under 15 squad for their match against Yorkshire next week makes him the ninth Carlton player to be recognised with international honours this season.

Saif (left) is the second Carlton player to receive a call-up for the national Under 15s this year, following in the footsteps of his currently injured team-mate Cameron Simpson.  At Under 17 age level, opener Tom Barrett represented Scotland at the recent European Championships, while Nik Hunt will play in the two-day game against Yorkshire this week.

At senior level, the last One Day International between Scotland and Canada at Aberdeen saw no fewer than four Carlton players in the Scotland side: Fraser Watts, Gordon Drummond, Ross Lyons and Ali Evans.

And last but not least, another 17 year old, Leigh Kasperek (left), hit her maiden ODI half-century last week for the Scotland Women’s team when she scored 58 against Holland in Dublin.

Leigh has also represented the Scottish Under 17 side this season, with scores of 55 not out, 79 not out and 90.

On Saturday 8th August we will be holding an informal gathering at Grange Loan to remember our dear friend Nan Barwick.

Nan was born on March 17th 1932 and emigrated to Australia in 1958. While there, she met and married Don and settled down to married life in Melbourne. Nan applied her kind and empathetic nature to a career as a special needs teacher and also found time to support Aussie Rules side Essendon and, prophetically, the crack Melbourne cricket team Carlton.

After many years Down Under, Nan and Don decided to move to the UK to be nearer to their daughters Annette and Christine, and their children Steven, Stewart and Jessica, arriving in Edinburgh in February 1995.

One day Nan brought her grandson Steven round to the club and was met by Ann McConnell, who immediately signed up Nan as a Carlton tea lady. Since that day Nan has been an integral part of the club and a much loved mother figure to a generation of Carlton players.

Many of our players will have particularly fond memories of Nan's kindness as they began to take their first tentative steps in senior cricket at Grange Loan. Nan kept a special eye on our youngsters, and was always on hand to provide words of encouragement when they needed it most. Similarly, a host of our overseas players were made to feel immediately at home by Nan's kindness, humour and understanding of what it meant to be a long way from home.

As many visiting players, spectators and reporters will attest, Nan was a key part of the Carlton experience. Not only a tea lady, she was an ambassador for Carlton, a natural agony aunt and had a keener cricket brain than many a visiting 1st XI skipper.

In many ways Nan represented the heart and soul of Carlton and her Saturday afternoon presence at Grange Loan is already being sorely missed. Everyone who knew Nan is invited to join us in the pavilion at 11am to remember a very special member of the Carlton team.

A Sunday morning bathed in sunshine saw eight teams from the Lothians area meet for the annual Carlton Kwik Cricket Festival.

Russell and Suzie's bacon rolls and tuck shop proved to be a huge attraction with parents and youngsters alike as a big crowd settled down to watch the action on the four pitches around Grange Loan.

Eventually Grange and Haddington emerged as group winners to meet in the deciding tie. While the experienced Grange side ran out worthy winners, the player of the tournament was undoubtedly young Archie from Haddington. Although he hasn't even started primary school yet, he opened the bowling for his side and tore in off his long run to bowl an exemplary line and length!

Home pride was also kept intact when one of the two young Carlton sides clinched third place overall.  Top performance from a Carlton point of view undoubtedly came from young Kasim Amjad who picked up a hat-trick in one of the games. Well done Kasim!

Many thanks to all the parents who helped ensure a fine morning's cricket for all the teams.

The Carlton website recently came into possession of this photograph of two eminent cricketers. One of them is only too recognisable to dedicated fans of the game the world over; the other is a Strictly Come Dancing star and a firm favourite with female fans throughout the country.

The photo was taken following the pair's batting partnership at the Mace Group Celebrity Cricket Challenge, in aid of WaterAid at the BritOval on Friday 24 July.

Our independent reporter (OK, it was Bob .) tells us that the end of innings scoreboard read: Irvine 24, Ramprakash 10.

Bob has extended an invitation to Ramps to turn out for the Carlton 4th XI whenever he's in Edinburgh on the understanding that he wouldn't be able to bat in front of Mike Kennedy and that he'd only get to bowl his off spin if Cheeky is unavailable .

Carlton warmed up for the Masterton Trophy Final on Sunday by taking a fruitless Saturday bus trip to Aberdeen and back. While there was some early hope of a late start and a reduced overs match, further rain put paid to any hopes of play  in the Premier League match and the team was back at Grange Loan in time to watch the the closing stages of the 2nd XI match between Carlton and Largo.

Attempting to notch a fifth league win in a row and put paid to any lingering relegation worries, the Twos fielded first at a sun drenched Grange Loan.  Accurate bowling from seamers Pietsch, McKay and Thornton backed up by some fine fielding put the visitors on the back foot from the off and only a fighting 66 from the injured Kinnear helped Largo reach 166 for 9 off their 50 overs. Pick of the bowlers was Rob Thornton with 3 for 25 off his 10 overs.  In reply, openers Alan Pedgrift and Charles Paterson started sensibly against the bowling of ex Yorkshire bowler Thornicroft.  Pete Swan and Nik Hunt both batted well but the main man was skipper Charlie (below) who notched a fine 70 as Carlton won by 6 wickets with plenty to spare.

While the Threes match at Falkland fell victim to the early morning Fife rain, the youthful Fours won against Edinburgh South at Roseburn. The two older Everett brothers were to the fore as South were dismissed for just 83 – 13 year old Craig continuing his impressive form behind the stumps and 12 year old Euan bowling with real pace and accuracy to finish with superb figures of 3 for 17 off his five overs. Youngsters Iain Martin, David Loudon and Cheeky Gosain all picked up wickets and bowled economically while the more ‘experienced’ Mike Kennedy took 3 for 12. Fellow oldie Shaun Barrett then got the Fours reply off to a good start on the way to a three wicket win.

At the third time of asking, Carlton and RH Corstorphine will lock horns in the final of the East of Scotland Twenty:20 tournament - The Murgitroyd Masterton Trophy - at Grange Loan this Sunday.

The match, which will start at 4pm, sees Carlton bid to win the Trophy for a record breaking fourth year in succession after final wins over Heriots in 2006 and Grange in 2007 and 2008. Last year's win (left) saw Carlton qualify for the inaugural Scottish National Twenty:20 play-offs and the Grange Loan side eventually earned the £1,000 first prize, and the Murgitroyd National Twenty:20 Trophy, when they defeated Dunfermline in the final.

With the same incentive up for grabs this year, there's all to play for on Sunday.

RH Corstorphine are a talented outfit though, with two top all rounders in Preston Mommsen and Kevin McLaren, and the final should be a highly entertaining affair. With the Carlton bar and barbecue in operation, a large crowd is anticipated for this showpiece match.

On Saturday Carlton make the long trip to Mannofield to take on Aberdeenshire in an SNCL Premier League encounter, hoping to banish memories of a preceding weekend that saw a poor bowling and fielding display against Grange quickly followed by the agony of a last ball defeat to Greenock in the Scottish Cup. There are places available on the team bus to Aberdeen for any friends, family or supporters wishing to make the trip. Email secretary@carltoncc.co.uk to register your interest.

Also on Saturday, Charles Paterson's 2nd XI look to make it five league wins on the bounce as they play host to the dangerous Largo at Grange Loan (1pm). Meanwhile, the Third XI will look to keep up their recent good form as they make the trip to Fife to face Falkland 3rd XI. Finally, the heady mix of young and not so young that is the Carlton 4th XI take on Edinburgh South 2nd XI at Roseburn.

It was a desperately disappointing weekend for the senior Carlton side as they lost out rather tamely to old rivals Grange on Saturday and then crashed out of the Scottish Cup on Sunday in heartbreaking fashion.

There was good news all round elsewhere though. The Twos won a vital clash at Murrayfield and there were also wins for the Threes and Fours.

Grange Loan on Saturday saw a healthy crowd witness the eagerly awaited clash between Carlton and title chasers Grange. An aggressive 42 from Fraser Watts got Carlton off to a good start but fellow opener Ben Duerden saw a flurry of wickets fall at the other end as he held the innings together with a vital 59, before some later over hitting took the score to a respectable 219. The second innings, however, featured some disappointing bowling from the home side and Grange eased home with four balls to spare and six wickets in hand.

The next day at Greenock, the club's hopes of winning the Scottish Cup for the first time in our history were dashed as they lost to the home side by the narrowest of margins. Fraser Watts and Cedric English built an excellent foundation but the middle order perished as they went for late runs and Carlton had to settle for 173 for 8 off their allotted 36 overs. Although Greenock finished on the same total, the fact that they had lost two wickets less was crucial and was enough to see them into the semi-final.

Carlton's last hope for silverware this season lies with Twenty:20 cricket. The twice postponed Murgitroyd Masterton trophy final against RH Corstorphine looks likely to take place this Sunday (2nd August) at Grange Loan.

Facing a potential Division One relegation battle at a wet and muddy Roseburn on Saturday, followers of the Carlton 2nd XI might have been forgiven for fearing the worst. However, Charles Paterson's men/boys are made of stern stuff and a dogged 37 from Scotland Under 17 star Tom Barrett proved to be the innings of the day as Carlton battled their way to 128 all out. This proved to be more than enough as a quality opening spell from Brad McKay had the home side struggling early on, with 3 wickets from Nathan Pietsch helping to dismiss Murrayfield DAFS for 88. Five league wins in a row now for the Twos.

We've heard it often enough: Chris Hoefling hits fifties. And finally it happened against Largo 2s on Saturday. After young Neil Irvine-Hess had kept up his impressive bowling form with 2 for 14, Carlton Threes were left with 151 to win. An ugly early innings collapse saw DC's men in trouble, but Hoof responded to the call with a typically assertive innings. With the scores tied and Hoof on 46, he finished the match in style by smiting a big six.

The second Barrett in the runs on Saturday was Tom's old man Shaun, who led the way for the Fours at Kirk Brae with a fine 60. The slightly younger Cheeky Gosain once again shone with the ball with 2 for 27, well backed up by Adam Weir (2 for 21), Mike Kennedy (2 for 23) and skipper Alan Murray (2 for 34). There was also a promising senior debut for youngster David Mitchell as the Fours won by 4 wickets.

With all four Carlton sides having endured a weekend washout, attention has quickly turned to a big week ahead that includes a Cup Final, a local derby and a Scottish Cup Quarter Final.

On Friday evening at Grange Loan Carlton bid to become Masterton Trophy winners for an unprecedented fourth year in a row as they take on RH Corstorphine in this year's final. While all Carlton's international stars should be available for this one, Corstorphine are a talented outfit and with Lions player Preston Mommsen and Scotland Under 19 bowler Paddy Saddler in their line-up it should be a hard fought final.

The evening starts at 5.30 and the legendary Carlton barbecue will be in operation throughout.

One of the highlights of the season at Grange Loan is always the league visit of old rivals Grange and the Portgower Place side are in prime form ahead of their Premier League visit this Saturday.

 

Last year saw an absolute classic (above) go down to the wire in front of a big crowd - Ali Evans clinging on to a catch off the bowling of Cedric English to pick up the decisive wicket and see Carlton triumph by just 6 runs.

On Sunday, Carlton are in Scottish Cup Quarter Final action at Greenock. As Carlton have never won this trophy this is a huge match for the club and is one that is keenly awaited by everyone at Grange Loan. There are seats available on the club coach for the match at a return price of £10 for adults and £5 for under 18s; all supporters are very welcome. Please drop an email to secretary@carltoncc.co.uk to advise your interest.

Monday 3rd August sees the second of the two Carlton Summer Camps at Grange Loan, which will be led by coach Stevie Gilmour (left).

Everybody within the age guidelines of 7 to 13 who has applied has been accepted.

The Camp runs Monday to Thursday from 9 to 12.30.There will be a morning break on each day of the camp where juice and a wee snack will be provided, however it would be a good idea to bring a drink and something extra to eat for other times during the morning.

We look forward to seeing you all. Any queries, please contact Stevie Gilmour on 07763 834718.

Saturday saw three Carlton sides in action, with the 1st XI returning from their league trip to Ayr with a fine win. Stevie Gilmour with a fine 82 led a brilliant run chase, ably supported by Jamie Kerr with an unbeaten 77, as Carlton overcame the home side's 256 with an over to spare.

Elsewhere the Carlton 2nd and 3rd XIs enjoyed thumping wins over their Heriots counterparts. Ben Duerden (left) hit 90 and Ben Stewart 67 as the Twos notched their third win on the trot at Grange Loan. Meanwhile,  Alan Pedgrift fell only two runs short of a deserved ton as the Threes won by 160 runs at Goldenacre.

On Sunday, another three games saw a poorer return. The 1st XI secured a crushing win over Arbroath in the Scottish Cup with half centuries for Bryn Lockie, Steve Gilmour, Gordon Drummond and Ross Lyons. However, there were defeats for the 4s in the League as they failed to set a big enough total at Leith and the 2s, who fell to Musselburgh in the President’s Trophy.

Finally, following a week in which four Carlton players represented the full Scotland side, there was more good news for the club when Nik Hunt became the third Carlton youngster to be selected for a Scotland age-group side this season, joining his Under 17 colleague Tom Barrett and Under 15 Cameron Simpson.

Carlton head west on Saturday to take on bottom side Ayr, following a week in which no fewer than 4 Carlton players played for Scotland in their One Day International win over Canada at Aberdeen.

Opening bowler Ali Evans (left) picked up his first ODI wicket, Gordon Drummond turned in his best ever bowling performance for Scotland with 4 for 41 and Ross Lyons made a welcome return to international cricket. The day before, Fraser Watts notched his first official ODI hundred, sharing in a record opening stand of 203 with Gavin Hamilton - Scotland's highest partnership for any wicket in official one-dayers.

Carlton will be looking to all four Scotland lads to turn in a top performance at Ayr, especially as skipper Cedric English will miss the match due to injury. Carlton are also on duty on Sunday as they entertain the talented young Arbroath side in a Scottish Cup second round tie at Grange Loan (1pm start).

At Grange Loan on Saturday, the Carlton 2nd XI will be aiming for their third win in a row as they host their Heriots counterparts. Meanwhile, the 3rd XI travel in the opposite direction as they play Heriots 3rd XI at Goldenacre, while our 4th XI head to Leith to take on Leith FAB 3s.

Skipper Cedric English had two last minute selection changes to make ahead of the match against Greenock. To the astonishment of many, Cricket Scotland demanded on Friday evening that Ross Lyons withdraw from the Premier League clash to act as 12th man for Scotland against Canada at Aberdeen, while Welshman Jamie Davies damaged knee ligaments undertaking his fire service training. Tom Clarke and Omar Ahmed were the late replacements. Batting first, Carlton were indebted to 50s from Bryn Lockie and Stevie Gilmour and a rapid 38 from Rob Thornton (left) that included two huge sixes, the first of which landed on Ali Evans’ car. (That’s the thump at the end of the video clip!)

There was a feeling that the home side’s total of 217 might be slightly under par and so it proved as Aussie pro Cameron Borgas batted sublimely for an unbeaten 119 to see Greenock home with an over and four wickets to spare.

At Fauldhouse, Carlton Twos won a nailbiter off the last ball with one wicket in hand. Chasing 217, opener Ben Duerden got the visitors off to a good start with 64, while Ben Stewart kept the chase on track with a fine 30. However, wickets tumbled as the run rate started to rise and it was left to the  last wicket pair of Fraser Boyd and Stevie Elder to see Carlton home with a partnership of 37, hitting 16 off the last over for a famous win.

At Peebles, a remarkable 102 from Mike Kennedy, who hit no fewer than 12 sixes took Carlton 4s to 206. In reply Peebles floundered to 130 all out, with Chayank Gosain picking up 3 for 19, Bob Irvine 2 for 13 and Iain Martin 2 for 9.

On Sunday, there was another last ball finish as Carlton 3rd XI just failed to overhaul the 229 posted by Murrayfield DAFS 3s at Grange Loan. Opener Alan Pedgrift hit an aggressive 50 and Jack Kennedy continued his impressive run of form with 77, but the middle order failed to fire leaving the President needed to hit 3 off the final ball. Despite having already hit a six and a four, DC failed narrowly, holing out to extra cover.

With three consecutive wins under their belt in three different competitions, Carlton will be looking to keep the momentum going as they host Greenock at Grange Loan in the SNCL Premier League clash on Saturday (1pm).

Last season at Grange Loan, the soon to be Kiwi test match batsman Tim McIntosh (below) led Greenock to a convincing win to keep the Renfrewshire side's title bid on track. This season things couldn't be more different though. However, while Greenock currently sit second bottom of the Premier League, they still pose a significant threat and another tight game is expected. Spectators have certainly had nothing to complain about with the last two Premier League matches at Grange Loan, both of which have been real nail-biters only being decided in the final over.

Skipper Cedric English, in delivering his verdict on the season so far, and looking forward to the remainder of the season, can't believe we've reached the halfway mark already:

"Is it that time already? Half way and nine more league matches to go. It's always good to assess how the season has gone so far in order to regroup and assess both positives and negatives. On a positive note, not acquiring an overseas pro or amateur has in no way set us back. In my view we've held our own under all circumstances and in every game with all being highly contested battles -with some closer than others. But we knew that would be the case as we have a bunch of highly talented cricketers to choose from with the base of that broadening."

Cedric, although pleased with the majority of performances so far is looking for more from his team in the coming weeks:

"It must be said, on paper our team looks formidable, good even without our Saltires. However it is what it is, just paper. There's a fine line as to how potential and talent alone can win limited overs games. I feel in the run in to the end of the season, we as the 1st team and as a club, need to find more dogged resolve, which I believe can support talent and potential and win limited over games. 

It's time to stop relying on the next talented batsmen to score the runs or the next talented bowler to come on a take a wicket. If we can instil this into the players and begin each game as a dog fight the run in to the end of the season can be a successful one. There are not many points in it!"  

Meanwhile, there's a tough challenge ahead for Charles Paterson's 2nd XI as they travel west to meet leaders Fauldhouse in the East League Division One game. Also on Saturday, the Carlton 4th XI, led by stand-in skipper Bob Irvine, journey south to Peebles to take on the local 2nd XI.

On Sunday at Grange Loan, the Threes have a difficult opponent in Murrayfield DAFS 2nd XI in a match that starts at 1.30 pm

A thumping 78 not out from Gordon Drummond (left), ably supported by an unbeaten 48 from Pete Deakin, took Carlton to an imposing total of 169 for 3 off their 20 overs in the Murgitroyd Masterton Trophy semi-final tie at Grange Loan.

Although visitors Watsonians got off to a good start in reply, quality spin bowling from Pete Deakin and Ross Lyons put paid to any Myreside hopes of an upset to send the home side into the final, where they will play RH Corstorphine at Grange Loan on Thursday 23rd July.

Gordon Drummond also has plenty more to celebrate this week, as he has been appointed to captain a Scotland side, which includes team-mate Fraser Watts, in the Inter-Continental Cup clash against Canada on Thursday at Aberdeen.

Gordon follows in the footsteps of Fraser, who skippered the Scots to victory in Canada and Bermuda last year. Needless to say, everybody at Grange Loan is delighted for Gordon and wishes him all the best.

There was also good news on the international front for another Carlton coach, Ross Lyons, who earned a thoroughly deserved recall to the international side for the one-day internationals against Canada next week.

And another international call-up sees young opening batsman Tom Barrett make his Scotland Under 17 debut in the ECB cup clash with Cumbria on Thursday and Friday. Well done Tom from all at the club.

For the third Saturday in a row, rain had a part to play in Carlton’s Premier League clash as the home match with West of Scotland was delayed by early rain and east coast haar, leading to a 30 over a side contest.

While the Carlton bowling wasn’t quite at its best, there was a welcome return to form from Fraser Watts (left), who hit 71, well supported by the evergreen Cedric English (58) as Carlton won with 4 balls to spare.

The Saturday weather put paid to the Twos trip to Glenrothes, while the Fours lost out in a damp encounter at Edinburgh South, the highlight of which was a career best knock of 45 from Keith Murray.

On Sunday at Grange Loan, the Threes batting was on fire with 18 year old Jack Kennedy hitting his 3rd half-century of the season and good knocks from Ani Majumdar, Nick Martin and Seb Rae all contributing to a whopping 257 for 6 off their 45 overs against Leith 2s. When the rains came the visitors were on 170 for 9, leaving Carlton comfortable winners on run rate.

Up in Stirling, watched by senior batting star Watts, the Carlton Under 13 and Under 15 sides both reached the Scottish Cup Final. The under 13s, sparked by a fine spell from Cheeky, saw off West of Scotland, while Mo Ahmed’s batting was the highlight as the Fifteens defeated Huntly.

However, the final was a match too far for both sides, as the Under 13s battled bravely before losing to Grange, while the Under 15s were trounced by Poloc after their attempt to set a challenging total ended  in a clatter of wickets. Full marks to both sides though as the achievement of reaching the national final in both age groups is something everyone associated with the club can be rightly proud of.

Photos and video clips from the Junior Finals Day

This Saturday sees Carlton back in Premier League action at Grange Loan as they entertain high-flying West of Scotland (1pm). With the on-song Ali Evans (left) and Charles Legget back from University duty, the home bowling attack should be at full strength. West, though, are full of confidence at the moment and it promises to be an entertaining encounter.

Following their return to form last week, the 2nd XI with Charlie Paterson at the helm, cross the bridge to Glenrothes aiming for a second win on the trot. They'll have to do without last week's top scorer, 17 year old Tom Barrett, who has earned a well-deserved promotion to open the batting for the 1st XI. However, another fine 17 year old, Nik Hunt, replaces Tom. Also on Saturday, our 4th XI travel the short distance to Inch Park to take on Edinburgh South 2nd XI.

On Sunday, the Carlton 3rd XI will have to take the field at Grange Loan against Leith FAB 2s without any of the younger juniors as our Under 13s and Under 15s will be on duty at Stirling on Scottish Cup Finals day.

There was great news on the junior front this week as our Under 13 and Under 15 sides both qualified for the final stages of their Scottish Cup competition.

Our younger side, captained by wicket-keeper Matthew Wells (left) saw off the challenge of Gala to earn a place in the finals day this Sunday (28th June) at New Williamfield, Stirling.

Matthew's team face a tough semi-final when they take on Glasgow's West of Scotland CC. The other semi-final takes place earlier in the day between Largo and our old rivals Grange, with the final taking place on the completion of the second semi-final.

The Carlton Under 15s will play their semi-final against Huntly Highlanders on an adjoining pitch at the same time as their under 13 colleagues. The side, under the leadership of Saif Azhar, qualified for the finals day with a hard fought win over previous winners Kinross on Monday evening. The other under 15 semi-final is between home side Stirling County and Poloc.

Everybody at Carlton wishes the boys and their coaches, Andy Macpherson and Alistair Duncan, best of luck on their big day.

It was a weekend of mixed fortunes for Carlton as they suffered a disappointing defeat to Heriot's at Goldenacre on Saturday, before bouncing back with a thrilling victory over Watsonians in the Scottish Cup on Sunday.

The common theme from a Carlton batting point of view was the form of Gordon Drummond (left), who hit a belligerent 55 not out off just 43 deliveries as Carlton's run chase fell short on Saturday. On Sunday he held the innings together with a superb undefeated 75 to see Carlton into the next round of the cup.

At long last the second XI delivered a good performance, with a resounding victory over Boroughmuir. Seamers Steven Elder and Rajan Bhopal started the good work before Pete Swan hoovered up the tail with a remarkable 4 for 4. Swanny then contributed 31 in the Carlton reply, with 17 year old Tom Barrett hitting a sparkling 68 not out.

The Threes were saved by the rain when under the cosh at Peebles, while our Fours slipped to a home defeat at Grange Loan against Broomhall 2s, despite some more fine performances from our youngsters.

On the subject of our youngsters, our Under 13s made it through to Scottish Cup Finals day when they beat Gala at Grange Loan on Friday evening. Their Under 15 counterparts then followed the Under 13s to finals day by defeating Kinross at Meggetland on Monday evening. Finally, our Primary School Team had a thrilling win over George Watson's on Saturday morning in a match that, incredibly, saw all 10 Watson's batsmen clean bowled.

This weekend sees a derby double-header for the Carlton 1st XI. They head to Goldenacre on Saturday to face Heriot's on league business before travelling the short distance to Myreside (below) on Sunday to take on Watsonians in the 1st round of the Scottish Cup.

Carlton, who will have keeper Jamie Kerr back after missing the last 2 games, will be eager to put last week's narrow defeat to Clydesdale behind them on Saturday as they seek to move up the premier league table.

And after last season's first round defeat to Clydesdale, the team is desperate to go all the way in the Scottish Cup this year. Carlton are already national Twenty20 champions and the club would love to add the 50-over Cup to the Grange Loan trophy cabinet this year. Opponents Watsonians are in great form, however, and will pose a really tough challenge. The host club have been in touch to say that their bar will be open throughout the game and we'd love to see as many Carlton supporters as possible turn out to cheer on the visitors.

There is more Scottish Cup action this weekend for our junior sides. On Friday evening at Grange Loan, our Under 13s host Gala in their Scottish Cup Quarter Final tie (6 pm). With the winners going through to the national finals day on 28th June there's all to play for and a large crowd is expected to support the youngsters. Our Under 15s play at the same stage of their competition on Monday evening when they entertain a strong Kinross side at Meggetland. The two sides met in the final of the U13 Scottish Cup a couple of years ago with the Fife side coming out on top, so our boys are desperate to test themselves against Kinross once again.

On Saturday, the 2nd XI are at Grange Loan on Saturday as they take on high-flying Boroughmuir desperate to start their climb out of the relegation zone. Skipper Charles Paterson is close to fitness and he'll be looking to the side's youngsters to kickstart the Carlton recovery.

The Carlton Third XI head south to Peebles on Saturday keen to keep momentum going following their recent improved form. On Sunday, the 4th XI play at Grange Loan against Broomhall 2nd XI (1.30pm). Once again, the side will be sprinkled with talented youngsters and it will be interesting to see whether they can outshine their elders once again!

The Carlton Caribbean Party Night

27th June @ Grange Loan

Tickets just £5 ...

... includes Susie's Sensational Caribbean supper:

 

*** Jerk Chicken, Lamb Rundown with Johnny Cakes, or Grenadian Chicken and Prawn Curry and Rice

followed by Jamaican Fruit Cocktail ***

 

Games and Prizes plus Ann's special Rum Punch

Tickets are on sale now from Alan or Russell but hurry - they're going fast!

Ironically, on the day after Cricket Scotland introduced a tortuous document attempting to justify their desire to do away with the national premier league*, Carlton and Clydesdale served up an East v West thriller at Grange Loan.

In a match interrupted by numerous rain breaks and seemingly endless Duckworth Lewis calculations, both sets of players contributed to a highly entertaining, hard-fought match. After the visitors posted 175 for 5 off their eventual 36 overs, Carlton knew that the Duckworth Lewis calculations would set them a stiff target.

Sadly, English, Watts and Lockie were soon back in the pavilion and the home side still needed more then 176 to win! However a feisty innings from Steve Gilmour, followed by an impressive, aggressive knock from Pete Deakin, pulled Carlton back into the game.  

The dismissal of Deakin, combined with further rain delays, sent the run rate soaring and Carlton went into the final two overs requiring 28 runs. Ex-Clydesdale star Ross Lyons (left) smashed 20 runs, including two sixes, off professional Kamran Sajid in the penultimate over to leave just 8 needed. The turning point came when Charles Legget waltzed down the pitch to Majid Haq to smash the ball back over the bowler’s head only to see the ball caught just inside the boundary. With Ross run out off the next ball, Carlton fell agonisingly short but will feel they played their part in a terrific game of club cricket.

Over at Arboretum the Carlton 2nd XI once again underperformed with the ball to lose again and remain firmly anchored in the relegation zone. Despite posting a reasonable 161 off their allotted 35 overs, with 39 from Tom Barrett and 35 from Peter Swan, the Carlton bowlers, handicapped by a number of dropped catches, were unable to subdue the Holy Cross reply and the home side ran out comfortable winners despite 3 wickets for all-rounder Rajan Bhopal.

On Sunday at Grange Loan a fine 7th wicket partnership between an unusually circumspect Martin Robertson (25) and Bob Irvine (27) had put Carlton 3s back in the game after a crash of early wickets against Edinburgh South. Sadly, at 142 for 6, the rain then arrived with a vengeance to wash out any hope of further play.  Over in Fife, our 4th XI beat the weather but lost to Dunfermline 3rds in a high-scoring encounter. Young Craig Everett was the batting start with an impressive unbeaten 42 as Carlton reached 175. In reply, the Fifers got home with 7 balls and 5 wickets to spare.

* Retaining Premier League Cricket: Carlton CC Club Statement

* Carlton stars back Premier League

Carlton pulled off one of their most impressive Premier League victories on Saturday, when they chased 271 at Uddingston to notch up their third league win of the season. At the halfway stage, things were looking bleak. The home side had rattled up an imposing total and Carlton skipper Cedric English was nursing a nasty finger injury.

However, there's nobody in the Scottish game who likes a challenge more than Ced and he slipped on his batting glove gingerly to open the batting. His first milestone was passed when he reached 47, to bring up his 5000 runs in Scottish league cricket. Receiving sterling support from Stevie Gilmour and then Ross Lyons, Ced smashed his way to a magnificent unbeaten 143 to see his side home to a great win. All in all, an impressive victory from a Carlton side including two 17 year olds and missing the likes of Fraser Watts, Gordon Drummond, Jamie Kerr and Peter Deakin.

There was another fine win for our 3rd XI as they returned from their match with Holy Cross 2nd XI with full points. Josh Walker's exellent 73 not out was the mainstay of the Carlton innings. In reply the home side could only muster 160 all out.

The Carlton 4th XI managed a tricky run chase to defeat Preston Village 2nd XI at the Gyle. Batting first, the Villagers hit a challenging 179 for 6 off their 40 overs, with young Fraser Allardice once again returning the best bowling figures with 2 for 25. Runs from Mike Kennedy, Johnny Everett and, crucially, 12 year old Ruari Macpherson saw Carlton home.

Unfortunately, the opportunity to seal a first ever Carlton weekend 'grand slam' was passed over by the 2nd XI as they lost a high-scoring encounter at Grange Loan with Watsonian 2nd XI. Superb 94s from Peter Swan and Craig Marshall helped Carlton post 261 for 7 after the home side's 50 overs. However, after a fine opening burst from Rob Thornton that delivered three early wickets, an inability to bowl well with a sodden ball handicapped the Carlton effort and an exceptional century from visiting batsman Andy Learmonth saw Watsonians to a comfortable win.

On Sunday, four of the Carlton youngsters were part of the under 17 East Academy side who scored a thumping win over Heriot's 2s at Goldenacre in the President's Trophy. Batting first, the Academy boys racked up a remarkable 327 runs from their 40 overs, with Carlton's Nik Hunt hitting a wonderful undefeated 136 off just 107 balls. In reply, the shell shocked Nails were dismissed for just 135.

Carlton moved into the semi-finals of the Masterton Trophy on Thursday evening with a hard-fought victory over Stewarts Melville at Inverleith. On the same evening, our Under 13 side progressed to the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup with a win at Watsonians. The following evening, our under 15s also secured a quarter final place when they defeated a young Gala side in the older version of the national youth tournament.

On Saturday, minus Scottish T20 World Cup stars Fraser Watts and Gordon Drummond who will be in action at The Oval against New Zealand, Carlton travel west to face a confident Uddingston. With a young side at his disposal, skipper Cedric English will be looking for a good all round performance from his team to keep Carlton in the top half of the league.

Meanwhile at Grange Loan, Carlton 2nd XI will look to build on last week's victories as they host Watsonian 2s. With a side freshened up due to call ups to the First XI it should be an interesting challenge for temporary skipper Brad McKay.

Our Third XI have had an up and down start to the season and they travel across the city to take on Holy Cross 2s looking for only their second win of the season. Meanwhile, the heady mix of youth and experience that is the Carlton 4th XI takes up temporary residence at the Gyle to entertain Preston Village 2nd XI.

On a perfect weekend for cricket, Carlton could not continue their good start to the season as they failed to find anything like their batting form against a bouyant Aberdeenshire. 20 overs of quality left-arm spin from Ross Lyons and Tom Clarke had kept the visitors' batting in check before some late order hitting from young Matthew Cross had the new Grange Loan electronic scoreboard ticking over. In reply, only Jamie Davies with an unbeaten 30 looked comfortable as the home side slipped to a 54 run defeat.

Things are looking up for our Second XI as they finally notched their first wins of the season. On Saturday they returned from Largo with a fine 5 wicket win. Both Steven Elder and leggie Fergus Whatley picked up 3 wickets as the home side were dismissed for under 200. In reply an aggressive 47 from Craig Marshall and an unbeaten 77 from Ben Stewart saw Carlton home with plenty to spare. On Sunday, a Carlton side containing no fewer than seven under 18s trounced Westquarter & Redding in the President's Trophy. Nik Hunt and Nick Martin both notched fifties in an imposing total of 255 for 9 off 40 overs. Fergus Whatley then ran through the home side's batting, earning his first ever senior five wicket haul.

The outstanding performance of the weeekend, however, came from 13 year old Fraser Allardice. Forming a potent new ball partnership with 12 year old Ruari Macpherson against Kismet 2nd XI, Fraser finished with figures of 5 for 6 off his eight overs, eclipsing Ruari's 2 for 14 off eight. Chasing 103 to win, a half century from Cranny Watts and a stylish 22 from young Kyle Macpherson saw Carlton most of the way there, leaving Fraser to see his side home on 8 not out.

Carlton 3rd XI posted a challenging 222 for 8 in their match against Falkland 3rd XI at Inverleith, with 18 year old Jack Kennedy hitting his second successive half century. However, the Carlton bowling attack was found wanting in the face of some fine batting from Bell and Watt as the visitors raced to a 6 wicket win.

Better news from our Primary School team on Saturday, as they notched up a fourth win in five by defeating a young Grange XI at Portgower Place.

The 2009 Carlton Summer Camps will run on the weeks beginning 20th July and 3rd August from Monday to Thursday 9am to 12.30.

The camps are open to boys and girls between the ages of 7 and 13 and are aimed at both experienced young players and complete beginners. The coaching team will be led by Carlton coach Steven Gilmour (left). Steven is a fully qualified UKCC level II coach, with many years coaching experience in the UK, New Zealand and Australia. He also holds a degree in Applied Sport Science and a Masters in Performance Psychology. The team aims to develop cricket skills through innovative games and drills providing lots of fun in a safe and friendly environment.

As last year, the cost will be £60 per week or £20 per day. The camp is open to non-members.

Hurry - places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis!

Download an application form

As one of only three clubs to be continuously involved in Scottish cricket's Premier League since its inception ten years ago, Carlton is better placed than most to pass opinion on the national setup.

 

Three of the club’s longest serving players, Cedric English, Bryn Lockie and Jamie Kerr explain why they are so strongly opposed to any revamp that would do away with a national premier league.

 

“As we’ve seen over recent weeks, one thing we cannot control is the weather,” says skipper Cedric English. “However, as amateur Scottish cricketers, we should have a say in who we wish to play cricket against.  That’s why our club has decided to enter the debate about whether the SNCL should remain, albeit perhaps in a revamped form, or revert to a regional setup.”

Between them, Cedric, Jamie and Bryn have well over 400 SNCL appearances. Ex-Scotland batsman Lockie is in no doubt that disbanding the country’s national Premier League to return to regional cricket would be a step backwards:

“Being old enough to have played in regional league cricket before the SNCL I can clearly remember the meaningless matches between the strong sides and those with less quality players. Neither team gained from the experience. But in the Premier League every game is a tough game. I believe it’s vital for our talented younger players to strive to play in the Premier League.”

Wicket keeper Jamie Kerr has played over 150 SNCL matches and finds it difficult to believe that anyone would seriously consider doing away with the top-level national league: “The three of us have played and experienced the regional leagues and, yes, we did travel fewer miles to play games.  But it was still a big commitment and took a large slice of your day. Sure, there’s some more travelling involved in the Premier League, but you have the huge advantage of knowing that you’re coming up against the best players and playing at the best grounds. The premier league needs to remain and the best teams need to play against each other, every Saturday. “

The main concern of Cedric English, is for the up and coming players at Carlton and other clubs.

“In many ways the SNCL has transformed Carlton. Because we want to stay in the top flight, everybody in the club has recognised that the key to it all is a strong youth development set-up. It has taken time and has been building year on year. I believe that we’re only now beginning to see our coaching labours coming to fruition and the best stage for these talents to be displayed in the years to come has to be the Premier League.

Last year we coached youngsters from 25 different local schools. We try to convince these players – and their parents – that cricket is a major sport and is where their focus should lie. Surely, any serious sport needs a national premier league? While we rely hugely on our volunteers, a serious coaching setup like ours needs to be funded somehow. We spend a lot of our time approaching companies, many of whom may not be familiar with cricket, looking for sponsorship. It’s tough enough at the moment, even when we can explain we are in the premier league and can offer nationwide coverage for our sponsors. If we go back to regional leagues I don’t know how we would be able to sustain our coaching programme.”

One of the main negative arguments coming from certain quarters recently is that having Scotland players unavailable for SNCL duty has somehow reduced the relevance of the Premier League. English is quick to counter that point:

“Certainly, we lose a small number of the league’s top players for a large part of the season. But the premier league is fortunate in that it still contains a high number of older, more experienced players.  I think it’s hugely valuable for our youngsters to learn by playing with and against these seasoned players who have played at top level club cricket or higher for a number of years. If we were to go back to regional cricket, these types of players will be in short supply as they will find it increasingly difficult to motivate themselves to play less competitive cricket.

The great positive to come out of Scotland call-ups is that at Carlton we know we have to develop a broader and stronger player pool to compete in the Premier League while our internationals are on Scotland duty. We can only do that by developing more talented youngsters in the years to come. Surely, that's a great model for the future?”

With almost 5000 SNCL runs to his name Cedric needs no convincing that the national Premier League has been good for the game in Scotland. And he firmly believes that it will continue to be vital to the development of young cricketers:

“The inclusion of the Scotland U19 side in the premier league has been a fantastic move and I believe in years to come they will consistently compete and beat premier league sides, which is fantastic for their self confidence as cricketers.

Plainly and simply I believe that if young aspiring Scottish cricketers wish to develop their game and make an impact in Scottish cricket they need to play premier league cricket. The structure below that may well be regional but the premier league must remain as one of the key steps to developing cricketers for Scotland.”

Retaining Premier League Cricket: Carlton CC Club Statement

It was a weekend of tight finishes and stories of what might have been as our 1st XI battled out a thrilling tie with champions Grange at Portgower Place, and our Twos and Fours lost tight matches they could have won at Grange Loan.

Pride of place, though, goes to our 3rd XI and our three junior sides, all of whom notched impressive victories.

The Premier League clash between Grange and Carlton had been billed as the match of the day and it certainly lived up to expectations as both sides served up a thrilling tie. Batting first, the Scottish champions were bowled out for 205 with debutant Gordon Drummond finishing with figures of 3 for 43. In reply, Carlton were looking good at 140 for 1 before a flurry of wickets left the visitors needing 10 off the final over. Mo and Gordon managed to scramble a leg bye to leave the match all square.

With the President taking over the captaincy of the 3rd XI on their trip to Fife to play Largo 2s, it might have been a day for experience to come to the fore. However, while Tony Brown continued his run of good form with 32, it was three teenagers who carried Carlton to a formidable score of 274 for 6 off their 45 overs. Opener Nick Martin hit a maiden 50, Jack Kennedy marked his first appearance of the season with a stylish 63 and Nik Hunt smashed two balls out of the ground on his way to 84. In reply, President Carter reasserted the rights of the more mature players by picking up three wickets, as did leggie Nick Martin.

The third senior match on Saturday had no such happy ending as Carlton Twos lost a game they really should have won at home to Murrayfield DAFS. Batting first, Ben Duerden, Craig Marshall and Rob Thornton all got starts and were looking good before getting themselves out as the home side limped to 142 all out. However, a fiery start for Rob Thornton saw him pick up two wickets. A typically accurate spell from Steven Elder brought him three wickets and the visitors were reeling at 7 down and a long way to go. However, Carlton took their foot off the gas and the visitors eventually reached the target with two balls to spare.

It was a similar story on Sunday as our Fours entertained Holy Cross 3rd XI. Veteran opener Barnacle Barrett was once again the mainstay of the home side’s innings, and was supported well by young Craig Everett, but nobody else could hang around long enough to provide meaningful support , although Adam Weir batted well in the latter overs. With injuries to bowlers James Hilton and Neil Irvine-Hess, the resources available to stand-in skipper Barrett were limited but when he took Holy Cross to the brink at 75 for 7, the smart money was on Carlton. However, once again it was not to be as the visitors won by 2 wickets.

On Friday evening, a packed weekend of cricket got off to a great start when the Carlton Under 11 side played their first ever match. Once the opening bowling attack of Calum Everett and Harry Simpson picked up three wickets between them in their opening overs the result was never in doubt. Everybody got a bat in the Carlton innings, which was peppered with a range of fine shots that belied the age of the participants. Well done to our youngsters on their maiden victory.

On Saturday morning, our Primary School side notched up a fine win over Stewarts Melville at Grange Loan. And on the following morning, our Under 15 side got their Scottish Cup campaign off to a winning start with a great victory over Kelso. A spectacular 50 from Angus Rive and a classical half-century from Will Brown were the highlights of the Carlton innings, before a fiery spell from 3-wicket Henry Lawrence put the result beyond doubt.

On Monday evening our Under 13 side A side had a comfortable 7 wicket victory over old rivals Grange, while our B side made their debut in fine style, falling only 1 run short in their match with Edinburgh Accies A team.

1st XI Scorecard

2nd XI Scorecard

3rd XI Scorecard

4th XI Scorecard

This long weekend sees no fewer than 9 Carlton sides in action. On Friday evening our Under 11 hardball side play their first ever fixture at home to Grange. This new venture, which sees hardball cricket played to Kwik cricket rules, guarantees a set time in the middle for young batsmen as they will lose runs rather than be sent packing to the pavilion each time they lose a wicket.

On Saturday morning, it's back to conventional cricket with our Primary School team entertaining Stewarts Melville at Grange Loan. In the afternoon, Carlton 2nd XI will be looking to notch up their first win of the season when they entertain Murrayfield DAFS CC (1pm).

At the same time, our 1st XI face a tough task as they head across the city to play Scottish Champions Grange in their Premier League encounter. Also on Saturday, Carlton 3rd XI led by President Carter travel across the bridge to play Largo 2nd XI.

On Sunday morning, the Carlton Under 15 side, skippered by Saif Azhar, begin their Scottish Cup campaign when they entertain Kelso with a 10am start. In the afternoon, our 4th XI host Holy Cross 3rd XI, starting at 1.30 pm.

And on Monday evening our Under 13 'A' side play the third part of the Carlton-Grange triple-header as they travel to Stockbridge for a League Division A encounter. On the same evening, there's a first ever match for our Under 13 'B' side as they play Edinburgh Accies at Arboretum Road.

In a weekend where player unavailability caused selection headaches for all our sides, Carlton finally got their SNCL Premier League campaign underway with two hard fought wins.

On Saturday, visitors Watsonians got off to a great start and only a fine partnership between two players on debut  - Peter Deakin and Ross Lyons - saw Carlton through to a defendable total. Peter was once again to the fore in the Watsonians’ reply picking up 4 for 44 as Carlton won by 6 runs.

On Sunday, the Scotland Under 19 side proved a stern test and it needed all of Cedric English’s experience to see the home side to a second win. He hit 89, with keeper Jamie Kerr’s unbeaten 54 eventually proving too much for the youngsters.

Also on Sunday, there was a remarkable individual performance from Craig Marshall who hit an undefeated 104 in a Carlton 2nd XI total of 134 all out at Edinburgh Accies. Unfortunately, there was no happy ending as the home side won by 7 wickets.

There were also heavy defeats for the Threes and Fours. Despite an unbeaten 33 from Fraser Boyd the 3rd XI could only total 109 against Edinburgh Accies 2nd XI at Inverleith, while debutant Tony Brown's 42 was the only batting highlight as the 4th XI mustered just 99 against Murrayfield DAFS at Inverleith.

Better news for our Primary School team, however, who scored a fine win at George Watson’s.  

1st XI Scorecard v Watsonians

1st XI Scorecard v Scotland U19s

2nd XI Scorecard

3rd XI Scorecard

4th XI Scorecard

This week sees a SNCL double header at Grange Loan. On Saturday local rivals Watsonians are the visitors and the following day Carlton entertain the Scotland U19 side (both 1 pm).

With Watsonians having won their first league match of the season, and Scotland U19s already having two taken two senior scalps, it promises to be a tough weekend for Carlton.

On Saturday, Watsonians will be keen to build momentum following their win at West of Scotland on the opening Saturday of the season. And with Carlton likely to be without the services of internationals Fraser Watts and Gordon Drummond, it promises to be a close encounter.

The Scotland Under 19 side has already beaten Ayr and Heriots this season and will come into the Sunday encounter at Grange Loan full of confidence and with lots of competitive cricket under their belts. By contrast, Carlton has yet to play a game in the SNCL as both their scheduled matches have been washed out by the weather. Batsman Bry Lockie summed up the Carlton thoughts on the season so far:

"It's just been so frustrating. We built up some great early momentum by winning the National Twenty20 Cup Final last month and all the guys were raring to go. Unfortunately, the bad weather has been following us around. We just want to get out and play some cricket so we hope the weather is a bit kinder this weekend."

This Saturday sees Carlton begin their SNCL Premier League campaign as they entertain Ayr at Grange Loan (1pm).

The match sees the debut of new signings Gordon Drummond and Ross Lyons (left), both of whom are desperate to get their Carlton careers off to a winning start.

With Ayr still unsure of the arrival date of their new professional Michael Papps, Carlton will be hoping to take advantage of the visitors' stuttering start to the season, which has seen them lose to Scotland Under 19s and Heriot's.

Gordon Drummond is keenly anticipating his Carlton debut: " I'm really excited about making my debut for Carlton on Saturday. It's been a bit of a wait after being called out to South Africa but hopefully I can put in a solid performance to help the squad gain a victory. It's always a tough game against Ayr but if our team and individuals play to their potential I definitely think we are strong enough to come out on top."

Although Gordon has yet to take to the field for Carlton, he has already been working hard off the field in his role as head coach: "I've been already impressed by the wealth of talent at the club and with the standard and dedication of the coaches and members behind the scenes. Hopefully I can add to this and continue to take the club forward."

There was good news on the international front for Gordon and his Carlton team-mate Fraser Watts this week as the two Scotland deputy skippers were named in the 15 man Scotland squad for the ICC World Twenty20 Championship in England next month. The Scots warm up with friendly matches against England and The Netherlands before starting the tournament with a tie against New Zealand at The Oval on June 6th, before taking on South Africa at the same venue on the following day.

"It's been a bit of a whirlwind time for me," admitted Gordon. "I was obviously disappointed not to be picked initially for the World Cup qualifiers. However, we were told to be on standby for South Africa, so I was ready when I got the call but disappointed for Gordon Goudie who had been performing well. Then in the last 2 weeks I've been handed the Scotland vice captaincy and been selected for the 20/20 World Cup. Both of these are massive honours and I'm really looking forward to the challenge put before me!"

Following the success of the first high-brow social event of the season last month - the Karaoke Party Night - this Saturday (9th May) sees the much anticipated Giant Pub Quiz and Supper.

Kicking off after the 1st XI match with Ayr, the quiz has been put together by the cerebral Charles Paterson with delicious pub grub provided by the unbeatable Weir family. Teams of four are invited for the quiz and, with some highly competitive foursomes in the pipeline, we'd encourage you to team up with three brainy people ASAP.

With all four XIs playing in Edinburgh on Saturday, all roads should lead to Grange Loan at close of play and a great night is expected. Tickets, covering food and quiz entry, cost just £5 and are available from team skippers and Russell Weir. Tickets can also be bought on the night.

All Carlton had to show for the first Saturday of the season was a case of Magners cider earned by Steven Elder for a sparkling 5 for 33 in the 2nd XI's heavy defeat to Fauldhouse. With his side deep in trouble Stevie picked up his first wicket with a caught and bowled, then tore into the visitors in an inteligent spell of seam bowling. Unfortunately for Stevie, the Carlton batsmen failed rather spectacularly, capitulating to a very poor 66 all out.

Nevertheless, Stevie qualifies for his free case of Magners as part of the Magners Irish Cider promotion to celebrate the first week of the new season.

An under-strength 3rd XI, who were hit hard by injuries and unavailability in the top 2 sides, fell to a disapointing defeat at Murrayfield, replying with 147 all out  in reply to the home side's 202 all out.

The 1st XI match at Greenock was called off on Friday evening. Greenock president David Campbell gave an explanation of the call off to Scotland on Sunday: "We were expecting the arrival of our new covers, but they were not delivered until later on Friday – by which time the damage was done."

There was much better news on Sunday, when the Carlton 4th XI, which included five under-14 players, defeated their counterparts from Largo. Openers Shaun Barrett and Fraser Allardice got matters off to a good start, with Barrett going on to become the mainstay of the Carlton innings of 200 for 6 with a fine 89, ably supported by young Gair Currie who finished on 37 not out.

After relative veteran Ali Scott and youngsters Neil Irvine-Hess, Gair Currie and Iain Martin bowled tight early spells 13-year-old Chayank 'Cheeky' Gosain ran through the visitors' batting order, ending with 6 for 20 of his 8 overs as Largo ended on 125 for 9.

Another weekend win for Carlton was earned by our Primary School side, who trounced an inexperienced Stewart's Melville team at Grange Loan.

2nd XI Scorecard

3rd XI Scorecard

4th XI Scorecard

The honour of playing the first league match at Grange Loan this season falls to the Second XI this Saturday, when they take on Fauldhouse in the East of Scotland CA League Division 1.

New skipper Charles Paterson has taken time out between hospital visits to talk about his team's prospects for the season and to explain why he won't be playing for a while ...

"It's a tough start to the season - at home against Fauldhouse on Saturday who we beat narrowly in the corresponding fixture last year.

It's the third season in the top flight for Carlton 2nd XI and if luck and team selection is in our favour, we should be in the shakeup to win the league come the end of August - only time will tell however. One of the main objectives for the season is to improve batting from 1-11; there were too many low scores last year and the team must learn to bat as a unit and realise you've got to bat your 50 overs. If you do you'll usually win! Also the batsmen at 7 8 and 9 win games more often than not so batting all the way down the order is crucial.

It's becoming a younger squad, and a few new players have broken into it. South African Marcel Du Courdray has joined from Peebles; medical student Ben Stewart has appeared from underneath Blacky and Ben Duerden's sofa and looks a great player; Fergus Whatley and Rajan Bhopal (left) could have breakthrough seasons if they work hard as they look good young players and have already played in the first XI in preseason. Keeper Fraser Boyd is now the no.1 name on the teamsheet and will score a stack of runs this season as long as he stops trying to hoick Tom Clarke to cow in the nets!

Personally, I've not had much luck to start the year so far after damaging my knee on Sunday playing a regulation off drive. I'm now resigned to being a non-playing captain for a while. The knee specialist reckons it's torn cartilage so I'm getting keyhole surgery next week. Not sure if that's good or bad news! This is even more of a pain considering I've returned after a year playing in the wilds of West of Scotland. Brad McKay will just have to carry on where he left off last year and double up being club Treasurer with the role of 2nd XI captain - while putting up with the 'other' captain yelling at him from the boundary."

The last weekend of pre-season cricket saw more fine spring weather and three wins out of four for Carlton.

On Saturday, the 1st XI notched up a comfortable away win at Stirling, with runs for Bryn, Ced and young Tom Barrett (pictured left). Click here for the scorecard.

Meanwhile an under-strength Carlton 2nd XI lost to West Lothian 1sts on Saturday at Grange Loan. The visitors scored 173 for 6 off their 40 overs, with Carlton replying with 123 for 6 off their allotted overs; newcomer Marcel Du Coudray top scoring with a careful unbeaten 46.

On Sunday, a stronger 2nd XI lineup comfortably defeated a weakened Grange 2s in a match marred by a nasty knee injury to new Twos skipper Charles Paterson. Following the retiral of Tom Barrett, who hit an impressive 56, Charles was going well until he crumpled in a heap after playing an off-drive and sadly he became the first player to sample the Carlton stretcher, which has been awaiting its first use for a number of years. Everybody at the club wishes CP a speedy recovery.

On the same day at Musselburgh, a 3s/4s side dismissed the home club's second XI for 93 with youngsters Neil Irvine-Hess, William Brown and (the not quite so young) Keith Murray among the wickets. In reply, a maiden 50 for Liam Prescott saw Carlton home.

Carlton stars Fraser Watts and Gordon Drummond have been selected in the Scottish Saltires squad for the Friends Provident Trophy clash with Middlesex at Lord's.

Gordon is looking to continue the form he showed when appearing in Scotland's last World Cup Qualifying match in South Africa, where he proved to be Scotland's most economical bowler and hit a feisty 25 not out: "I was a bit worried when my first two overs went for 21," said Gordon, "but then I hadn't played any cricket for almost 8 months so I guess you could call that spell my pre-season!" Drummo's second spell turned in much more impressive figures of 8 overs for just 27 runs.

The Carlton Head Coach is looking forward to his trip to Lord's both on and off the field. "The famous slope at Lord's can be tricky for bowlers but if you're bowling well and coming in from the right end then it can help you as well. Then there's the Lord's teas - they're something else altogether."

Gordon can perhaps be forgiven for the latter comment as he was in South Africa for the Twenty20 final last week and missed the sensational Grange Loan tea prepared by Ann, Nan and the team that surely put the home of cricket to shame!

Next Saturday (May 2nd) sees the start of the Lloyds TSB Scotland Premier League campaign as Carlton travel west to take on Greenock. There are some seats available on the Carlton bus at a cost of £8 return for adults and £5 for juniors. To reserve a seat call Martin on 0131 258 1652 or email him at secretary@carltoncc.co.uk

Carlton were crowned Scottish 20:20 champions on Saturday following their seven wicket triumph over Dunfermline at Grange Loan.

A large crowd ignored the chilly weather to see a fine spell from opening bowlers Ced English and Mo Afzal quickly reduce the visitors to 24 for 5. Dunfermline then rallied until two wickets apiece from spinners Tom Clarke and Steve Gilmour restricted the total to 93 for 9.

In reply, Carlton were soon in trouble at 13 for 3. However, Bryn Lockie was, as always, the right man for a crisis and he and the returning Steve Gilmour proved to be a class act for the the 4th wicket, seeing Carlton home comfortably. Bryn finished on 24 not out, while Steve hit an unbeaten 44 off just 35 balls.

The celebration party on Saturday evening was equally memorable. Russell and Susie’s catering together with a well-stocked bar and an oversubscribed karaoke saw the pavilion packed and a great time had by all.

While some events will have to go unreported on the website, the karaoke highlights were undoubtedly a romantic  duet between Ali and Moon and  a sensational rendition of Rapper’s Paradise by new boy Iain Proctor, who becomes the only Carlton player to pick up a man of the match award on the website before he’s actually played for the club.

Match Report

Although we're only part way through April, Carlton have a national Cup Final to look forward to at Grange Loan this Saturday when they take on Dunfermline in the Murgitroyd National 20:20 Cup Final starting at 1pm.

With students Ali Evans and Charles Legget declaring themselves available, 20:20 skipper Jamie Kerr's bowling attack has a strong look about it. One man who won't be available, however, is new signing Ross Lyons, as Saturday's match is actually the 2008 final, which was been carried over to this year due to the awful late summer weather. Only players registered during 2008 are eligible to take part.

Carlton are unlikely to treat their opponents lightly as they were present in Glasgow last August to see the Fife side beat hot favourites Clydesdale in their semi-final, before Carlton saw off Dumfries in the second tie in a match that ended amidst a torrential downpour..

20 year old Evans, who picked up his first three first-class wickets this week playing for Loughborough UCCE against Leicestershire and Kent, has a good bowling record in 20:20 cricket having played a big part in Carlton's last two Masterton Trophy victories.

Carlton will also be hoping that their experienced batsmen Cedric English, Bryn Lockie and Fraser Watts will have a big influence as the club bids to be crowned Scotland's 20:20 champions.

For those with a keen interest in statistics it's worth noting that English has hit 98 competitive sixes during his Carlton career. From a Carlton point of view, there would be no better time to bring up his century than on Saturday at Grange Loan.

Carlton side: Jamie Kerr, Cedric English, Bryn  Lockie, Fraser Watts, Steve Gilmour, Peter Swan, Rob Thornton, Charles Legget, Ali Evans, Mo Afzal, Tom Clarke

Spring arrived at Grange Loan at the weekend and Carlton's cricketers took the chance to get creaking limbs back into action with a couple of friendly fixtures against Watsonians and Penicuik.

On Saturday, two 17 over-a-side fixtures between Carlton and their Myreside neighbours ended in a score draw, while Penicuik were defeated in a 40 over match on Sunday. The fixtures were notable both for the home debut of new signing Ross Lyons and the highly promising performances of four of the Carlton youngsters - Tom Barrett, Nick Hunt, Fraser Boyd and Mo Ahmed.

On Saturday, the first match saw a rusty Carlton slow to get out of the traps as Watsonians set a target that ultimately proved too challenging for the home side. In the second match, Jamie Kerr handed the wicket keeping gloves to Fraser Boyd and JK's addition to the Carlton bowling ranks clearly made a difference as the home side won the second encounter comfortably. On the day, the bowling honours went to 15 year old Mo Ahmed, skipper Ced English and Ross Lyons, with youngster Nick Hunt impressing with both bat and ball.

On Sunday, Jamie once again left the gloves to Fraser and Penicuik were made to work hard for their runs with Mo Ahmed bowling particularly well once again. However, it was the introduction of the two Toms - Barrett and Clarke - who really tightened the screw, picking up wickets at regular intervals and strangling the run rate. 17 year old Tom B ended with 3 wickets while Tom C collected 2. Ross Lyons then took over the left arm spinner's mantle to pick up 3 wickets and restrict the visitors to 134. After a slow and steady start against the accurate Penicuik opening bowlers, the win was achieved comfortably with Jamie and Ced retiring undefeated to leave Tom Barrett to hit the winning runs.

Pictures

The first big social fund-raising event of the season takes place on Saturday 18th April following the Murgitroyd National 20/20 final at Grange Loan:

CARLTON CRICKET CLUB PRESENTS…

PARTY NIGHT

SATURDAY 18TH APRIL @ CARLTON
Following the Murgitroyd 20/20 Cup Final

FAMILY/FRIENDS/WANNABE SINGERS ALL WELCOME

Includes Chinese buffet, disco and extra fun...

ALL IN AID OF CARLTON!

 

Tickets cost just £7.50 and are available from team captains and other committee members (see our contacts page). Alternatively, email  social@carltoncc.co.uk

Scotland international left-arm spinner Ross Lyons has joined Carlton ahead of the 2009 season. Ross, who has played 36 times for his country with a best bowling analysis of 4 for 10, will also join the club's other close-season signing, Gordon Drummond, on the Carlton coaching staff.

Welcoming Ross to the club, skipper Cedric English said: "Ross provides us with the great option of a left arm spinner, something very valuable to a cricket team, especially in Scotland. Ross has in the past been a thorn in our side on many occasions with his former club Clydesdale and I'm glad that will no longer be the case. I also believe Ross has much to offer with the bat, as his 100 for the Scottish Lions has shown."

Ross already has 96 SNCL wickets to his name during his time at Clydesdale and he admitted that he will be sad to leave the Glasgow club: "Obviously leaving Clydesdale will be hard as I've played there all my life and have lots of friends there, but I want the challenge of something new and having that added pressure on me to perform, which I feel improves my game."

As well as being an established international player, Ross is also a Level 2 coach and will be a welcome addition to the Carlton coaching team, working with our promising youngsters. Ross believes that a new challenge in Edinburgh is just what he needs:

"Playing and coaching at Carlton will be a fresh start for me. Hopefully if everything goes well and I have a good season for Carlton, I will be able to regain my place in the Scotland team."

Cedric English is confident that his two new recruits join a club in a healthy position both on and off the field:

"It's my firm belief that the way forward for Carlton CC, in order to secure our longevity as a Premier League Scottish club with good facilities for its members and a thriving junior section, is to promote itself as a viable option for Scottish cricketers who want to better their own game and play a part in the development of our young players. The decision not to go down the line of obtaining the services of overseas players could be deemed by many as a risky option, however the signing of Ross Lyons and Gordon Drummond is a major step in the right direction. Gordon offers us much with both bat and ball and will play an integral part in the side, while his highly regarded coaching skills will be of major benefit to our young up and coming stars."

"I am certainly looking forward to this coming season and even though we will not have some old faces the new ones will more than adequately fill any holes left. I wish both our new recruits and all the players across all the teams well for the coming season."

The 2009 Carlton playing kit and sportswear range is now available, via our new online suppliers, Provan Sports.

In addition to playing shirts, sleeveless tops and sweaters there is a range of other Carlton branded items to choose from.

All playing gear is in stock. T-shirts, hoodies, shorts, caps and senior polo shirts can be ordered now and will be available in May. Thereafter all stock items will normally be delivered within seven days once the club emblem has been embroidered onto your item(s).

Pre order now

If you place orders for playing kit on line by Sunday 22nd March, the kit will be delivered to the club free of charge, so saving you the postage costs. (Just enter your home address as normal and the kit will be delivered in one batch to the club for you to collect.)

Click here to see the full range and place your order on the Provan Sports Carlton web page.

The bad news was that Carlton failed in their bid to lift the Cricket Media Super Sixes crown on Friday. The good news was that the winners were 331/3% Carlton!

Bank of Scotland Corporate, skippered by Fraser Watts, were worthy winners, defeating Grange in the final, after seeing off Carlton earlier in the evening.

After Grange defeated Watsonians in the first semi-final, Carlton skipper Jamie Kerr won the toss and asked BOS, also featuring ex-Carlton left-arm spinner Alan MacLeod, to bat.

Despite a couple of wickets for new boy Preston Mommsen (2 for 24) Carlton found themselves chasing 153 to win and a half century for our other newcomer, Gordon Drummond, was not enough as Carlton could only total 101.

In the final, Fraser contributed 28 as his side won by 56 runs, to join Carlton as one of only two teams to win the trophy twice in a row.

After picking up the Cricket Media shield, Fraser resisted the temptation to score any cheap points against his semi-final opponents saying: “We were a little lucky that Carlton won the toss and decided to bowl first, as it’s much easier to bat first in these games. I'm glad that Carlton got to the semi's but also very pleased that we won the tournament again.  It was very satisfying especially as we had to beat some good sides to win the tournament. We had a game plan that we stuck to and executed well;  everyone contributed and did their job and that’s why we won.”

The really good news is that Fraser will return to the Carlton ranks in time for the first big match of the outdoor season, when Carlton take on Dunfermline in the Murgitroyd National Twenty:20 final at Grange Loan on April 18th.

Better indoor news for our Under 11s who won their third straight match in the Lothian Indoor Tournament on Sunday, defeating newcomers Murrayfield DAFS by 81 runs.

Carlton, captained by Oliver B, won the toss and elected to bat. Oliver F and Milo opened and contributed 26 runs in their 3 overs. Rory A & Hari R added 16 runs net (some nice straight bats but also over enthusiastic running resulting in a couple of runouts). Joseph and Calum made the biggest contribution with 28 runs (no wickets conceded) before Oliver B and Archie added a further 26 (no wickets) taking Carlton to an impressive 296 in their 12 overs.

The Murrayfield openers endured a difficult opening barrage from Rory (2 wickets), Oliver B (2 wickets) and Joseph (1 wicket), with a further runout leaving them on 189 after the first 3 overs. The second pairing lost a couple of early wickets to Hari before rallying and contributing 13 runs in their 3 overs. Archie employed his leg spin before Calum claimed 2 wickets and Oliver B claimed a further one, the score having returned to 199 at the end of nine overs. Murrayfield's final pair went out with a bang, attempting to run at every opportunity and despite a couple of runouts advanced the final score to 215.

As Carlton club vice captain Jamie Kerr formally welcomed Saltires star Gordon Drummond to his new role as Carlton Head Coach this week, there was further good news for the club as leading Edinburgh marketing and communications company Multiply confirmed that they are continuing their sponsorship of the club's junior section into a third year.

Jamie presents Gordon with his Carlton coaching top.

Welcoming the news, Club President Dave Carter underlined the importance of Multiply’s support to the club’s youngsters: "While the acquisition of Gordon is possibly the most important step yet in our ongoing plans to develop the stream of young cricketing talent we have at the club, much of the considerable work done over the last couple of years has only been possible as a result of the financial support we've had from our friends at Multiply.”

  

The extent of the work being done at Carlton can be seen in the fact that over 180 children under the age of 15 attended Carlton coaching sessions last year. The club are already reaping some of the benefits of these efforts as no fewer than 27 of their under 17s played competitive cricket for one of the Carlton senior sides during 2008.

  

“To hear that Multiply are continuing their support for yet another year is fantastic news,” said President Carter.” I'd like to record publically just how grateful we are to Multiply.

Multiply Director David Bradley-Bird was keen to underline his company's delight with progress at Carlton: "We became involved with the youth set-up at Carlton as it matched our willingness to become involved in community investment, focusing on encouraging youth, nurturing talent and supporting grass roots sports. I'm really pleased to see the progress that the club and its youngsters have been making and we're delighted to continue our sponsorship for another year."

Carlton Under 13s, who reached the Scottish Cup Final in 2008.

Carlton qualified for the semi-final of the Cricket Media Super Sixes tournament on Friday evening following a win in their last group match against SMRH.

That sets up an intriguing semi-final clash against the holders, Bank of Scotland Corporate, led by none other than Carlton and Saltires opening batsman, Fraser Watts.

Fraser, together with ex-Carlton left arm spinner Alan MacLeod, played a big part in the bank side's victory in 2008 and they have progressed to the semi-finals with little difficulty this year.

Carlton, by contrast, had a hiccup on Friday. They slumped to a heavy defeat in their first game against Edinburgh University before recovering their composure to defeat SMRH in their final group match and qualify for the finals night on Friday 6th March.

Grange and Watsonians will contest the first semi-final, before Jamie Kerr's men take to the floor at 7.30 pm. The final will be played on the same evening.

Results - Friday 27th February
Carlton 60 a o. Edin. Uni. 61 for 0
Carlton 132 for 3 SMRH 90 a.o

Staying indoors, there was a crushing win for our Under 11s in their latest Lothian Indoor League match against Watsonians last Sunday.

Watsonians batted first and after a blistering first over from Oliver B (bowling against his school mates obviously inspired him) Watsonians had reduced from the starting score of 200 to 181 (5 runs are deducted for every wicket). Thereafter, Carlton’s bowling was consistent, with good economy and the occasional wicket limiting Watsonians' score. It was the eighth over before Watsonians got back to 200. Carlton’s fielding was alert throughout with good encouragement from Hari P who was captaining for the day. Watsonians' final pair batted well and ran effectively to help the final score reach 218.

Carlton’s innings was opened by Oliver B and Hari P and, despite an early wicket, they advanced the score to 227 before handing over to Milo and Oliver F who protected their wickets throughout and added a further 26. Rory and Hari R added 16 overall in the face of some fine Watsonians' bowling. Dougal and Joseph brought the final score up to 280 as an excellent final over by Watsonians netted the batting team only 2 runs.

A comfortable victory for Carlton by 62 runs.

The Annual General Meeting of Carlton Cricket Club Limited takes place at Grange Loan on Thursday 26th February at 7.30pm. All members are welcome.

With the first competitive fixture of the 2009 cricket season less than 9 weeks away (the delayed 2008 Murgitroyd National Twenty20 Cup Final between Carlton and Dunfermline at Grange Loan on Saturday 18th April), the indoor season is hotting up for both juniors and seniors with club net practice also well under way.

Our under 13s played their second match in the Lothian Indoor league on Sunday, losing a thriller to old rivals Watsonians by just one run. Ultimately, an over aggressive batting approach, which saw Carlton lose 7 wickets in their 12 overs proved decisive. Best partnership was that of 29 from keeper Matthew Wells and young Rory Allardice. A sterling bowling and fielding display, with David Loudon and Fraser Allardice both taking two wickets in an over, saw Watsonians still needing 10 off the last over, a total that they just achieved.

On Friday 27th February our senior indoor side, led by keeper Jamie Kerr, play their final two group matches in the Cricket Media Indoor Sixes tournament.

With a 100% record so far, Jamie's side are keen to seal their place in the semi-finals although they'll have to do so without the batting star of the earlier matches, Rob Thornton, who is unavailable.

Grange and Watsonians have already booked semi-final places, while the Bank of Scotland Corporate team, featuring 'on-loan' Carlton stars past and present, Alan MacLeod and Fraser Watts, currently look favourites to fill the third semi-final slot.

Our senior side, and both junior squads, got their respective indoor seasons off to a winning start this week.

A typically hard-hitting 55 from a new slimline Rob Thornton (pictured left, before his intensive winter training regime) saw Carlton to 184 for 3 in their first match against SMRH, who replied with 136 for 4.

The second match saw Carlton stumble to 107 all out, but left-armer Tom Clarke picked up 3 for 7 as Edinburgh University could only muster 93 for 4 in reply.

Craig Everett and Chayank 'Cheeky' Gosain took the batting honours for our Under 13s in a close match against West Lothian, while Rory Simpson was the pick of the bowlers. Carlton Under 13s scored 286 to West Lothian's 269.

Our Under 11s meanwhile ran up an identical batting score in their opener against Penicuik, after getting off to a great start thanks to an excellent opening partnership between Keshav and Oliver B. In reply Penicuik were restricted to 266 with Hari R close to taking a hat-trick at one point.

Senior scores:

Carlton 184 for 3 (Rob Thornton 55*, Bryn Lockie 30, Cedric English 29); SMRH 136 for 4

Carlton 107 ( Cedric 30,  Rob 27*);  Edinburgh University 93 for 4 (Tom Clarke 3 for 7)

Carlton are delighted to announce the appointment of Gordon Drummond as their new Head Coach.

A Scottish international all-rounder, Gordon is a highly respected and experienced coach and will drive the continuing development of our talented young cricketers. Gordon will also be an extremely valuable and welcome addition to the first team, which will be once again be skippered this season by Cedric English.

Picture: Cricket Scotland

Welcoming Gordon to Carlton, club president Dave Carter said: "I'm delighted that someone of Gordon's stature has decided to join us, and I anticipate that he will have a big part to play in our long term plans for player development and our support for youth cricket in Scotland."

Gordon in bowling action against Carlton last year.

Gordon joins the club at a time when many years of hard work by dedicated volunteers, and investment of valuable club funds to improve junior facilities and coaching provision, has taken Carlton to an enviable position in youth development. No fewer than 27 Under 17s played for one of our senior teams during 2008 and, although player development remains our main priority, our Under 15s are reigning East League champions and our Under 13s reached the 2008 Scottish Cup Final.

Ultimately, the aim of Gordon and the club is to see many more youngsters follow in the footsteps of Fraser Watts who has progressed from the Carlton Under 11 side all the way through to the Scotland XI and only last year captained his country to victory in Friends Provident Trophy and ICC Intercontinental Cup matches.

The first tentative steps towards the new season take place on Sunday 8th February, when senior indoor nets begin.

The sessions will take place at Edinburgh Academy Sports Hall between 6pm and 8pm and will run for 8 weeks.

Full details of  junior sessions will be circulated to parents over the next few weeks.

In other news, all provisional senior league fixtures for 2009 have now been released by the East of Scotland Cricket Association.

First day fixtures see our 2s entertain Fauldhouse and our 3s travel to Murrayfield, while our 4th XI will take on their counterparts from Largo. See the Team pages for full details.

The new season may seem a long way away right now, but the 2009 SNCL fixtures have been announced and the East of Scotland Cricket Association has released the draws for the 2009 Masterton and President's Trophies.

Carlton have a tough start to the league season as they are due to visit last year's top two, Greenock and Grange, in the opening four fixtures.

Carlton will begin their defence of the Masterton Trophy with a trip to Linlithgow to face West Lothian, while our 2nd XI, who captured the President's Plate in 2008, will be looking to go one better in 2009 when they begin their President's Trophy campaign with a home tie against old rivals Glenrothes.

And the draw for the Scottish Cup 1st round has been made, sending Carlton across the city to Myreside to take on old rivals Watsonians on Sunday 21st June.

Carlton SNCL fixtures 2009

Full ESCA Draws

Murgitroyd Masterton Trophy 2009

Round 1 to be completed by May 29th

Stenhousemuir v SMRH
W. Lothian v Carlton

Grange v Heriot's
Holy Cross v Watsonian

Edinburgh v Drummond Trinity
Penicuik v MF-DAFS

Fauldhouse v RH Corstorphine
Marchmont v Edin. Accies
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Round 2 to be completed by June 12th
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Semi-finals to be completed by June 26th.
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Final - Thursday July 9th at Grange Loan

 

Presidents Trophy 2009

1st round by May 24th

Morton v Drummond Trinity
Musselburgh v Fauldhouse

Carlton v Glenrothes
Westquarter v Falkland

Livingston v RH Corstorphine
Watsonian v Freuchie

Heriot's v Preston Village
Eastern Academy v Stenhousemuir

BYE - Haddington
Edin. Accies v Penicuik

Kirk Brae v Holy Cross
Marchmont v Peebles Co.

Boroughmuir v Edinburgh
Dunfermline Wanderers v Kismet

Leith FAB v Grange
Stirling Co. v Broomhall
...............................
Round 2 to be completed by June 14th
...............................
Round 3 by July 5th
...............................
Semi-final by July 26th.
...............................
Final at The Tryst, Stenhousemuir on Sunday August 16th