It seems only yesterday that the young Ali Evans was a promising Carlton junior. At the end of a year that saw him turn out regularly for the international side, and and complete his first full season as a county pro, Ali looks back fondly on his early days and has a few inspirational messages for youngsters everywhere.

"A lot has changed since I first walked through the hallowed wooden gate on to Grange Loan 15 years ago. One thing that hasn’t, apart from that hill, is the great family atmosphere at Carlton. It is so encouraging to see the sheer volume of young talent not only coming through the junior section but now also flooding into all senior teams on a Saturday. With the incredible number of kids now coming through I am sure it’ll not be long until we have another member of Carlton south of the border playing county cricket.

Despite having just had the most memorable year of my cricketing life, some of my fondest memories are still in a Carlton shirt. Winning the league and countless Masterton Trophies with the senior team are great memories but one I will not forget is my first ever final. It was the under 15 Scottish Cup, which unfortunately we ended up losing. I have come to realise how rare it actually is to play in finals, and that any chance you get as a player, at any age, you have to enjoy them and make the most of them because they are great occasions and don’t come along that often. It is even sweeter of course, if you go on to win.

I was very fortunate to be part of a squad that tasted success this year, by winning a county championship and getting promoted. It is an incredible feeling to be involved in something like that, and was the outstanding highlight of an incredible year. Other memories like playing my first professional game against Northamptonshire and being part of the Scotland squad to beat Bangladesh are memories that will not easily be forgotten.

However, the other outstanding memory from season 2012 will be opening the bowling for Derbyshire against South Africa. Having the opportunity to test my skills against the best players in the world is something that not everyone is lucky enough to get the chance to do and was a tremendous experience.

Looking back on that under 15 final, I find that there is very little difference between then and now. To find the best in your game and to be the best player you can, you need to have real determination and drive, work hard and put in the time to improve. These are lessons that I learnt the hard way and I am still learning. The biggest lesson I have learnt from this last year is that, even at a professional level, the people who put in the most and train the hardest are the players who perform and play the best. 

So when you next walk through those Carlton gates and dream of playing for Scotland or a county, know that dreams can come true, but most of all enjoy your cricket whichever team you play for."

There’s a busy winter ahead for a number of Carlton youngsters.

Firstly, 16 year old spin twins Haris Aslam and Chayank ‘Cheeky’ Gosain (left) have been named in the 15-man Scotland Under 19 training squad for 2012/13. This a great achievement for the youngsters, who both made their 1st team debuts last season, as they join a very experienced squad containing a number of players who played in the last Under 19 World Cup in Australia in August.

There was also good news for 15 year old Ruari Macpherson, who has been selected for the Cricket Scotland Academy training programme.

What better way to prepare for a trip to the sunshine of Abu Dhabi than by walking across the Forth Road Bridge on a bitterly cold October's afternoon? Well, there was method in the madness of the Scottish Wildcats Development squad as they braved the elements as part of a major push to raise the funds they need to take part in the invitational Under 19 ARCH Trophy in Abu Dhabi in February.

Carlton youngsters Leigh Kasperek and Caitlin Heathcote were both wrapped up in as may cricket sweaters as they could find as they set off on the walk across the bridge with their team-mates - all decked in full cricket clobber.

Leigh, who will play the 'old-pro' role in the development squad (four over-age players are permitted) is an experienced international, while her Carlton team-mate Caitlin is just starting out on her international career. Caitlin joined us last season and made her debut for both the Carlton Women's side and for our 4th XI.

You can support the girls by donating funds via their fundraising site here.

Carlton's 149th year of cricket was celebrated at the club's annual dinner and awards evening, which was was held in the Grange Loan pavilion. Internationalists Preston Mommsen and Gordon Drummond (left) picked up the main 1st XI trophies, however it was the youngsters who dominated the remainder of the awards with pride of place going to teenager Mo Ahmed, who won the prestigious Player’s Player of the Year award.

Left armer Chayank Gosain won the new Young Player of the Year award, the trophy for best performance of the season went to Sean Olivier and Toby Bailey showed that there’s still life in an old wicket-keeper by winning the fielding trophy.  Lily Cartwright picked up the inaugural Women’s Bowler of the Year trophy, with the batting prize going to Olivia Rae.

Grant Newman stuck a blow for the more experienced cricketers within the club when he was the runaway winner of the 3rd XI batting trophy and evergreen Keith Murray took the same award for the Fours. However, the other individual awards for the 2s, 3s and 4s all went to teenagers, highlighting the depth of talent coming through the junior ranks.

There were also special presentations to Gordon Drummond and Fraser Watts to mark their achievements in winning 100 and 200 caps respectively for their country, while Carlton legend Cedric English (below) was presented with a gift to mark his remarkable achievements for the club over 14 years.

List of Prizewinners:

More photos

Carlton Head Coach Toby Bailey, who joined the club after a two year stint as national coach for Argentina, renewed some old acquaintances recently when he hosted a group of visitors from Buenos Aires. We'll let Toby take up the story ...

Bede’s Grammar School from Buenos Aires visited Grange Loan for a special introduction to cricket on a sunny Friday evening in mid September.

The School were on a European Tour stopping in Madrid, Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Durham and London. The objective of the tour was to play Rugby and Hockey matches, as well as The Choral Society performing at various venues on the trip. The final objective of the tour was to take part in cultural activities, so what a great excuse to introduce cricket to Bede’s Grammar!

There were eight girls and eight boys who took part in the clinic and a small group of Carlton Juniors who helped teach the basics to the group. The School learned the basic skills of batting and bowling as well as some players testing their skills on the bowling machine!!

Then it was time to play a game of continuous cricket between themselves. The South American flair was there for all to see and some of the fielding was outstanding.

The session was squeezed into an hour and a half as the sun went down. This was all done before the group went off directly to their next activity……the theatre!

I have been told that the session was one of the highlights of the trip and they have passed on their thanks to the Carlton Juniors who helped them learn some of the basics of the game.

Who knows………there may be a hard ball game next time!

The curtain was brought down on a damp but successful season, when a large number of parents and children attended the annual junior celebration evening.

Thanks to the organisational efforts of the parental dream team of Kirstin, Shona, Liz,  Alison and Anna, the event was held away from Grange Loan for the first time, with a star-studded panel of Fraser Watts, Toby Bailey, Gordon Drummond and Preston Mommsen taking to the stage to hand out the trophies.

In addition to the award of the junior trophies, our hard-working groundsman Alasdair McLeod was also recognised for his fantastic efforts during the ‘summer’ of 2012, when he went out of his way to ensure as many junior games as possible were also played at Grange Loan. Andy Macpherson and John Boyd were also embarrassed in equal measure as they received gifts on behalf of the parents.

Huge thanks are due to Kirstin and her team for organising such a successful evening and well done to all our prizewinners.

Photographs

List of Prizewinners:

Despite a thriving youth development programme that goes back many years, a junior Scottish Cup win has eluded Carlton since 1993 when a young man by the name of Fraser Watts guided the Carlton Under 13s to a Scottish Cup win. Indeed since 2007, a young Carlton side has contested the final of a youth Scottish Cup no fewer than seven times – and lost them all.

One of the benefits of finals day taking place so late in the season (due to multiple rain cancellations) was that Carlton could pick a side without the usual curse of school trips or holidays that have bedevilled cup teams in the past and they went into their semi-final at Stenhousemuir against a young Prestwick side in a reasonably confident frame of mind.

This confidence seemed to be well placed when they made full use of a bowler-friendly surface to skittle Prestwick for just 23. Calum opened the bowling and each time the batsmen attempted an attacking shot, the ball stopped on them and there was a Carlton fielder waiting to take a catch. The result was three wickets for Calum and catches for Adam (2) and Rory. With their top order gone, the Ayrshire youngsters had no answer to the spin duo of Haris and David who picked up 6 wickets in next to no time (2 to Haris, 4 to Mitch) and, with the help of a run out, the innings was all over with just 23 on the board. No disgrace to the Prestwick side, as none of the 44 youngsters taking part in the finals day are likely to have had to bat on such a challenging surface before.

Haris and Angus then knocked off the runs with the minimum of fuss to set up a final with Forfarshire, who had overcome Drumpellier in a thriller earlier in the day.  Photos

Another final – could it be 8th time lucky?

Skipper Ruari won the toss again and asked Forfarshire to bat and his team were soon celebrating when Greg produced a great yorker to dismiss Scott Cameron, who had scored a rapid half-century in his side’s semi-final earlier. A superb direct hit from Dougal (below) reduced Forfs to 12 for 2. A wicket for Calum and a couple from Haris had the score at 31 for 5 with just 5 overs to go, but a good fightback from the young Forfarshire lower order took them to 59 for 9 at the end, despite a wicket apiece for Rory and Olly and another couple of runouts.

A target of 60 in 20 overs could normally seem straightforward but nobody was under any illusions given the nature of the surface. And sure enough, Haris was heading back tot the pavilion at the end of a superb first over from Scotland U15 skipper Cameron. 1 for 1 became 11 for 3 after 5 overs, with Greg bowled and Ruari departing courtesy of his Scotland team-mate. Angus, however, was batting calmly and Dougal showed good resolve to see out Cameron’s remaining overs before the turning point of the innings came when Angus pounced on two rare short balls to hit two massive sixes – the second of which required a replacement ball.

Although Dougal went and Angus eventually fell for a fine 28, this Carlton side bat all the way down and a boundary from Olly eased the nerves of the watching parents before he was lbw with just 3 more needed. No problem for Rory, however, who stroked the winning boundary to see his side home with 4 wickets and a couple of overs to spare.

Photos from the final

Well done to the boys and coach Macpherson who thoroughly deserved their win, but hard luck to a talented Forfarshire side who look as if they will be a force to be reckoned with at this age group next year. Thanks are due to Stenhousemuir for agreeing to host the final, to Tim Hart and the umpires but, above all, to the volunteers from all four sides who worked so hard to get the matches played in difficult circumstances.

Although Carlton went into the final day of a wet and miserable season unable to finish higher than 3rd in the inaugural Eastern Premier League, they still managed to have the decisive say in the destination of the title as their defeat of leaders Grange presented the title to neighbours Watsonians.

There have been very few batting paradises in Scotland this summer and this match was no different. Indeed given the heavy rain throughout the preceding week it was something of a miracle that Grange Loan was playable, particularly as a sodden Myreside confined Watsonians to waiting to see how proceedings played out at Carlton.

Grange got off to a flyer with the bat before Omar Ahmad, delivering his first ball of the day from the pavilion end, found a ‘spot’ just short of a length that took Maiden’s glove and was caught by Preston at full stretch above his head. An important 54 run partnership between Flannigan and McCallum for the third wicket had the visitors in control before a ‘caught Aslam, bowled Gosain’ combination (total age 31) saw the back of the experienced McCallum. Flannigan hung around to hit 69 but Grange were unable to up the rate on the difficult wicket and ended on 167 for 8.

The Carlton innings got off to a similar start with Watts (31) and Herdman (20) taking their side to 56 for 0 before both fell to Flannigan, who was enjoying bowling from the pavilion end. When Drummo and Umair fell to Brock in the space of two balls the total looked a long way away, but a superb 68 run partnership between Preston (below) and Toby took Carlton to the brink of victory.

Toby and JK departed in quick succession but 15 year old Haris Aslam on debut looked the calmest man on the park as he kept Preston company before the Scotland man pulled Maiden up the hill for 2, to bring up a thoroughly deserved 50 and seal a 4 wicket win.

Scorecard

The Carlton season comes to an end this Saturday when they host league leaders Grange in the final league match of what has been a sodden 2012.

While Carlton’s own title hopes have disappeared with the last two weekend washouts, Grange find themselves at the top of the table after they managed to complete, and win, their home match at Heriots last week at the same time as both Carlton and Watsonians’ matches were washed out.

A win at Grange Loan then will seal the title for Grange but, with Carlton at near full strength, they can be sure they’ll have to play well if they are to win the league and return to Grange Loan next Saturday to represent the East in the national league play-off.

On Sunday, our Under 15s head to Stenhousemuir to take part in the oft-postponed Scottish Cup Finals day. Skipper Ruari Macpherson has a full strength squad at his disposal for the afternoon semi-final with Prestwick. The winners will then play either Forfarshire or Drumpellier in the final later in the day. Good luck to all the team.

For many people, the summer of 2012 will be remembered for the London Olympics. For the nation’s cricketers, however, there will only be one abiding memory of the summer – rain.

Having seen the club’s Scottish Cup hopes washed out in the cruellest fashion last weekend, it really should have come as no surprise that the weather had one final card to play as Carlton tried to keep their league championship hopes alive on Saturday.

Thanks to a great effort by the groundstaff, a 32 over match was ready to start at 2.25pm, despite a morning of constant rain. Skipper Watts won the toss and asked opponents Forfarshire to bat in a match that Carlton had to complete and win in order to stay in contention for the final week of the season.

The bowlers rewarded their skippers’ faith, dismissing the visitors for just 80 in the 31st over, with Saltires Mommsen (4 for 12) and Drummond (3 for 4) the pick of the bunch.

As tea was taken the skies began to darken dramatically and JK was promoted to open in an effort to hit quick runs before the rain arrived. Jamie responded in spectacular style, smashing 39 runs from 31 balls despite the desperately gloomy conditions. The rain threatened once or twice but seemed to have come to nothing and with news that league leaders Watsonians had mustered only 103 for 8 from their 23 overs against Arbroath at Myreside, the league title looked to be a realistic proposition.

However, with the score at 53 for no wicket in the 8th over, and just 27 more runs needed, the rain came with a sudden finality that left the umpires with no alternative but to take the players off, never to return. By way of irony, some wag advised that the Duckworth/Lewis par score at the time was just 13. Of course, D/L doesn’t come into play in the league until 20 overs of the second innings have been completed so Carlton’s hopes of winning the new Eastern Premier League were swept away in the rainstorm.

There were to be no happy endings for our 2nd and 3rd XIs at the weekend. Once news came through to the Twos match at Marchmont that ESCA Division One leaders Glenrothes’ match at Largo had been abandoned there was nothing to play for, although both sides at Cavalry Park decided to play through the rain to get the final match of the season finished. The Twos eventually lost by 5 wickets despite a fine unbeaten 59 from Charles Legget.

And the Threes chances of finishing in the second promotion slot in ESCA Division Three were dashed when second placed West Lothian 2s match was abandoned on Saturday. They did, however, seal third place, finishing just 0.25% behind West Lothian, with a comprehensive win over Kirk Brae. Ali Shah hit 91, supported by  Grant Newman with 41 and Steven Elder with 33*, to help his side to 242 for 4, before the visitors were dismissed for 161.

And Saturday’s rain meant that the 4th XI didn’t even get the chance to play for one last time in 2012 as their match on Sunday at Edinburgh South was washed out, giving skipper Bob Irvine an opportunity to write a match report on a game that didn’t take place or was abandoned for the 9th time in the season. The skipper would like us to point out that the Fours finished the season in “a comfortable mid-table position” in 6th place, only 0.23% off 5th position. Any talk of relegation trouble was clearly widely exaggerated ...

Having complained about the weather, we must record that, at last, the junior social was able to take place on Friday evening. Having suffered two previous washouts it was great to see a fine turnout of parents to close the junior season in style. They were all entertained royally by the two Carlton U13 sides, the Cougars and the Cobras, who played out their much anticipated local derby. In the end it was the contributions of two Under 11s who swung the game in the favour of the Cobras – young Harry Simpson bowling the ball of the season to clean up the Cougars senior pro’ Angus Hinton, before Ruaridh Main picked the perfect time to hit his maiden unbeaten 30.

On Sunday, the sun was back out again and the girls’ kwik cricket team headed to Perth to take part in the national girls’ event, while the Under 9s and Under 10s took part in the 10-team Carlton kwik cricket event expertly hosted by kwik cricket supremo Brian Gill and supported by an ever willing band of parents who administered, coached, made teas & coffes and distributed a dazzling  array of home baked cakes. Many thanks to all for making the day go so well.

Brian then had a quick change and joined 10 other parents for the inagural fixture of the Carlton Dads' XI. A promising debut from all as they narrowly lost a T20 fixture at the Meadows.

The season approaches its climax this weekend with all four men’s senior sides desperate to beat the rain as each faces a crucial encounter.

1st XI

At Grange Loan, Carlton host Forfarshire in a match that they must win to keep their Premier League title hopes alive. The game starts at noon.

What’s needed: To win the league, Carlton must play and win both their remaining matches and hope that Watsonians lose one match without collecting any bonus points.

2nd XI

The East League ends this weekend. In East Division One, the Carlton 2nd XI have a chance to win the league title for the first time ever, however they trail leaders Glenrothes by 2.5%. Carlton travel round Arthur’s Seat to play Marchmont while Glenrothes stay in Fife as they face Largo away.

What’s needed: For Carlton 2s to win the league, Glenrothes must play and lose. If Carlton play they must win.

3rd XI

In East Division Three, the Carlton 3rd XI have a chance of finishing in the second promotion spot but they trail West Lothian 2s by just over 2 percent despite their win at Boghall last week. Carlton host Kirk Brae at Grange Loan on Sunday, while West Lothian entertain Murrayfield DAFS 2s at Boghall the previous day.

What’s needed: For Carlton 3s to finish second, West Lothian 2s must play and lose. If Carlton play they must win.

4th XI

In East Division Eight, the Carlton 4s are on the fringes of the relegation struggle. *

What’s needed: Results elsewhere may save the 4s but they will want to win their match on Sunday away at Edinburgh South 3s to be certain of safety.

*The website has received an email of complaint from a reader in relation to this article. We publish it in full below.

Sir  

The unnecessarily sensationalist journalism displayed in recent editions of your organ about the relegation struggle facing the All Star 4th XI must cease.   

It is not known how many sides will be relegated from this division – there is speculation around any number between 0 and 3.  Sources aver that Carlton’s infant laden side can now finish no worse than 7th in their highly competitive division.  There remains the possibility that they could finish 5th.  

It is undoubtedly to the benefit of the All Stars that Largo have conceded today’s fixture to the noisy Tranent.  Information about their reasons for so doing is scarce – difficulties in transportation are alleged.  Another informed source suggests that scurrilous reports in your organ about the parsimony of provender provided by Tranent at tea time may also have been influential, since Largo operate to a similarly high standard in that important part of the game as Carlton.  

I expect a full apology in your organ for the unnecessary distress caused to all members of the 4th XI and their families in suggesting that their status was in peril.  Such sensationalism may sell newspapers but if that is your objective I suggest you publish photos of the First Team’s recent billiards evening.  

Yours faithfully  

A reader

Carlton’s failure to win the Scottish Cup since the first competition almost 50 years ago is widely known. And every year it seems that the team finds new ways of failing.

Last season saw Carlton need only one run off the last 5 deliveries to defeat Ayr in their quarter final tie only to lose. This time out they fell at the semi-final stage, undone by a combination of a fighting display by Heriot’s, untimely torrential rain and the smallprint of the Duckworth/Lewis calculations. Chasing a Heriot’s total of 198, with three wickets apiece for Michael Herdman and young Chayank Gosain, Carlton were sitting on 65 for 2 part way through the 21st over when the rain became so heavy that the umpires were forced to take the players off.

A detailed check of the D/L figures showed that the sides were actually tied. So the match was decided on the D/L position at the end of the preceding over. Sadly, Carlton were behind at this point and it was Heriot’s who go through to play in the final.

Carlton were also bedivelled by the rain on Saturday when their EPL clash with Aberdeenshire was washed out de to a waterlogged outfield. This could prove crucial as the two sides ahead of Carlton in the table – Grange and Watsonians – both lost on Saturday. Carlton can still win the title – but only if the rain stays away and they can win both their remaining matches while Watsonians slip up again.

With only one week to go in the East of Scotland leagues, Carlton 2s kept their Division One title hopes alive with a crushing win over Dunfermline.

Youngsters Kyle Macpherson (77, left) and Matt Wells (51), were supported by skipper Nathan Pietsch (33), as the Twos hit 226 before dismissing the visitors for just 87. Teenagers Mo Ahmed (4 for 17), Gair Currie (3 for 27) and Haris Aslam (2 for 10) took the bowling honours.

League leaders Glenrothes were washed out once again with their home ground saturated so it all depends on next week. Carlton must win at Marchmont and hope that Glenrothes slip up at bottom placed Largo.

Grant Newman led from the front in Division Three as the Carlton Threes came away with a potentially vital win at second placed West Lothian 2s. Under 15s Greg Murdoch and Rory Allardice both picked up three wickets but a late revival saw the home side reach 154. Regular wickets made things tough for Carlton but Grant with 37 and the evergreen (and ever injured) Johnny Everett with an unbeaten 40 saw their side to a 3 wicket win. The Threes are still in with a chance of sealing the second promotion spot but will have to beat fellow challengers Kirk Brae at Grange Loan next Sunday and hope West Lothian slip up the day before.

Bob Irvine’s Fours had a chance to finally put any Division Eight relegation worries behind them when they entertained SMRH 3s on Sunday. And at the halfway stage, everything in Bob’s garden was rosy. Leigh Kasperek, fresh from being MVP in the World T20 qualifying tournament in Ireland in midweek, hit 68, Kevin Whitaker 58 and Neil Kirk 40 to propel Carlton to 228 for 6 off their 40 overs. The visitors were on 8 for 1 off 6 overs when the rain arrived to wash the game out. Lucky white heather.

With the business end of the season approaching, it was a busy weekend for all 5 Carlton senior sides and one that delivered the second trophy of the season.

On Saturday Carlton defeated Eastern Premier League leaders Watsonians, despite a sticky start which saw them fall to 78 for 6. The turning point came when Jean Symes dropped Preston Mommsen (left) on the boundary – a costly mistake as, with support from Toby Bailey and Jamie Kerr, Preston went on to hit an unbeaten 84 and take Carlton to a defendable 207 for 9. After Michael Herdman dismissed pro Symes with a beauty, the visitors hopes rested on the in-form Ewan Chalmers, but Umair Mohammed removed Chalmers to spark a dramatic collapse that saw Watsonians fall from 90 for 3 to 95 for 7. Umy finished with figures of 4 for 31 as Carlton won by 41 runs.

The Twos bounced back with a tense win at Fettes against rivals Grange 2s. Defending just 166, the big breakthrough came when Nathan Pietsch dismissed ex Warwickshire skipper Mike Powell. This left the home side needing 54 with just two wickets left but a fine low order performance saw them needing just 4 off the last over with the last pair at the crease. Young Gair Currie then took a stunning one handed catch off the bowling of skipper Pietsch to seal a 3 run win.

The Threes earned their sixth 2012 league victory (out of 8) when they overcame Broomhall at Peffermill. Grant Newman led the way with 54 and an unbeaten 36 from Steven Elder helped Carlton to 153 for 6 off their 50 overs. Stevie then picked up 3 wickets n the Broomhall reply but was outshone by Carlton money-man Brad McKay who returned the remarkable figures of 4 for 3 off 7.2 overs as his side won by 18 runs.

No such luck for the Fours, however, as they fell once again to 2nd placed Tranent in their ESCA Diviison 8 clash. Kevin Whitaker (29) and Neil Kirk (46) helped the young side post a respectable 126 for 7 but the big hitting Mark Anderson was too much for the Carlton bowling attack despite 3 for 32 from the not-quite-so-young Bob Irvine.

On Sunday, the Under 11s followed up their Friday evening win over Heriots with a cup semi-final win at Watsonians. Good to see the youngsters getting some good cricket in after they have suffered from losing so many matches to the weather.

Also on Sunday, the Carlton Women made their first ever appearance at Grange Loan in their Scottish League clash with George Watson’s. Bright young talent Kathryn Bryce hit 50 as the visitors posted 138 for 6 in their 25 overs. Carlton put up a great fight but, despite 41 from Olivia Rae they fell 33 runs short. Nevertheless, a great day for the new team.

Further west, Carlton headed into their Murgitroyd T20 semi-final tie at Poloc looking to become national T20 champions for the fourth time in 5 years. They were rocked by a flying start from Arbroath though as they charged to 75 for 1 off the first 6 overs. Luckily, the trio of spinners – Umair, Preston and Cheeky – were employed by the skipper to halt the run-fest and Carlton would have been happy with the final tally of 162 for 5. The Carlton reply was dogged by the regular fall of wickets and, for the second day in succession, the team was indebted to the anchor role played by Preston Mommsen (36*) who, supported by a great cameo from JK (35), saw Carlton to a nailbiting 3 wicket win in the final over.

The final saw Carlton pitted against East Kilbride, who included ex-Carlton man Ross Lyons in their side. Again, wickets fell rather too regularly, particularly to Ross, who showed he is as good as ever, dismissing Herdy (for a rapid and, ultimately match winning, 44), Umair and JK in a great spell of 3 for 25.  However, a fine cameo innings from Stevie Gilmour, which included 3 big sixes, dragged Carlton to 152 for 8. Ross got the East Kilbride reply off to an aggressive start and after 4 overs the score stood at 31 without loss. However, the introduction of the experienced Drummo in the next over swung the game as he dismissed both openers. Carlton then bowled tightly, with the most economical bowler being 16 year old Chayank Gosain, who finished with figures of 1 for 14 off his three overs. A win in the end by 19 runs and the Murgitroyd Trophy is back at Grange Loan.

A comprehensive win at Stoneywood Dyce lifted Carlton clear of the Eastern Premier League relegation zone and lifted them to the heady heights of 3rd place.

Another fine all-round display from Michael Herdman was at the core of the Carlton win. He took 3 for 21, while off-spinner Umar Mohammed also picked up 3 wickets, as the home side were dismissed for just 138. Despite the early loss of skipper Fraser Watts, Herdy (61*) and Preston Mommsen (52*) saw Carlton to an ultimately comfortable 9 wicket win.

Unfortunately the 2nd XI saw their good run come to an end with a disappointing home defeat to Largo. Three wickets for Nick Martin saw Largo dismissed for 174, however a disastrous start to the reply, which saw Nick and Ali Shah dismissed in the first over, set Carlton back and, despite a fine 46 from young Fraser Allardice, they subsided to 108 all out.

Better luck for a much changed Threes on Saturday as they defeated Division 3 basement side RH Corstorphine 2s. Alex Fedenczuk hit his 2nd 50 in recent weeks as his side posted 154 all out. Any thoughts of a much needed win for the home side were destroyed by young spinner Rory Allardice (left), who decimated the middle order with a spell of  4 for 18. Rory's under 15 team mates Greg Murdoch and Dougal Main chipped in with two cheap wickets apiece as RHC were bundled out for just 74.

Once again there was no cricket for the Fours as their match fell foul of the midweek heavy rain.

And sadly the rain returned on Sunday to wash out the much anticipated Scottish Cup semi final tie with Heriots. The game will now take place at Goldenacre on Sunday 19th August.

It should have come as no surprise to any of us that cricket in the last weekend of July turned out to be heavily influenced by the weather.

Carlton, struggling at the wrong end of the Eastern Premier League, travelled to Arbroath on Saturday for a match that both sides desperately wanted to win. Although last Sunday’s bowling heroes Sean Olivier and Michael Herdman (left) both picked up three wickets, the home side was allowed to post a challenging 233. After the early loss of Stevie Gilmour, skipper Fraser Watts and 20 year old Aussie Herdy had to battle the Arbroath bowlers and keep one eye on the Duckworth/Lewis calculations as the rain closed in. In the end, the match drew to a close after 26 overs of the Carlton reply.  At this stage, Fraser (54*) and Herdy (40*) were still at the crease with Carlton’s 117 for 1 putting them just seven runs ahead of the D/L target. Relief all round.

Next weekend will be hugely important. Saturday sees the side head to Stoneywood-Dyce on league business before they face arguably their biggest match of the season on Sunday, when they host Heriots in the Scottish Cup Semi-Final.

On Saturday at Grange Loan, the Twos faced their counterparts from Watsonians and would have been hopeful of maintaining their winning form after an early breakthrough from Mo Ahmed had the visitors at 14 for 1. However, a strong batting performance took Watsonians to 241 all out despite four wickets for Haris Aslam. An early wicket in the Carlton reply saw the score on 12 for 1 before the rain arrived to end the match.

The rain also had the final say for the Fours at Dalgety Bay, when the match was finally abandoned with Bob Irvine’s side on a respectable 99 for 4.

On Sunday the rain was beaten – but only just – as the Threes picked up maximum points after a close match with Drummond Trinity. The Tom Barrett – Basil Letts combination seemed to set Carlton on the way to a big total before a dramatic collapse left Carlton on a disappointing 144 all out. However, the Carlton attack stuck to their task between showers and dismissed the visitors for 119.

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With so many games lost to rain this season, the league tables are tighter than ever and all four senior sides go into their weekend games with plenty to play for.

Last Saturday’s home loss to Heriot’s has left Carlton with only one league win under their belts in the Eastern Premier League and they head north to Arbroath on Saturday for a clash that both teams will be desperate to win. Charles Legget (left) retains his place in the side after making a welcome return in the Scottish Cup quarter final win at Clydesdale on Sunday.

The Twos had one of their finest wins in recent seasons last week when they trounced Holy Cross on their own patch to move to second spot in the East League Division One table. They’ll be looking to continue winning ways against Watsonian 2s at Grange Loan on Saturday in a match that starts at 1pm.

Fours skipper Bob Irvine was relieved to lead his side to a long overdue win at Grange Loan last Sunday but they still sit in the wrong half of the table. They will have a tough task on Saturday as they visit Dalgety Bay, a side who trounced the Fours at Grange Loan earlier in the season by 56 runs.

On Sunday, Grant Newman will lead his side into their clash at Grange Loan with Drummond Trinity (1pm start) in good heart following his side’s good win away to Grange last week. The Threes are sitting in the top half of the table but another win could help put pressure on the teams above them and could propel the Three into the fringes of the promotion race.

It was a weekend that had everything – highs and lows, ups and downs, cup-final wins and last-over defeats.

It started on Friday evening with the Masterton Trophy Final at Grange Loan between Carlton and Watsonians. Carlton were aiming to lift the trophy for the sixth time in seven years and did well to post a total of 137 for 6, anchored by 41 from Preston Mommsen, on an evening when none of the batsman found timing easy. The Watsonians’ reply struggled from the outset in the face of a hugely disciplined effort from the Carlton fielders and the trophy was retained by the comfortable margin of 41 runs.

Carlton now go through to the Murgitroyd National T20 finals, where they will defend their Scottish T20 title on Sunday 12th August at Poloc CC, Glasgow..

The highs of Friday were followed by a low on Saturday, as Carlton lost at home to Heriots off the penultimate ball of their Eastern Premier League match. A patchy batting performance was rescued by a vital 83 run 6th wicket partnership between Toby Bailey and Jamie Kerr that at least took Carlton to a respectable total of 192. At the halfway stage of the reply, Heriot’s needed only 91 runs with 8 wickets in hand but they almost threw it away as a succession of batsmen gave their wicket away. In the end, the Goldenacre side were indebted to Scotland Under 19 batsman Pete Ross who kept his head while all around were losing theirs and cut the winning boundary up the hill to end on 37 not out.

Much better news elsewhere on Saturday though. Our 2nd XI posted a comprehensive win at Holy Cross – usually a very tough location for any young side. 16 year old Kyle Macpherson (42) and 15 year old brother Ruari (34) set the tone for the day with a vital second wicket partnership, before relative ‘veteran’ Ross Burns with 56, and another 16 year old, Matt Wells with 40, took the Twos to 226 for 7. Given the recent wet weather that sounded like a tough target for the home side and so it proved, with teenager Mo Ahmed, Scotland Under 15 spinner Haris Aslam and Charles Legget all taking 3 wickets as Carlton won by 118 runs.

There was also a fine win for the Threes as they won comfortably against Grange 3s at Fettes. Tom Barrett (36) and Rajan Bhopal (51) set the innings on its way before Basil Letts, on debut, struck a fine 74. Carlton weren’t finished there, though, and skipper Grant Newman and young Rory Allardice put on 67 runs in the last 8 overs to take the total to 267 for 5. The Grange reply was based around a fine innings from youngster Matthew Angelini, who sadly was stumped just 5 runs short of his century as Grange ended 52 runs short, with Rajan Bhopal, Gavin Rittoo and Dougal Main picking up 2 wickets apiece.

Sunday saw the 1st XI travel to Glasgow to take on Clydesdale in the Scottish Cup Quarter Final in what turned out to be a remarkable match. Promoted to opening the bowling, Sean Olivier returned figures of 7 for 30 as Clydesdale were skittled for just 56. Any thoughts of an easy win were soon dismissed as Michael Herdman fell lbw off the first ball of the Carlton reply. Thankfully Fraser Watts stood firm while five more wickets fell at the other end before Charles Legget smashed 13 off 11 balls to see Carlton home.

While Saturday might have been a good day for the teenagers of Carlton, Sunday proved to be a lowpoint as the Under 18s fell short in their Scottish Cup match at Kelso by three runs. Disappointing for all involved but another valuable lesson for the youngsters as they continue their cricket education.

Grange Loan saw two matches on Sunday. In the morning the Under 11s saw off the challenge of Penicuik in their cup tie before the Fours had a comfortable win over Largo 3s in the afternoon. For possibly the first time, Carlton fielded two females in the one senior side, with a debut for Caitlin Heathcote. Leigh Kasperek took the bowling honours with four wickets before Alex Fedenczuk sealed the win, and brought up his 50, with a crashing cut up the hill in front of an appreciative watching 1st XI.

After five weeks of seemingly endless rain, Grange Loan finally dried out enough to let the MastertonTrophy semi-final tie between Carlton and Grange go ahead. With the sun coming out, it felt like summer and the Carlton batsmen responded well by posting a healthy 162 for 6 in their 20 overs, thanks in the main to 57 from Fraser Watts and a big-hitting 43 from Gordon Drummond. As long as Neil McCallum was at the crease Grange looked like favourites, but once he pulled Rob Thornton to Umair Mohammed on 83 the game swung in Carlton's favour with Grange eventually falling 9 runs short.

Carlton will now play Watsonians in the final, due to be played on Friday 20th July at Grange Loan.

There was also some long overdue cricket for a Carlton XI led by Bob Irvine the previous day when they defeated Largo 4s in a hastily arranged friendly in Fife. Ex Meigle man Neil Kirk top scored with an unbeaten 76, before Leigh Kasperek decimated the Largo top order, bowling six overs, five maidens and returning figures of 4 for 2.

Overseas visitors, usually those living in consistent climates, are often heard to ask why the British always want to talk about the weather. In cricket circles this year, the most commonly used phrase has been “Surely, it can’t get any worse.” Without fail, the following weekend proves that it can, indeed, get worse.

However, as the fourth consecutive lost Saturday dawned, it became clear that the weather had managed to achieve previously unattained levels of wetness. Club stalwart Brian Forrester received a call from a concerned neighbour to report that the club marquee, in regular use as a wet weather haven during Toby Bailey’s cricket camps, was currently residing on the pavilion roof.

The Cricket Camp marquee put to good use... before it ended up on the pavilion roof!

Once Brian, with the help of Toby, had retrieved the remnants of the marquee he took a couple of photos that showed the state of the ground.

However we escaped lightly in comparison to Grange CC, whose home ground has suffered even worse flooding as a result of its proximity to the Water of Leith.

Next fixture scheduled for Grange Loan is the Masterton Trophy Semi-Final against Grange on Thursday evening.

A sunny Saturday was just what was needed after the previous two weeks of washouts. The Twos had been hard at work mopping up the surface water the previous evening while Alasdair had taken the opportunity of the break in the weather to get the outfield cut.

The Carlton Primary School team were the beneficiaries of all this hard work, not to mention the timely appearance of sunshine and blue skies, as they met for the early morning clash against their Parents in their traditional end-of season fixture. As always, this was a keenly fought affair with the youngsters just edging out their elders and not-quite-betters in a typically frenetic last ball thriller.

And so to the afternoon’s games. Ten minutes till the start time and the Twos were raring to go – toss won and Murrayfield DAFS ready to bat on what seemed like a perfect afternoon for cricket. And then it happened.

The black clouds appeared as if from nowhere and a torrential downpour hit Grange Loan. Within fifteen minutes all of the previous 24 hours hard work was undone. There were some optimistic noises about a late start and then the second shower arrived. With the water table as high as it can ever have been there was just nowhere for the rain to go. Game abandoned without a ball being bowled.

It was the same story at Falkland where the Ones had travelled for their Scottish Cup tie in the hope of finally playing some cricket. Game abandoned without a ball being bowled.

The 3rd XI match at Roseburn had been called off the previous day. So, for the third Saturday afternoon in a row there was no senior cricket on a Saturday afternoon.

Any hopes of cricket on Sunday were wiped out by further overnight rain as the 4s match at Grange Loan was called off, to follow the Twos President’s Trophy match against Kismet. And there was one final indignity to come as Kismet won the flip of a coin to send the Carlton 2nd XI out of the tournament.

It can only get better, Can’t it?

Opener Kyle Macpherson, keeper Matt Wells and spinners Haris Aslam and Chayank Gosain (left) have all been named in the Scotland Under 17 side to take on Durham Academy next week.

This is good news not just for the club but also for Edinburgh City Council, as all four Carlton youngsters, plus Scotland Under 15 skipper Ruari Macpherson, attend Gordon Drummond’s Edinburgh Schools Cricket Academy.

Everybody at the club wishes Kyle, Matt, Haris and Cheeky all the best for the match, which will be played at Goldenacre on Monday and Tuesday 2nd and 3rd July.

The cricket season hit the halfway stage on Saturday in typical style for 2012 – another washout.

With the league going into a Scottish Cup induced hibernation for the next three weeks, Carlton have played just three league matches thanks to the repeating weather pattern that has been assaulting the British Isles this summer.

In fact, all four of Saturday’s senior matches were called off before a long awaited break in the weather allowed the Twos to take to the field at Grange Loan on Sunday for their East League Division One match with the Eastern Knights Under18 side.

A good start from the visiting youngsters had them on 77 for 3 at the halfway stage before Carlton’s u15 leg spinner Haris Aslam (left) turned the game dramatically in Carlton’s favour with a burst of 5 for 17. Stand-in keeper Ruari Macpherson contributed two smart stumpings off his Scotland Under 15 team-mate.

Chasing just 125 for victory, the all-Under 18 Carlton top five saw their side home with plenty to spare. Ali Shah and Fraser Allardice got things off to a good start and at drinks the home side were well placed on 84 for the loss of Ali and skipper Matt Wells. Fraser fell shortly afterwards for a fine 41, before youngsters Haris (19*) and Ruari (18*) saw Carlton home for their 5th league win of the season.

Sunday’s improvement in the weather also allowed the Under 10 kwik cricket squad to get back into action and they notched up another couple of wins at the West Lothian festival.

With the sunshine extending into Monday both of our Under 13 sides made the most of an opportunity to play some cricket. The Carlton Cougars defeated SMRH by 47 runs, while the Carlton Cobras saw off Heriot's by 59 runs.

Please clear a space in your diary for Fantasy Bob's Quiz Night.

But be assured that the quiz will not feature all that fancy stuff about art and music that FB rabbits on about all the time, instead it will be pitched at the family level.  There may even be questions about cricket and pop music. 

Teams from all sections of the club are invited to participate.

There will be an attractive prize for the winning team.

Team entry will be £10.  In addition pizza will be available during the evening at the additional charge of £5 per person.

To enter a team please let FB know by 30 June by e-mail to bob@irvinehess.fsnet.co.uk

At tea on Saturday, Carlton were staring down the barrel of a third straight league defeat after they were dismissed for just 138 against Aberdeenshire against Grange Loan. There was no shortage of determination in the Carlton camp though and a fired-up skipper and coach got the best out of the Carlton seam attack as a devastating spell from Omar Ahmad bundled the Dons out for just 64 to seal a dramatic win.

Saturday also saw another fine win as a very young Carlton 2nd XI headed north to Dunfermline and came back with a 12 run victory. Teenage skipper Mo Ahmed was indebted to the Under 15 batting combination of Ruari Macpherson (40) and Haris Aslam (30) as the visitors posted 162, before relative veteran Tom Clarke bowled the 2s to victory, taking 4 for 18.

Earlier in the day the Primary School team’s match at SMRH was poised perfectly before rain called a premature halt with just a couple of overs to go.

Sunday saw the Carlton women’s team make their bow against an experienced Stirling outfit at Peffermill. Becca Oliver had the honour of taking the first ever wicket for the new side but the strong Stirling batting lineup proved a stern test for the fledgling Carlton side, racking up 175 for 5 in their 25 overs. A brave effort from Carlton in reply, with Louie Gardner ending undefeated on 27 as Carlton scored 78 for 5.

Over at Grange Loan, the Threes tasted defeat against West Lothian 2s. Fielding what was probably the most experienced 3rd XI top order for many a year, skipper Grant Newman was entitled to be bitterly disappointed with a slump that saw his side fall to 137 all out, with only Fergus Whatley with 28, showing the necessary application. Young spinners David Mitchell and Rory Allardice gave the home side a chance with three wickets between them, before the visitors eased home by 4 wickets.

And there was another defeat on Sunday as the Fours conceded 197 to SMRH 4s at Inverleith. Despite 40s from the experienced Kevin Whitaker and Mike Kennedy – and a hugely encouraging 36 not out from young Calum Everett – the Fours closed well short on 158 for 5.

On a weekend when the newly formed Carlton women’s side will play their first game, the men’s 1st XI are desperate to bounce back following their two opening league defeats.

On Sunday at Peffermill, the women take on Stirling in their opening Scottish league encounter. Player/manager Helen Blair can’t wait for the match to come round:

“This is a momentous day for Carlton CC”, she said. “We formed the team in January with the encouragement of Cricket Scotland, who are keen to increase participation of women playing cricket in Scotland as well as providing more competitive cricket for teams in the National League.

The team boasts a depth of players of all ages and abilities who are playing for the first time together competitively. I’ve every faith that we will provide tough opposition to the 6 other established teams in the league. Players like myself, Olivia Rae (left) and Rebecca Oliver have all been part of the Scottish International set up and we have experienced University players such as Jenny Nobes and Lily Cartwright who have represented the Scottish University side this year. Perhaps what is most exciting for the team is the talent unearthed in the winter months; Louie Gardner, Sonia Mullineux and Amelia Beattie have all shown great promise for their first competitive game for Carlton.”

At Grange Loan on Saturday Carlton are delighted to welcome back Preston Mommsen (left) for the visit of Aberdeenshire, in a match that will start at 12 noon. Skipper Fraser Watts will be hoping Preston’s return will have a positive impact on a batting line-up that underperformed at Myreside last week.

Also on Saturday, the Twos head north to Dunfermline to take on the Knights’ 1st XI in what is sure to be a tough test for a young Carlton side, without skipper Nathan Pietsch and vice-captain Matt Wells, who are both on holiday.

The Threes and Fours play on Sunday. The 3rd XI have been playing with confidence lately and they will be hoping to continue their good run at Grange Loan against West Lothian 2s. Meanwhile, the Fours are delighted to welcome back Shaun ‘Barnacle’ Barrett for the trip to SMRH. Hopefully the Barnacle will shore up the top order and give the bowlers something to bowl at following last week’s disappointment against Tranent.

If disappointment is a big part of cricket there was plenty of it on hand for Carlton at the weekend.

Looking to bounce back after their home loss against Stoneywood-Dyce,  Fraser Watts’ men made the short journey to Myreside full of optimism only to return home with their tails between their legs following a three wicket loss in a low-scoring encounter.

A better day at Grange Loan though as the battle of the Carlton and Grange 2nd XIs resulted in a big win for Carlton. Teenagers Ali Shah with 113 and Mo Ahmed with 4 for 18 were the star performers.

Meanwhile over in Fife, the Threes picked up maximum points following a thrilling win over old rivals Broomhall. Skipper Grant Newman and opener Ani Majumdar were in the runs as Carlton managed to post 191 in their 50 overs. The game seemed to be going the home side’s way before Shaz Gulzar delivered three wickets in an over to turn the match on its head.

On Sunday, the Fours had a bit of a batting horror show at Grange Loan against Tranent, with only the dependable Kevin Whitaker with 39 able to make any headway. Doubles for the young and old combination of Sam Marchbank and Dave Carter at least made the visitors fight for their 5 wicket win.

In Perth on Sunday it was a case of same old story for Carlton under 18s in the Scottish Cup Finals day held over from 2011. They trounced Clydesdale in the first semi-final, dismissing the Glasgow side for just 34 with Gavin Rittoo taking 4 for 10. After Ali Shah and Kyle Macpherson knocked the runs off in just 4 overs, the boys had to wait around for most of the day until they got their chance to play Huntly in the final after their rain delayed semi-final win over Grange.

Sadly, just as in 2010, the Carlton bowlers struggled to find their rhythm in the final, allowing Huntly to rack up 149, although skipper Fergus Whatley and Fraser Allardice picked up a couple of wickets apiece. The Carlton reply was handicapped by the loss of Kyle Macpherson through injury, but a good partnership between Fraser and Matt Wells kept the boys in the hunt. Even as the run rate rocketed to well above 10 an over the heads didn’t go down and Carlton finished agonisingly close, eventually losing by just 5 runs.

On Friday evening the girl’s hardball squad notched up their first ever win after an enjoyable match with Watsonians. Also on Friday the Under 11s ‘rested’ senior pros Ruairidh and Murray but still had a comfortable win at SMRH. And on Saturday morning, a young Primary School team defeated Heriots with something to spare.

On Sunday the Under 10s headed to Haddington to take part in the hosts' kwik cricket event and returned victorious with four wins out of four.

It’s a local derby for Carlton on Saturday as they make the short journey to Myreside to take on a Watsonian side who will be in confident frame of mind following their Jean Symes inspired run chase against Heriot’s last week. The Carlton youth policy will continue with debuts being given to both teenage Macpherson brothers, Kyle and Ruari. The match starts at 12 noon.

Over at Grange Loan, Carlton 2s host their Grange counterparts with a 1pm start. The side won last time out at Largo thanks to a 4 wicket haul from teenager Mo Ahmed and skipper Nathan Pietsch will be looking to the experienced Rob Thornton to set the example for his young side.

Grant Newman’s Threes head over the water to Broomhall with the aim of picking up their second win on the bounce, while on Sunday Bob Irvine’s ‘All Star’ 4th XI entertain Tranent at Grange Loan.

Also on Sunday, the Carlton Under 18 class of 2011 head to Perth to take part in the Scottish Cup Finals day rained off from last season. With skipper Rajan Bhopal unavailable due to university commitments, Fergus Whatley (above left) will take the helm. Carlton play Clydesdale in the first semi-final with a potential final with old rivals Grange the prize. Good luck to all the boys.

Our 1st XI and our Under 13s were both in cup action on Tuesday evening.

At Grange Loan, Carlton entertained RH Corstorphine in the second round of the T20 Masterton trophy. Three wickets for Gordon Drummond helped restrict the visitors to 114 before a fourth wicket partnership between Drummo (left) and Umair Mohammed took Carlton to the brink of an ultimately comfortable 6 wicket win.

Not such good news from the youngsters as they found the experienced Grange Under 13s too hot to handle in their Scottish u13 cup. Some good performances though, especially from Calum and Angus with the ball and Charlie with the bat.

The previous evening the club’s Under 13 league squads had differing fortunes in the league. The Cobras won again at SMRH, while the Cougars had their second last-ball finish in a row when they fought out a thriller with Watsonians.

On Wednesday evening there were two big wins for our two Under 15 sides. The Carlton/Murrayfield DAFS combined side scored 119 for 3 at Roseburn, before demolishing Heriot’s for just 30 with Haris Aslam returning figures of 6 for 4 in two overs!

At Linlithgow, Paddy Halliday was again in belligerent batting mood for Carlton u15s as he hit an undefeated 41 to take his side to 115 for 6. In reply West Lothian were all out for 51, with spinners Rory Allardice and Keshav Arvind collecting 5 wickets between them.

County Cricket Round-Up

In the latest round of the county championship in England, Ali Evans was named in the Derbyshire 13 for their match with Gloucestershire and Preston Mommsen headed to Cardiff with Leicestershire.

While Ali wasn’t required, Preston made his second Leicestershire appearance and scored 35 in the first innings against the Glamorgan attack.

And on Sunday, Leigh Kasperek made her Essex debut as they notched a rare win over Yorkshire in the Women’s County Championship Division One match. Leigh hit 31 off 34 balls to help her side to 230 for 7 off their 50 overs, before taking 1 for 37 off 10 overs as Essex won by 16 runs.

On what was a near perfect summer’s weekend for cricket, there were mixed fortunes for the Carlton sides – junior and senior alike.

At Grange Loan, Carlton finally got their league campaign underway in a tight match with Stoneywood-Dyce. Unfortunately, the home side seemed to wilt in the heat in the last part of the visitors’ innings with 112 runs coming off the last 14 overs. A good start to the Carlton reply was undone by the loss of set batsmen at crucial times and Stoneywood-Dyce eventually ran out winners by 6 runs.

The Twos enjoyed their trip to Fife on Saturday with a win over Largo. A four wicket burst from Mo Ahmed helped to bundle out the home side for just 138. Carlton made heavy weather of the reply, but knocked off the runs for the loss of 7 wickets.

The Fours made the long trip south to Hawick on Saturday, where skipper Bob Irvine and his team of veterans and youngsters found the going tough. The Fours were indebted to Kevin Whitaker for his knock of 78 in a total of 173 for 8. Despite 2 wickets for Under 15 Sam Marchbank, Hawick were worthy 5 wicket winners.

On Saturday morning, the Primary School team, without the services of the Hawick bound Ruairidh Main on 4th team duty, and with selection challenges brought on by the death throes of the football season, put up a good display at Fettes.

The previous evening Ruairidh was to the fore for the Under 11s as they defeated Watsonians in an entertaining encounter at Grange Loan.

On Sunday, a sun-drenched Grange Loan saw the Threes complete their first game since the beginning of the season with a comprehensive win over RH Corstorphine 2s. Amit Bij and skipper Grant Newman were in the runs in a total of 255 for 6, also built on a good opening partnership between Ani and Craig, and an exhilarating ‘closing’ partnership between Alex Fedenczuk and young Rory Allardice. Four wickets for Amit and good bowling by youngsters Rory, Dougal and Gavin dismissed the visitors for just 127.

Also on Sunday our kwik cricket squad had their second outing of the season at the Murrayfield DAFS festival and took the opportunity to give debuts to some new young talent.

Staying with the juniors, a big well done to Ruari Macpherson and Haris Aslam who have been included in the 12 man Scotland Under 15 squad for the match against Derbyshire on Sunday. It will be a really special day for Ruari who has been appointed Scotland captain for the match.

Carlton all-rounder Preston Mommsen (left), who has been on trial at Leicestershire for the last couple of weeks, was handed his County Championship debut on Tuesday in the 4 day match with Kent at Canterbury.

Great news for Preston and great news for Carlton, following on the heels of seamer Ali Evans who has earned a county deal with Derbyshire. Head Coach Toby Bailey was delighted to hear of Preston's call-up: "Preston fully deserves his chance to play county cricket. He's a model professional and trains extremely hard. Everyone at the club wishes him every success."

Preston's absence for the Eastern Premier League match against Stoneywood-Dyce on Saturday, together with the unavailability of Jamie Kerr and Stevie Gilmour, gives skipper Fraser Watts the chance to introduce three teenagers to the side, all of whom have benefited from Preston's coaching over the last couple of years. Kyle Macpherson will open the batting, Matt Wells will keep wicket and Cheeky Gosain comes back in to the side to bowl his left arm spin.

Their coach is happy to see the youngsters coming into the team: "These three have been knocking on the door for a while now and fully deserve their chance. It's great to see youngsters coming through the Carlton system to play first team cricket."

The match at Grange Loan will start at noon.

Elsewhere on Saturday, the Twos will have no fewer than 6 teenagers in their side as they head to Largo. Charles Legget will continue his rehabilitation and he'll be hoping  to put his own company's bat to good use to help his side to post a decent total in Fife.

The Fours head in the opposite direction as Bob Irvine takes his side to the Borders for what should be a stern examination at Hawick. Bob will be looking to Mike Kennedy to stiffen the Fours' middle order with some trademark big hitting.

The Threes are at Grange Loan on Sunday and they will be hoping to complete only their second match of the season. RH Corstorphine 2s are the visitors for a game that will start at 1pm.

With high pressure firmly in charge of the weather for a change, there has been plenty of Carlton midweek action this week.

On Monday evening both Under 13 sides played league matches. The Cobras enjoyed a comfortable win over SMRH at Inverleith, with Under 11s Harry Simpson and Pete Gill taking the bowling honours with figures of 3 for 4 and 2 for 0 respectively.

Thankfully the Cougars had a much more competitive match at Merchiston against the Grange Gladiators in a thriller that went to the last ball. A great effort in the field restricted Grange to 78 for 4. However, despite good knocks from Angus Hinton and Olly Brown, the Cougars fell short by just 2 runs.

On Tuesday evening, the second XI started their President’s Trophy campaign with a 20:20 win over Teuchters in a match that saw the long awaited return of long-term injury victim Charles Legget. Youngsters Zaki Yusaf and Ruari Macpherson starred with the bat to set the Twos on their way to a 52 run win.

As Sunday mercifully dawned bright and sunny following the previous days' washout, four Carlton sides were eager to get in some belated cricket action for the weekend.

First up were the Under 13s who hosted SMRH in a match that was switched to Grange Loan once Alasdair had declared the ground playable at 8am. The Carlton youngsters made the most of the opportunity to play some cricket, racking up 171 without loss in their 20 overs before reducing the visitors to 2 for 6 after four overs, thanks to a burst of 5 for 1 from Tom Kujawa. SMRH did recover but eventually lost by 137 runs.

Meanwhile, Eric Edwards’ girls kwik cricket side travelled to Kinross, where they competed with distinction in the local event.

Elsewhere, our Under 10 kwik cricket squad travelled the shorter distance to Grange to compete in the host club’s festival. Unusually, there were medals and a trophy on offer for the event and the young Carlton team did exceptionally well to reach the final after a series of fine wins. They had to settle for runners-up medals though, as the host’s top side proved too strong in the final.

In the afternoon at Grange Loan it was the turn of the Fours, who entertained Dalgety Bay. Skipper Bob Irvine was left to curse the talents of the Carlton groundstaff as the visitors enjoyed the remarkably good batting conditions to post a formidable 202 for 4. Although the skipper top scored in the 4s’ reply, Dalgety Bay ran out comfortable winners.

Saturday was a day that cricketers long for. Unbroken blue sky, a healthy breeze to keep the rainclouds at bay and the warmth of the sun on your back.

All the more pity that the preceding two days had delivered almost continuous rain. So much rain that the opening Eastern Premier League game at Goldenacre between Heriot's and Carlton was called off at 9 on Saturday morning. Half an hour later, a similar decision was taken at Grange Loan where Carlton 2s were due to entertain Holy Cross.

Sunday was not quite so pleasant; a strong wind sweeping the country. Nevertheless, at least it started dry. And Carlton 3s made full use of the opportunity, with openers Ani Majumdar and Ali Shah putting together a 50+ opening partnership against Grange 3s. Ani was on 47 when he became the third wicket to fall, leaving young Craig Everett (41) and skipper Grant Newman (60*) to take the score to a formidable 231 for 6 off their 50 overs. Sadly, the weather had the last laugh with the rain arriving from the west in time to make sure there would be no resumption after tea.

Further north, the Fours were sent in to bat at a windswept Largo. Young Rory Allardice with 45 and 'experienced' wicket-keeper Kevin Whitaker (left) with 95 were the stars of the show as they helped the Fours post one of their more respectable totals, 187 for 7, off their 40 overs.

This total was too much for Largo 3s, who ended their innings 9 down and forty odd runs adrift with Dougal Main, who turned 14 this week, picking up 4 for 36.

The weather also had a say on Monday when the Carlton Cobras Under 13s saw their game against West Lothian at Merchiston called off. However, the Carlton Cougars were able to get a game in, thanks to the astro at Inverleith where they beat SMRH B to get their league campaign underway on a successful note.

The new league season gets underway on Saturday, when reigning Scottish champions Carlton travel across town to take on Heriot’s in the first game in the new Eastern Premier League.

Skipper Fraser Watts is able to call upon a near full-strength side, with only Stevie Gilmour unavailable from the team that trounced Falkland last weekend.

Also on Saturday, the Twos entertain Holy Cross at Grange Loan. The Crossers have a very good record against Carlton and Twos’ skipper Nathan Pietsch will be delighted to have Rob Thornton back in the side, following last week’s disappointing defeat at Glenrothes.

On Sunday, Grange Loan plays host to a local derby when Carlton Threes take on their Grange counterparts. Skipper Grant Newman was left frustrated with last week’s call-off at a waterlogged Livingston and he’ll be hoping the rain stays away for this encounter.

Also on Sunday, Bob Irvine will hope that his team can follow up last week’s last ball win with a victory at Largo. Largo 3s, like our 4s, always field an intriguing blend of youth and experience and all the Carlton men (and boys) are looking forward to renewing old acquaintances.

On the junior front, Wednesday evening of this week saw the Under 15 league matches kicking off and Carlton’s new strategy of fielding two sides in the A division was tested in the face of two challenging matches.

Although things were made tougher when three call-offs were received on the day of the matches, there were lots of positives to be taken from the evening. At Grange Loan a young Carlton side, bolstered by the return of Haris Aslam, did well to take their match with Watsonians to the penultimate ball, with Haris and Keshav Arvind both showing up well with the bat.

Down at Stockbridge, a late-call off led to Ruari Macpherson taking his place behind the stumps for the combined Carlton/Murrayfield DAFS side against Grange Hurricanes. The Carlton lads and their two young Murrayfield team-mates did well to restrict the home side to 116 for 5. In reply, Dougal Main hinted at his potential by scoring an unbeaten 37 but the visitors came up 30 runs short.

On a Saturday when the temperature fluctuated from bitter to just about bearable, the fortunes of the Carlton senior sides were as mixed as the weather.
At Grange Loan Carlton finished the first part of the season – the opening half of the Scottish Cup section matches – with another thumping win, this time over the visitors from Falkland.

The Fifers turned in a disciplined bowling performance but were met with a determined partnership from Scotland duo Watts and Mommsen (left), both of whom seemed set on a big innings from the moment they took to the crease. With a century apiece duly delivered, national skipper Drummond chipped in with a quickfire 36 to take Carlton beyond three figures.

With John Hutton picking up a wicket with the first ball of the Falkland reply, and fellow left arm seamer Michael Herdman collecting a couple in his opening overs, the visitors were three down in next to no time. Sean Olivier was given a lengthy bowl and responded with a couple of wickets, while offie Umair Mohammed took the headlines with 5 for 19 to seal a 221 run win.

The young Twos side found it hard going against a very experienced Glenrothes side in Fife. Skipper Nathan Pietsch’s half-century was the backbone of the visitors’ 171 for 6. It wasn’t enough though as Glenrothes batted their way patiently to an eight wicket win.

With the Threes trip to Livingston called off on Friday due to a waterlogged outfield, it was left to the Fours to tip the balance on Saturday. They won a thriller against the veterans of Holy Cross thanks to a pivotal innings of 39 from Keith Murray and a remarkably mature 16 not out from 11 year old Ruairidh Main. Fantasy Bob describes the thrilling denouement in his match report.

Ruairidh was in action on Sunday in the delayed Eastern Region Under 11 hardball finals day at Myreside. Sadly, there was no fairytale ending this time as the Carlton boys fell just short in their run chase against Grange, to lose by 13 runs.

The Carlton Under 13s got their Scottish Cup campaign underway with a crushing win at Heriot's. There were unbeaten 30s for openers Angus Hinton and Tom Simpson as the boys hit an imposing 153 for 3 in their 30 overs on a bitterly cold evening. In reply, nine bowlers were used as Heriot's were dismissed for just 34.

Nearby at Newfield, the new intake of Under 11s started their season with a thriller against the Grange Stags. The Carlton boys took the match to the last ball before just losing out in a nailbiting finish.

Meanwhile, at Grange Loan, the new Girls' hardball squad played their first ever match against their visitors from Kinross. Although the Carlton girls lost the game, it was a great start and coach Eric Edwards found plenty to be pleased with.

The third and final Scottish Cup sectional fixture for the time being takes place at Grange Loan on Saturday, when what should be a full-strength Carlton side take on Fife visitors Falkland (12 noon start). Carlton went to the top of Group E following their comprehensive win at Greenock last week and skipper Fraser Watts will want his side to stay there ahead of the second batch of matches later in the season.

The Twos are bolstered by the inclusion of young left-armer Chayank Gosain as they head to Fife to take on Glenrothes, although they’ll have to do so without last week’s batting hero Rob Thornton, who is unavailable. With 6 teenagers in the side, it will be interesting to see how Nathan Pietsch’s side will cope against an experienced home lineup.

The Threes and Fours will have a slightly more experienced makeup this week, following their defeats last weekend, although both sides will still rely heavily on youngsters. Grant Newman’s 3rd XI head west to Livingston where they’ll no doubt face a stern test from the home side.

Skipper: Experience is the key! 

Down in Division Eight, the Carlton 4s are reunited with their old foes friends Holy Cross 3s in a match that would surely lay claim to a league record for the highest average participant age for a match, were it not for the usual liberal sprinkling of Carlton juniors. Bob Irvine does, however, welcome more experience to the side with the return of Mike Kennedy, who claims to have been taught the forward defensive by some local youngsters during his recent tour to India.

Update: The Threes match was called off on Friday afternoon as the Livingston outfield was waterlogged.

Exam season always poses a challenge to team selections and the first full week of the 2012 cricket season was no exception. With various studious students making themselves unavailable for selection the search for players was extended both upwards and downwards in the age scale. In total, Carlton fielded 19 players aged under 18 in senior matches on Saturday – surely the sign of a healthy club.

The 1st XI were heading back to Edinburgh by mid-afternoon following a comprehensive Scottish Cup sectional win over Greenock. A good 2nd wicket partnership between the home side’s Berrington and Baum had Greenock off to a good start before the introduction of left arm seamer Michael Herdman turned the game on its head. He finished with figures of 5 for 6, with Gordon Drummond, returning to bowling for the first time this season, recording 2 for 1 from 6 overs. 16 year old spinner Cheeky Gosain was also in the wickets (2 for 13). Carlton raced to a win in just over 15 overs, although Fraser Watts’ dismissal triggered a Berrington inspired middle order collapse just before Preston Mommsen (55*) clinched the win.

At Grange Loan, the Primary School team’s early morning win was followed by a comprehensive victory by the 2nd XI over Musselburgh. The return of Rob Thornton was the catalyst for a fine batting performance as the 2s posted 215 for 8. A good second wicket partnership between Rob and Kyle Macpherson got things off to a good start. Rob, as always, was unforgiving on the bad ball, and when he was third man out, the score was on 100, of which the Aussie exile had scored 70. The second half of the innings included an elegant 37 from Ruari Macpherson and some lusty late order hitting from Jamie Lenney (37*). Seamers Pietsch, Lenney, Rush & McKay (in action below) bowled well to take the sting out of the aggressive Musselburgh batting with left armer Fraser Allardice hinting at his potential with a late spell to seal a comfortable win.

Batting on an uncovered wicket following a week of rain is testing enough for even the most experienced of batsmen and the youngsters in the Threes and Fours found that a winter’s indoor training on hard surfaces is no preparation for the unique challenges of a wet April. At Peffermill (below), the Threes were skittled for just 50 by Gala and despite a disciplined bowling and fielding performance the Border visitors ran out winners by seven wickets.

Meanwhile at Kirk Brae (below), the youngest ever line-up for Fantasy Bob’s 4th XI did well to bat out their 40 overs, with ‘veterans’ Kevin Whitaker and Keith Murray forming the backbone of the 4s’ total. There was a wicket apiece for youngsters Dougal and Calum in the reply, but Kirk Brae 2 won by seven wickets.

With groundsmen all over the UK suffering from work-related stress, the weather looks as if it might relent just in time for some cricket to be played this weekend - although it could well be too late for grounds with uncovered wickets.

Carlton pack their coloured clothing again and travel to Greenock on Saturday for their Scottish Cup sectional tie with only one change from last week’s side – Omar Ahmad returning, while Stevie Gilmour is unavailable.

With both sides likely to be suffering from a lack of practice this week, it will be a tough test for Fraser Watts’ side, particularly as the home team boast one of Scotland’s most destructive batsmen in Richie Berrington.

The East of Scotland league gets underway on Saturday, with the Carlton 2nd XI, again led by Nathan Pietsch, hosting newly promoted Musselburgh in their Division One clash at Grange Loan (1pm start).

On Division Three, it’s Carlton 3s who are the promoted side and Grant Newman will lead his team into action against border side Gala at Peffermill. Meanwhile, the 4s are due to travel the short distance to Kirk Brae to play the hosts’ 2nd XI.

On Sunday, Grange Loan plays host to the 2011 President’s Trophy final between Holy Cross and Fauldhouse.

Given the rain in the lead up to this weekend, and the torrential showers early Saturday morning, it was something of a surprise to see any cricket played at Grange Loan.

Certainly the groundstaff did a tremendous job to clear the early morning puddles and get a 39 overs a side Scottish Cup match against Poloc underway.

Sadly, their efforts were ultimately in vain. A fine undefeated 65 from Umair Muhammed was the highlight of the Carlton innings, before the match finally succumbed to a heavy shower just three overs into the Poloc reply.

Elsewhere on Saturday the Carlton 2s had a ten wicket victory over their Stirling counterparts with Nathan Pietsch (2 for 9), Alex Chetkovitch (2 for 11), Mo Ahmed (2 for 16), Brad McKay (1 for 3) and young Rory Allardice (1 for 5 from 5 overs) all in the wickets. In reply, Ali Murtaza Shah (43) and Ruari Macpherson (15) knocked off the runs without loss.

On Sunday, the planned Academy match at Merchiston Castle fell victim to the weather but Grange Loan enjoyed a rare afternoon of sunshine as ESCA Division 1 side Marchmont were the visitors. Carlton fielded a side containing the 2nd, 3rd & 4th XI skippers and, amazingly, there were no on-field fall-outs as a good all-round bowling display restricted the visitors to 172 for 9 off their 45 overs.

Zaki Yusaf led the Carlton reply with a typically aggressive 40 before being stumped and Aussie Michael Herdman hit a classy 56 before being retired, allowing Fantasy Bob to hit the winning runs as the Carlton XI won by 4 wickets.

With plenty of rain around, the 2012 competitive season looks to be starting off the way the 2011 season finished. However, groundsman Alasdair McLeod has been hard at work between the showers and he, like everybody else at the club, hopes that this Saturday’s Scottish Cup section match with Glasgow side Poloc will go ahead. The match, in common with all Scottish Cup and CSL matches this season, will start at noon

The last time the two sides met was in the summer of 2008, when Carlton won a rain-affected league match by 43 runs.

Carlton in the field against Poloc in 2008

Following their convincing friendly win against North Down last weekend, Carlton will be close to full strength, with skipper Fraser Watts handing a debut to young spinner Chayank 'Cheeky' Gosain, following his 5 wicket haul in a friendly against a Watsonian XI last Sunday. "He's been picked on merit," says the skipper, "and he deserves his chance.

There should be no danger of anyone at Grange Loan underestimating the Poloc challenge as they are a club who are reaping the benefits of an excellent youth policy and have New Zealand-based South African pro Carl Huyser returning for 2012.

Also on Saturday, a 2nd XI, packed full of youngsters as always, will head west for a match with their Stirling counterparts at New Williamfield while, on Sunday, Toby Bailey takes a Carlton Academy XI  the short distance to Merchiston Castle School to play the school 1st XI, coached by Stevie Gilmour.

A cold but mercifully dry pre-season weekend at a superb looking Grange Loan delivered two contrasting victories for Carlton.

On Saturday a full strength Carlton side racked up 237 for 6 against the touring North Down side, with Toby Bailey top scoring with an undefeated 47. A remarkable 5 for 8 for new boy John Hutton helped to dismiss the visitors for a paltry 31.

On Sunday, with seven Carlton players on regional duty it was the turn of the youngsters to impress as a Carlton XI took on neighbours Watsonians. A combination of challenging conditions and accurate bowling restricted Carlton to 137 for 8 off 40 overs, with good knocks from Jamie Kerr and Umair Muhammed backed up by a promising innings from young Matt Wells.

In reply, visiting skipper Craig Wright played the anchor role and his side was well placed at drinks. However, a double bowling change saw under 18s Chayank Gosain and Mo Ahmed strangle the scoring rate and a superb spell from Cheeky saw him pick up 5 for 19. The visitors’ last chance disappeared when Wright missed a Lenney full bunger and the home side ran out winners by 27 runs.

With the first pre-season friendly against Northern Irish touring side North Down just a few days away, Carlton skipper Fraser Watts has been speaking to the website about the season ahead.

Although Carlton start the season as reigning champions, they will begin the defence of their title without 5 of last year’s side: Cedric English, Arivand Srinavasan, Jason Trembath, Nik Hunt and Ali Evans. However a combination of careful winter recruitment and the continuing development of our youngsters has left the skipper in a cautiously optimistic mood:

"I have no doubts that this season is going to be another stiff test for all concerned at Carlton.  Following our first national league title last year people will be gunning for us and looking to knock us off our perch - not least Grange who have been on a big recruiting drive, I assume because the sight of their cross city rivals winning the league would have send shivers down the spine of the membership!  I'm sure there was a mix of disbelief and consternation when we finally delivered what we have been threatening to do for years ... have we woken a sleeping giant?! 

We have done a bit of recruiting ourselves with notable signings (left) in Umair Mohammed, John Hutton, Michael Herdman and, of course, our new coach, Toby Bailey, who has played a bit of cricket in the past I'm told!  As I mentioned in one of the blogs from my recent tour to Sri Lanka and Dubai, each of these guys will certainly strengthen our side and make competition for places strong, which can only be good. 

We also have a good number of youngsters who are coming to 'fruition' and who I'm sure will be pushing for places in the 1st XI this year.  The indoor competition was a good chance to give some of the youngsters a run in the first XI environment and those who played (Kyle Macpherson, Matt Wells & Mo Ahmed) equipped themselves very well and look like really good prospects for the season and we look forward to seeing them, as well as their contemporaries, step up to the plate in the 1st XI.  With the disruption caused by guys missing matches to represent Scotland, there will be no shortage of chances for players to stake their claim for regular first team spots.  If guys aren't performing in the first team I'm sure there will be a long queue of guys behind them gunning for their spot.  It’s a healthy position to be in. 

The seconds, thirds and fourths will be looking to consolidate and improve on the good seasons they had last year.  We want to develop the winning mentality throughout the club and it is crucial that all teams look to win as many games as possible.  We have such a wealth of talent throughout Carlton and the mix between youth and 'experience' is a brilliant formula that I think we have pretty much spot on.  Peachy, Grant and Bob/Alan led their sides superbly last year and created a great environment for the youngsters to develop and improve whilst winning a good number of games to boot - long may it continue. 

Sadly, last season also marked the end of an era for the club when Cedric (left) decided to move to pastures new to pursue coaching opportunities at Stewarts Melville.  Stew Mel are a club who are having a bit of a resurgence at the moment and signing Ced is a real coup for them; he will offer them a great deal on the coaching front as well as scoring a bucket load of runs in the pitch.  Through the work of Bert Barclay, Neil Leitch and David Gibson (to name but  a few) they are putting in a big effort to regenerate the club and we wish them all the best for the season.  Young Haris Aslam also made the trip across the City to Stew Mel to develop himself in a different environment and try to play some first eleven cricket.  It is obviously sad that one of our youngsters has gone to play somewhere else but I know he will see himself as a Carlton player at heart and hopefully we will see him back in Carlton colours again in the not too distant future. 

The long winter of training has almost finished now and the first games are just around the corner. Once again, we will be backed by our long-term sponsors Citylets and we're delighted to have their continued support. Hopefully we can hit the ground running and pick up from where we left off last year.............good luck to all."

The match on Saturday promises to be a tough test for the new-look Carlton if last year’s encounter is anything to go by. Last April North Down hit 260 off 40 overs, thanks in main to a fine 96 by their pro Ian Moran, before seeing off the home side by 17 runs.

Action from last year's pre-season friendly against North Down

The competitive season starts the following Saturday when Carlton entertain Poloc in the Scottish Cup. Full season’s fixtures here.

Following the success of their indoor event in February, the Carlton Womens team are holding an outdoor cricket taster session at Grange Loan on Friday 4th May (6.30pm to 8pm)

Girls and women of any age are invited to the session. No equipment is needed at this stage - all you need is enthusiasm.

The Carlton women are gearing up for their first ever season in the national league and are keen to expand their squad - no prior experience is necessary!. Just turn up on the night and say hello; you'll be made very welcome.

if you'd like more information please drop Helen Blair a line at women@carltoncc.co.uk.

It's been quite a week in the life of Carlton skipper Fraser Watts. Banned by the ICC, having a fight with his clubmate and playing in the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifiers. And he also became Scotland's most capped player of all time ...

A lot has happened since my last blog. Unfortunately it has not all been good.

As I am sure most people will know, I received a 1 match ban following an incident in the recent 50 over match versus the UAE.   I’m not going to defend myself or make excuses, what I did was stupid and deserved a reprimand, but I will try and explain what happened.

During the first 50 over game there was a bit of niggle between some of our batsmen (unfortunately not me as I had tickled one down leg side and was sitting back in the changing room!) and a couple of the UAE bowlers.  During the second game, one of the UAE bowlers got into my way when I was running and unfortunately I didn't notice in time and we collided.

What followed was a childish spat during which we traded insults (in earshot of the umpires………again stupid) before the situation was defused and the game continued.   That was about it.  It is not something that I am proud of and as a senior member of the side, it is not the sort of example I should have been setting.  I was hauled in front of the match referee who heard my case and decided that my misdemeanour was a Level 1 offence and that I should be banned for 1 match as a penalty.  I have never been banned before and obviously rued my stupidity as I sat out our first game against Kenya in the qualifiers. 

On a lighter note, Preston and I had a teenage falling out at training the other day.  Preston and I often practise together and we were having some throw downs in preparation for the first game (I was chucking them at Preston as my only involvement in the first game was only in a cheerleading capacity).  Preston was practising batting against spin with me throwing/bowling (same thing I know!!) off breaks at him from about 12 yards away ….. unfortunately he has this annoying habit of smashing balls back at me from this short range which I’m not overly keen on, so whenever we have throw downs I make the point of telling him not to do so or else …… We had just about finished the session when a beautifully flighted offie came whizzing back past my right ear at a rate of knots.  I live on the principle of ‘don’t get mad, get even’ (although I generally get mad and then try and get even in a fit of rage!) so after a fair amount of gesticulating and angry stares I delivered the next ball flat at his head which surprised him and rapped him on the gloves as he tried desperately to take evasive action.   He was obviously rather displeased at this and squealed like a pig before levelling a volley of abuse at me and threatening ‘to tell his mum’.  We had a bit of an exchange of words (which it seems is now becoming common place in the world of Fraser Watts) and a wrestling match which involved hair pulling and some eye gouging before the coaches came and split us up.  We are now both grounded for a month and have had our pocket money docked……….

The kids' room

We are staying in the Grand Mid West hotel in the ‘Media City’ of Dubai which is a mix of rooms and ‘apartment’ style accommodation containing two bedrooms, a kitchen and living area.  Preston, Drummo and I are staying in an apartment (aptly named ‘Carlton Heights’) which is a nice change from the usual twin hotel rooms we are used to! 

Drummo's room. I let him have it ...

We spend most evenings sitting around with a mug of warm cocoa discussing everything Carlton ... Preston wants more mirrors in the changing room and a full gym to be installed at the club so he can ‘do the guns’ pre and post match and then check out the results in the mirror.  It struck me the other day that Preston is very similar to my good friend Eddie Cowan (@EddieCowan – Twitter); both are very good cricketers who are very driven in their approach to the game, both are very small, are never clean shaven, are very opinionated, have very questionable fashion senses and are extremely excitable!  They are both thoughtful cricketers who think deeply about the game but on the flipside, both have very childish senses of humour and find the most random things funny.  I can’t be bothered explaining this but those of you who know both will agree with me I’m sure.

The living area of Carlton Heights

I remember when Eddie spent a summer in Scotland a few years back he had a pretty wretched time when he played for Scotland and didn’t score many runs (although he broke every record going for Uddingston I think).  He never made excuses or rued his bad luck during what was a wet summer that made batting difficult, he simply analysed each dismissal and worked hard with the coach to iron out flaws in his technique so he would not make the same mistake again. It has been great to see him progress up the ranks of Australian cricket since then and finally make his test debut in the recent series against India.  It just shows that hard work and honesty get you a long way in the game.

Preston also looks like Virat Kohli.  Drummo looks like Ross Ford and are similar in the fact that they are both big units that you wouldn’t mess with.   Ross Ford for obvious reasons and Drummo because he is an accomplished Kung Foo (or one of these martial arts) expert who could probably kill me with one punch, karate chop or ‘ro sham bo’.  I regularly make him cups of coffee in the apartment to try and keep on his good side! 

I became the most capped Scottish cricketer when I took the field against Uganda a couple of days ago which is something I am very proud of and thanks to all those who sent kind messages of congratulations, it is very much appreciated.

 I’ve been playing for Scotland since 1998 and have seen a great deal happen in Scottish Cricket in that time, not least the transition from cricket being an amateur game to the almost fully professional setup that we now have.  I have been part of some brilliant sides and have played with and against some great players, I’ve played in World Cups and seen all the highs and lows that come with playing sport at a good level.  I’ve been dropped more times than I care to remember but have always cherished pulling on the Scottish shirt when I was deemed worthy of doing so.  People ask me if I am going to retire soon and I have to admit that the thought has crossed my mind a few times, especially as the last of my age group of players have all now finished. 

But then I remind myself how lucky and privileged I am to be able to represent Scotland and be part of the current setup.  I am also extremely lucky to be in the position in which I currently find myself…. representing my country at the sport I love whilst pursuing a career outside cricket (I work for Lloyds Banking Group).  Of course it has its challenges and stresses but there are also many upsides and I see myself as having the best of both worlds.  If I have a tough day at work, I can look forward to training that evening or a game at the weekend and vice versa, if I’m going through a bad spell on the field I can immerse myself in work to take my mind off cricket. 

Our bus driver - MS Dhoni - cool cat

I always think it must be hard being a full time cricketer as there is no release if you are going through a rough trot.  My employers are very understanding and supportive of my situation which makes my life a lot easier and this is something that I am very grateful for.  My boss Jimmy knew precious little about cricket (he is more of a footie fan and loves Celtic) before I started working for him but he now knows the fundamentals and is becoming a big cricket fan!  He does still call an ‘edge’ a ‘skiff’ and regularly asks me if I skiffed one to the wicky at the weekend …………….. his grasp of cricketing terminology is a work in progress!

I admit that I do find it harder and harder to keep up with the new breed of full time professional players coming through but I see it as a good challenge and something that I use to spur me on.  I love being around the current crop of youngsters (which is pretty much the whole side just now!), the way they train, the way they play, the confidence they exude (I wish I had it when I was their age), their skills and their hunger to constantly test themselves, learn the game and improve is great to witness.  It is a privilege to play alongside each of them and I know that if I don’t work extra hard I will be left behind and a younger, fitter and more skilful player will take my place.  I know this is something that will happen down the line but my challenge at the moment is keep myself fit and in form so I can justify my existence in the side and continue to be part of this ever improving Scottish cricket team.

Cricket match in progress - at 7.30 in the morning

I’ve been keeping up with all the Carlton news during my time over here and it is great to learn that Umy Mohammad has decided to make the move to Carlton.  Umy lives and works in and around Edinburgh and trained with us last year whilst travelling up and down the road at the weekends to play for his club Forfarshire.  I think there were some eyebrows raised when we agreed to allow Umy to train with us (I think other clubs rejected his request) but we had no hesitation in allowing him to come along to our nets on a Tuesday and Thursday evening.  I’m of the opinion that the more good quality players you have around the club the better it is for all concerned, especially the youngsters who got the benefit of mixing with and learning from better players and role models.  Umy’s presence last year was a positive for all concerned and the fact that Umy will be at training again this season is good news but even better in that he will be wearing Carlton colours. 

We are also very pleased to welcome John Hutton to the club who has made the move from Drumpellier in an effort to further his cricketing ambitions.   An ex Merchiston Castle Schoolboy who bowls lively left arm swingers will certainly bolster our seam attack and is a great addition to the club.  ‘The Hut’ is also a huge darts fan so we are looking into getting a darts board installed in the club in an effort to make him feel at home.   I’m sure everyone will welcome Umy and ‘The Hut’ along with our overseas amateur Michael Herdman and new coach Toby Bailey to the club in what is promising to be another big season for us all. 

It was also good to hear about the strong performance of our indoor sixes side who lost narrowly in the final of the Media Sixes Competition.   Led by Sean Olivier, the six contained some old heads in Jamie Kerr (who informed me that he bowled like the wind in both games and batted like Javed Miandad) and Omar Ahmed but was complemented brilliantly by some of the next generation of Carlton players.  Kyle, Wellsy and Mo all performed extremely well in what is a tough competition and played a big part in us getting so close to winning the final.  It is great to see the new breed coming though, putting in meaningful performances and looking at home in a Carlton first team.  It is an exciting time for all and we expect big thing from these three and their peers over the next few years. 

When Carlton skipper Fraser Watts took to the field in Scotland’s T20 World Cup Qualifier against Uganda in Dubai he was making his 195th international appearance. This makes Fraser his country’s most capped player of all time, overtaking his one-time Carlton team-mate Craig Wright

Fraser, who began his Carlton cricket career while a youngster at South Morningside Primary School, came through the junior ranks at Grange Loan before forcing his way in to the first team while still at school. He made the headlines as far back as 1995, hitting the winning runs in a 1st team clash, facing the bowling of a Pakistani test star.

After featuring regularly in Scottish age-group sides, Fraser made his full international debut as a 19 year old in a match with Bangladesh in 1998. Since then his career has taken him all round the world, including appearances in World Cups and T20 World Cups. His highest score to date is a memorable unbeaten 171 off 154 balls in a European Championship match against Denmark in 2006.

Everybody at the club would like to congratulate Fraggle on passing this milestone and we hope that there are many more international appearances to come!

More from Fraggle as he is up and about early after a restless night reflecting on the disappointment of the narrow ODI loss to the UAE ...

It’s 6am and I’m sitting in the hotel lobby waiting to go for a wander with Assistant Coach and Analyst Tony Judd.  He is on a bit of a health kick and has been going walking each morning so I agreed to join him on this occasion so we could chew the fat, discuss all and sundry and set the world to rights.  I’ve known Juddy for what must be the best part of 10 years since he first took up the role as Scotland coach all those years ago. 

He is a very good, experienced and certainly straight talking coach who has done a great deal for Scottish Cricket over the years.  He was the coach who brought us into the modern age of one day cricket and impressed on us the ‘Aussie’ mentality of tough aggressive cricket.  He coached us in our first full season in the Friends Provident County 45 over competition when we started with a bang and won 3 out of our first 4 matches against full professional county sides (you will remember that we were an amateur side back then) until Rahul Dravid turned up and ruined it all!!  

We only won one game following his arrival, which was of course not his fault but it generates an interesting conversation about team psychology; did the rest of us take our foot off the gas assuming he would do the business, had our beginners luck running out coincided with Dravid’s arrival, had we got ahead of ourselves and started getting too big for our boots … who knows?

I obviously have to talk about Rahul Dravid now following his retirement yesterday.   We as Scottish Cricketers are very fortunate people, as amateur players (up until recently) we got to travel the world playing the game we love, participating in World Cups, playing against and rubbing shoulders with superstars and getting a small insight into life at the top of our sport.   Playing (or carrying drinks) for a season with Rahul Dravid was a special time for all involved; I am sure the same words will be used when people discuss the man and his career, honest, hard working, genuine, down to earth, humble etc. 

I think the biggest thing that stuck us all was how down to earth he was, he walked into a changing room of amateur Scottish cricketers who, in cricketing terms, should not have even been allowed to clean his boots but he came with no airs  or graces and just got on with everyone, had a laugh, and went quietly about his business.  He had a fantastic season for us but it is not what he did on the pitch that we will remember, it was Dravid the person, the humble superstar that we will all remember with fond memories. 

We met again a couple of years later at the world Cup in the West Indies when we were all staying at the same hotel for the opening ceremony.   He was standing chatting to Brian Lara, Stephen Fleming and Sachin when we walked in, but he instantly left these three (we were probably a good excuse to get away from their boring chat!) and came bounding over to us like an excited child shaking hands, hugging everyone and asking us about Scotland etc, it was a special moment.

During his stay in Scotland, Gregor Maiden and I (who were not working at that stage) decided to take Rahul out for a game of golf at the Braid Hills council course in Edinburgh!  We were both skint and this seemed like the best place to take this global superstar to get a taste of golf in Scotland.  I think latterly in his trip he was treated to some more salubrious courses like Gleneagles and Loch Lomond so don’t worry, the Braids is not his only memory of golf in Scotland!  Rahul picked us up in his sponsored Jaguar (I was driving my mum’s frog green Nissan Micra so we thought the sensible thing would be to get The Wall to drive) and we were tootling along nicely pointing out all the historic landmarks when we came across a mini round about at which we were required to turn right (for those who know Edinburgh it is the one half way up Braid Road just before you get to the Hermitage on your left – we were coming at it from Greenbank Church, just to paint the picture). 

As I‘m sure everyone knows, you just drive across the painted circle in the middle when negotiating these roundabout but Rahul didn’t seem to understand this concept.  He took a few seconds to analyse the situation trying to work out how we was going to get his massive Jag around this tiny roundabout and then set off to have a crack at it.  He got about a quarter of the way around and got stuck!!!  What then ensued was an Austin Powersesque  reverse, forward, reverse, forward of the Jag as the Wall tried valiantly to get it round the roundabout without touching the centre circle.  There were cars waiting at each entrance, some sounding their horns in frustration, some looking on in amazement as the drama unfolded!  Gregor and I sat silently in the passenger seats not sure whether to laugh or try and give some helpful advice, but who were we to tell this demi god how to drive!  It was ironic that the man known for his unflappable temperament on the cricket field was now openly flustered at the wheel of a car in the middle of Edinburgh’s leafy suburbs! 

We finally got clear of the roundabout after what seemed like about 2 hours and headed onto the golf course in an awkward silence only broken by the Wall commenting that the roundabouts in India are bigger than in Scotland.  The golf went well and Rahul spent a good bit of the round getting to know the native gorse bushes which they evidently don’t have in India.  People say that cricketers generally hit the ball high and right on the golf course and The Wall was the epitome of this.  He evidently had not played much before and was very analytical of his swing during each shot which is not a good thing, most shots went high and right, or just straight right and were followed by an exasperated ‘oh dear’ from the great man.  To his credit, he didn’t give up and kept going all the way round with his swing – ‘oh dear’ routine!  He did comment that he needed to improve his golf as there were lots of corporate events etc that you had to attend as a cricketer and he was fed up of embarrassing himself at them!  I’m sure he is now off scratch.

We saw bits of the press conference in which he announced his retirement and the thing that I loved about it was how he concluded that he had failed a lot during his career, but had done everything he could to become the best cricketer he could be, had always given his best and had not regrets.  That for me was superb and sums up how sport should be played, accept that failure will happen but just do your best and strive to learn, improve and do better.  It also reminded me of something that Steve Waugh wrote in his book which I can’t remember word for word but was something like ‘The beauty of cricket is that failure is inevitable but coming back from that failure is the essence of the sport’.

And that brings me nicely onto the disappointment of our failures in the two 50 over games against the UAE .   We had started well in the comp and had a record of 4 wins from 4 games going into the double header against the UAE so were rightly confident but we were soundly beaten twice which was a real blow.   We have nobody to blame but ourselves and simply didn’t come to the party.  We were prepared, we knew how the opposition would play, we knew what the conditions would be like and we knew how we wanted to play the game but we simply didn’t do what we know we can do.  We pride ourselves on being a disciplined workmanlike side but we didn’t execute the basics well on either day and in the end it cost us.  We talk a lot about the value of 1 run………. a run saved here and a run stolen there …………….they all add up and can often make the difference in a tight game. 

We didn’t rotate the strike well enough, we didn’t take responsibility as batters, we bowled too many extras, we gave away sloppy runs in the field and just didn’t execute the basics well enough and were caught out.  It is a huge disappointment to all and the guys are hurting at the moment.  But as is the way of tour life, we have to put this behind us as quickly as possible now as we have a huge tournament to play in during the coming weeks with the prize of taking part in a World Cup.   We have to put these two losses behind us and bounce back ready for our first game against Kenya on Tuesday. 

Whilst in Sharjah some of the guys have visited the local Souks which are basically markets where you can buy the local wares including gold, fabric etc for apparent knock down prices.  I have to say, I don’t really know what the attraction is, I have no interest in buying gold and wouldn’t know if I was getting a good deal or not if I did buy some.  But apparently there is a bargain to be had by haggling with the vendors and you can get some good deals.  I don’t know what gold is worth or if it is real and don’t know how anyone does.  I keep trying to impress on the guys that just because you haggle someone down by 30 dirhams it doesn’t automatically make it a good buy.  Deaf ears!  “You can also get some brilliant fake watches for 30-40 quid!”  Magic………. why on earth would you pay £30-£40 for something that isn’t real, is the world going mad!   I spent £25 on a genuine, definitely real, 100% authentic Sekonda about 6 months ago and it still tells the time and date which is all watches need to do in my book.  It is not really heavy and isn’t the size of a clock which apparently means it is no good. I don’t know!

Right, off to Dubai now to settle into our new hotel prior to practice later on.

p.s. the walk with Juddy was superb and a great way to start a day!

Juddy and I went for an early morning stroll and met this fisherman. Nice fish!

p.p.s. On the subject of Steve Waugh quotes there is another one that I love and once again I can’t remember it word for word but it is something like ‘The big occasion is the time you have been waiting for, the chance to do something special’. Brilliant.

Preston Mommsen took time out on the eve of Scotland's second ODI against the United Arab Emirates to post his latest tour blog ...

Greetings from Sharjah!

I didn't think I would say it, but it is good to be back in Sharjah - there's a distinct drop in temperature from Colombo and the humidity is almost non existent so we've found the playing conditions to be far friendlier. I think this proves the value of the match preparation we received in Colombo, in particular the challenge of playing in such tough conditions; the heat and humidity was immense and will go a long way to making us mentally stronger, as we begin our assault on the business end of the tour.

Yesterday's result was a tough one to swallow; admittedly we were well below par and the entire squad is disappointed with the performance.

Fortunately for us though, we have another great opportunity tomorrow to rectify the mistakes which we made. We have identified the areas in which we have underperformed and the boys are hungry to put things right.

On a lighter note, and this is unfortunate news for Carlton members as well, there's been no change in the dress sense of Fraser Watts this season. He still seems to be a huge fan of the leisure combo (jeans and trainers) and more recently on various dinner dates he's introduced the full team tracksuit look (left), much to the shock and horror of the squad.

Ive offered him free fashion advice but for some reason he keeps turning it down?!?

And In other tour news, Jannie Stander has yet to change his hair style! Hotel management in Sharjah initially put out a warning for a loose lion on the prowl before we had to inform them that it was in fact a guest at the hotel. Jan, as with Fraggle, has turned down advice from fellow team members - I do believe they should be reconsidering the advice given.

Tomorrow's a big day for us; we've taken time out for rest today and you can be assured that the team will come out firing tomorrow.

We know our basics have to be solid and we'll be putting in everything to get a positive result! 

Also, just to say, the boys really do appreciate the support that we receive while we out here, and thanks for all the messages thus far!

 
Time now for a prematch Nandos! 

Cheers 

Preston .

Carlton were in action first up on Cricket Media Super Sixes finals night at the MES Centre, taking on Heriot’s in the first semi-final.

Some tight bowling and excellent fielding combined to dismiss Heriot’s for 74 in the 9th over. Jamie Kerr has spent the last decade and a half telling us that he could have been a top-notch seamer were it not for the fact that he was a keeper. Last night, with Matt Wells behind the stumps, JK had the chance to show his worth and he didn’t disappoint, returning figures of 2 for 8. Teenager Kyle Macpherson (left) also picked up 2 for 15 with his leg spin.

Carlton then knocked off the runs with 11 balls to spare, albeit with only one wicket in hand. Jamie top scored with an unbeaten 29, with Matt contributing 18.

Awaiting Carlton in the final was the other undefeated side in the tournament, Edinburgh University. Carlton batted first, with Kyle (25*) and skipper Sean Olivier (26*) both retiring undefeated. However, left arm spinners Brock and Ramsay strangled the scoring and with Jamie falling victim to a tight run out Carlton were restricted to just 95 for 2 off their ten overs.

The Carlton 6 knew they would have to perform exceptionally well to take the trophy and they got off to the best start possible with a wicket first ball - Sean taking an off-the-wall catch off the bowling of Mo Ahmed. However, an unbeaten second wicket partnership between Glover and Boyd saw both batsmen retire as they took the students to the brink of victory at 82 for 1. Kyle then bowled two students in one over to give Carlton a sniff, before Sean clean bowled Uni skipper Brock with the scores tied. However, it wasn’t to be for Carlton and the University ran out one wicket winners with 7 balls to spare.

So, although there was no silverware at the end of the senior indoor season, there have been lots of fine performances and the experience has been of great benefit to our youngsters. A big thank you to our shirt sponsors and long-term supporters, Steedman & Company.

Results

Semi Final

Heriot's 74 for 5 (8.3 overs) Jamie Kerr 2 for 8 Kyle Macpherson 2 for 15

Carlton 77 for 4 (8.1 overs Jamie Kerr 29*, Matthew Wells 18

Final

Carlton 95 for 2 (10 overs) Sean Olivier 26* Kyle Macpherson 25*

Edinburgh University 96 for 4  (8.5 overs) Kyle Macpherson 2/26

Handshakes at the end of the final

Junior indoor results

In junior indoor action our Under 11s and Under 13s have kept up their winning ways in recent weeks. The under 13s won their double header against Heriot's to set up a final clash next week with the experienced Grange side. And our Under 11s (below) have defeated both Livingston and Murrayfield DAFS in their indoor league.

Lothian Under 13 Indoor 8s

Week 3

Carlton 333 beat Heriot's 189
Carlton 308 beat Heriot's 235

Lothian Under 11 Indoor 8s

Week 1

Carlton 307 beat Livingston 291

Week 2

Carlton 284 beat Murrayfield DAFS 261

Carlton head into finals night of the Cricket Media Indoor 6s with a new skipper at the helm, as Sean Olivier (left) takes over from Preston Mommsen.

Preston steered the side to the finals with a 100% percent record during the group stage, including two wins over old rivals Grange. However, with Preston, Fraser Watts and Gordon Drummond abroad on Scotland duty, it falls to Sean to lead the Carlton blend of experience and youth on Friday evening.  

One of the most pleasing aspects of the Carlton performance so far has been the contributions of the younger members of the side – teenagers Kyle Macpherson, Matt Wells and Mo Ahmed – and Sean believes they’ll be looking forward to the challenge, saying: “It’s a great opportunity for the Carlton youngsters to play in a finals atmosphere.”

Joining Sean in the side that will take on Heriot’s in the first semi-final at 6.30 pm is the experienced duo of Jamie Kerr and Omar Ahmad. The skipper says that his side knows what is expected of them: “We’ve talked about composure and a clear game plan, if we execute our plans and remain calm and focused I believe we’ll play good cricket.”

The other semi-final is between the youngsters of the Eastern Regional Academy and the students of Edinburgh University. The final takes place at 8.30 pm.

Not since the serialisation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novels, including Treasure Island and Kidnapped, in the Young Folks magazine in the 1880’s has a piece of writing from an Edinburgh writer been as keenly anticipated as the next instalment of Fraggle’s tour blog. Indeed, after reading blog no. 1, one leading UK sports journalist was moved to compare the writing of Fraggle to that of Tolstoy.

So, by popular demand, here is part  2 of the Fraggle blog, direct from Sri Lanka.

"We have the morning off today (Saturday) before a training session this afternoon so I’m sitting watching the Ryobi Cup Final (Aussie 1 day comp) between the Tasmania Tigers and the South Australia Redbacks.   There is cricket on TV here 24/7 which is brilliant and it is good to see no less than 8 players (Bailey, Cowan, Butterworth, Krezja, Laughlin, Crosthwaite, Cooper and Borgas) who have played a season or more in Scotland appearing in this game.  And Ricky Ponting is playing which is a positive. I’m looking forward to Tassie chasing a big total which should be great to watch.

We have played a couple of T20 games games since arriving in Sri Lanka with mixed results.  The first game against a Sri Lanka ‘A’ side went really well with us winning by 6 wickets largely thanks to 3 wickets apiece from Preston and Saffi Sharif and a mesmerising 60 odd off 30 balls from Calum MacLeod.  (Our blogger is too modest to mention his own 23 not out to see his side home - Ed)

Venue for the match v Sri Lanka A - lovely place to play cricket

The skipper and co inspect the pitch ahead of the Sril Lanka A game - looks all right to me!

The second game didn’t pan out as we had planned, chasing 140 for victory we fell 20 short following a bit of a cock up in the batting department (largely down to yours truly).   The purpose of us being here is get into the swing of playing ODI’s and T20 games prior to the trip to Dubai and we have taken some good positives from the two games as well as learning from the things that didn’t go so well.   The game yesterday was at the Premadasa Stadium which is the main test venue here in Colombo.  It is always nice to tick another test venue off the list and, apart from the result, it was a very enjoyable experience. 

Pre-match warm-ups at the Premadasa Stadium

Dressing room at the Premadasa - similar size to Grange Loan!  

We have been out and about each evening seeing the sights, and getting to know the city of Colombo.  The Tuk Tuk (the little taxis that are basically 3 wheeler motorbikes) drivers are very knowledgeable and proud of their history and are only too pleased to tell you about everything, independence (4th Feb 1948 from the British following also being ruled by the Dutch and Portuguese (I think!)), Religion (c70% Buddhist) and the political struggle between the Government (predominantly Sinhalese) and the Tamils which has resulted in a lot of bloodshed over the years to name a few*.    *There is no guarantee this is right so please correct me if I’m wrong.   There is quite a large military presence in Colombo, loads of angry looking chaps with large guns (not Mommsen type guns, the real ones!),  so I’m not sure if there is still a lingering issue following the recent ‘conclusion’ to the troubles or if it is just that they have pulled out all the stops to look after us…!

Being driven anywhere in the Tuk Tuks is a pretty hairy experience…… the traffic etiquette is slightly different from Scotland with little attention paid to the lights or road signs and the whole thing working by a kind of unwritten understanding whereby you toot your horn to let people know you are there and then whoever is quickest off the mark gets to go first.  This is the case at all junction, roundabouts etc, it is pandemonium but we haven’t seen any crashes yet which is amazing!

Each night we eat an all you can eat buffet in the hotel which is sensational.   There is some of the highest quality food I have ever seen and a great variety to suit everyone’s taste, each night has different theme and hasn’t disappointed yet.  Tonight was seafood night and I smashed a sushi starter followed by the seafood platter and rounded off with some diet chocolate cake…….  It is not good if you are trying not to put on any terry (waite….) like the older members of the party whose metabolisms aren’t as good as they were……………..There is usually an array of puddings to perfectly complement the main meal which would whet the appetite of ex Scotland fast bowler, Paul Hoffmann who will be gutted he is missing it all.  I’ll try and send a picture via twitter………..

I’ve started doing a Corey Jane (All Black) type Room Raiders video blog which basically involves going into the room of some of the players and having a quick chat with them to get some insight into them and the joys of touring.  The first video was quite good (brilliant actually but I can’t be too big headed!) but due to a slight technical hitch (I attached a different video) it hasn’t been shown on the Cricket Scotland website yet.  Watch that space, it is video gold and I’m expecting an Oscar or Bafta for best new amateur video.   Again I’d welcome all constructive feedback on it (‘it’s rubbish’ doesn’t constitute constructive…) or any suggestions/requests for alterations.  If it is ever uploaded……

For today’s international players it really is a small world. Following their excellent win over the UAE in the 4 day Intercontinental Cup match, the Scotland squad has moved on to a two week camp in Sri Lanka ahead of the World T20 Qualifying Competition in Dubai next month.

Joining the squad for the remainder of the tour is Carlton club captain Fraser Watts (who had to miss the 4-day match because he has a ‘proper’ job in Edinburgh). Generous to a fault, Fraser has promised to post a regular blog of his trip to sunny climes so that those of us left behind to suffer in the Scottish winter don’t have to feel completely left out.

In his first post, he tells of his arrival at (and immediate departure from) Dubai as he and the squad flew on to Sri Lanka.

"Hello all,

As I tweeted yesterday, we left Glasgow in the pouring rain (surprise!) and arrived in Dubai after a relatively event free flight. My inflight entertainment was a film called Warrior which I found very enjoyable if a touch cheesy at the end.   Very Rockyesque and I cried into my inflight meal which means it must have been good. 

Fraggle gives some serious thought to his in-flight reading

The four chaps who have joined the tour late had a bloody 7 hour wait in Dubai airport which was a total pain in the behind.  I tried to get to sleep on the floor, in a chair, on one of the reclining sunbed typed things that litter the airport and even tried a stint at standing on my head (following advice from coach Neil McRae) but could not nod off for love nor money.  After c5 hours of trying I did eventually drift off into a blissful slumber only to be woken up by the rest of the squad (rabble) who arrived at the airport ready for our forward journey to Sri Lanka.  Not ideal.  I did pick up a couple of hours on the flight to Colombo which got me through today.

We arrived in a humid (not that I’m complaining!) Colombo where Preston was stopped at customs for not having the requisite paperwork to enter the country.  It turned out that he had not paid the $10 entrance (That the rest of us did weeks ago) fee to get into Sri Lanka which is no surprise to anyone who knows him (#tighterthanaducks…..).   Anyway, after some tears, feet stamping and drumming of fists on the floor Pete managed to persuade him to pay the cash and he was allowed into the country…..

Our hotel is top drawer, situated on the beach with a lovely pool, gym etc we couldn’t ask for more.   As soon as we arrived Preston, Smudge and I headed off to the gym to ‘get the flight’ out of our systems which basically involved Preston and I doing the ‘guns’ whilst Smudger (Player and fitness guru) did all these weird stretches and movements which looked pretty sore!  Preston, who loves chucking tin (weights, doing the guns etc) was really getting into it and sounded a bit like a Rhinoceros giving birth during most of the session.  Granted, I have no idea what a Rhinoceros giving birth sounds like but I’d imagine there would be a lot of grunting,  screaming and shouts of ‘you da man’ so this description fits the bill perfectly.

The view from my window - none too shabby

Tomorrow we have a full day of training which is going to be awesome,  I’m like a kid at Christmas, I can’t wait.  Basically our day is going to go as follows…..Wake up, breakfast, fitness session in the morning (which will consist of a 40 minute run along the beach then a gym session then some bmx or tkmaxx or something like that which Smudger keeps raving about………….from what I can gather it involves some ropes that you put over a door which you then use to do lots of core stability and own body weight exercises…….some fancy mumbo jumbo that these fitnesss types love…..i’m not so sure!), then lunch, 3 hour net/fielding session in the afternoon, home, pool recovery session, dinner, read my book (Gorky Park) for half an hour then bed……..not far off a perfect day in the life of Fraser Watts.  I am genuinely excited……….and very sad I know! 

Right that’s all for now, will send something else soon.

email fraserwatts@hotmail.com or tweet @fragglewatts. "

No days off for Preston while Drummo takes time off to practise his autograph

Ex-Carlton all-rounder Craig Bulloch is facing up to his biggest ever sporting challenge next month. Craig, who scored over 1500 runs and took over 100 wickets for the club between 1998 and 2004, has decided to take on the 2012 New Zealand Ironman challenge.

To complete the Ironman event Craig will have to tackle a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike ride and a 42km marathon. Craig is putting himself through all of this to raise funds for a cause very close to his heart - the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand.

Craig was diagnosed with depression five years ago and also lost a close friend to suicide. However, inspired by All Black legend John Kirwan, who went public on his own depression and explained how exercise helped him on the road to recovery, Craig decided to start his own recovery:

"I bought myself some shoes and started to get out running a couple of days a week. I was surprised that after just a couple of days I started to feel different, different in a way that I felt better about myself.. I then bought myself a road bike and started riding that three or four times a week. And all the time I was feeling better about myself inside and out.

I want to spread the word that getting out and doing some form of activity a few days a week can make you start to feel better both inside and out.”

Craig is remembered fondly by those who met him during his time at Carlton and indeed he remains one of only two Carlton players to take a hat-trick in an SNCL match.

While most players at the club have only recently been turning their thoughts towards getting their cricket bag out from the back of the cupboard, there have been precious few days off for the international contingent at the club.

No fewer than four of the Carlton side will be on Scotland duty over the next few weeks. National skipper Gordon Drummond, Preston Mommsen and Ali Evans have arrived in Sharjah ahead of next week’s 4-day Intercontinental Cup match against the UAE. Club captain Fraser Watts then flies out to join the squad for their short visit to Sri Lanka ahead of two ODIs against UAE and the all important T20 World Cup Qualifying tournament.

Preston, who hit his maiden first class century in the last 4 day match against Namibia, took time out from his first day’s work in Sharjah to give the Carlton website an insight into the hard work that’s already gone into the squad’s preparation and he explains what lies ahead for the squad over the six weeks:

“Greetings from Sharjah.

 With all indoor training and preparation now complete, the emphasis now shifts  towards getting outdoors and putting in the final touches before our ICC 4 dayer against the UAE. We touched down in Dubai at 1am this morning as our all important cricketing journey commenced. 

It's been an extremely productive last 8 weeks of preparation with the intensity of our training sessions constantly on the increase as we work towards reaching our peak. Certainly a major focus for us this winter has been on improving our strength, physical fitness and agility. The squad, through the help of Simon Smith (Cricket Scotland strength and conditioning mentor), have responded well as we've worked hard to reach our personal targets.  

There's no doubt we're feeling sharper, quicker, fitter and stronger; all attributes of which are going to prove key when it comes to crunch time in the heat of the UAE. As is so often the case with competitive sports tournaments, it's the tiny 1 percenters that can have a massive effect on the potential outcome of a situation. We want to be ready when those moments to change a game arise. The workouts have definitely been tough at times, but in the long run, worth every second of pain! There's been an awesome work ethic amongst the squad and a great sense of unity.

Obviously the initial focus for us is the 4 dayer. After 2 draws in the competition thus far, we're aiming to put in a positive performance as we look for that initial victory. We've played good cricket in the last two 4 dayers so it's a case of building on what we've done well and improving in areas we identified as potential weaknesses. Ultimately it’s another opportunity to go out and perform, and we're also looking forward to the added challenge of playing in these conditions.  

Importantly there's a lot of confidence around the squad. We finished off last year nicely and it's evident that the team vibe has carried over into the new year. We know why we're here and what we're here to do, so for now it's a case of expressing our skills when the opportunity beckons; we're raring to put in a fight and achieve our goals for the tour! First fielding session of the tour took place today as we adjusted to the heat and new surroundings. Tomorrow we can look forward to our first full net session - it's exciting times for everyone! 

On a final note, Good luck to the Carlton lads in the finals of the indoor 6s - hope the good work you boys put in during the round robin stages continues!”

Over the years, club skipper Fraser Watts has become used to hearing some poor excuses from players who claim not to be able to attend indoor nets.

Undoubtedly the best ‘excuse-me note’ this year has come from 4th XI six-hitter Mike Kennedy, who emailed Fraser from overseas to apologise for not being able to attend start of nets as “I am away in India at the moment biking 4,500km from North to South. I am back March 16th and will try and get to the last few indoor nets.”

Mike and his wife Catriona (left) are keen cyclists and travellers and regularly take time off from the Scottish winter in pursuit of new adventures. This year the duo are cycling the length of India, from Agra to the most southern point at Kanyakumari.

As usual, cricket has not been far from Mike’s mind as he wrote earlier in his trip:

“Cricket is being played on every street corner with bats made from sticks, tennis/rubber balls and twigs for stumps. As for the pitches they share them with the cows and pigs and the unbelievable amounts of rubbish that litters the ground everywhere. I will see if I can get myself a game somewhere. It would be fun!”

Sure enough, a few days later Mike was in touch to reveal he’d managed to get himself a bit of pre-season batting practice. Judging by his short report, his trademark swing to cow has not proved overly successful on the turning wickets of the sub-continent:

“Had my first "game" yesterday. The wicket was the pavement of a 14th Century fort, the stumps a 600 year old fence and the boundary the 30ft high fort walls. I was bowled 3rd ball with a rubber ball using a paddle like bat. I think I made the wee boy’s day! They are all SO keen and play on any piece of earth with any type of bat & ball. This is true grass roots cricket but without the grass!”

No doubt 4th XI skipper Bob Irvine is hoping that this will be the only instance of Mike being bowled by a junior during 2012.

The opposition celebrate the dismissal of the famous Scottish batsman

*UPDATE from Mike on Feb 20th*

"Got in another "game of cricket" today against the Coffe XI (see pic below) and managed a six first ball and then "retired" a few balls later to allow them to continue their game. I feel a bit better about my spring "training" now!

4 or 5 games were going on in an area smaller than Grange Loan. Fields all over lapping. I also had my first bowl. If you bowl short with their rubber ball on the hard dirt it goes 2 feet over someone's head. I was just like the old Carlton nets! A yorker is your best bet. "

Carlton qualified for the finals of the Cricket Media Indoor 6s by beating Grange for the second time in this year’s competition at the MES Sports Centre.

Batting first, Carlton’s total of 124 for 4 was based around unbeaten knocks from internationalists Fraser Watts (35) and Preston Mommsen (32). Gregor Maiden hit an undefeated 55 for Grange but they fell short on 110 for 5, with Watts the unlikely bowling hero, taking 3 for 20.

Having already sealed qualification, Carlton completed the qualifying group with a 100% record following a comfortable win over Stenhousemuir. Preston Mommsen picked up 2 for 9 as Stenny were dismissed for just 82. Teenagers Matt Wells (26*) and Kyle Macpherson (22*) then knocked off the runs in 6.5 overs to seal Carlton’s fourth win of the competition.

Carlton, minus Watts and Mommsen, who will be on international duty for Scotland, will now play on finals night on Friday 2nd March.

On the same weekend a young Carlton Under 13 side got their first wins of their indoor tournament with back to back wins over SMRH. Determined to bounce back after playing well but falling to two narrow defeats against Grange in Week 1, the Carlton youngsters bowled and fielded well in both games to ensure a gettable total each time. In both innings, sensible batting and sharp running between the wickets saw the U13s through to comfortable wins.

Results & Tables

Cricket Media Super Sixes

Carlton 124/4 10 overs (Fraser Watts 35* Preston Mommsen 32*) beat Grange 111/5 10 overs (Fraser Watts 3/20)

Stenhousemuir  82/5 9.4 overs (Preston Mommsen 2/9) lost to Carlton 83/0 6.5 overs (Matthew Wells 26* Kyle Macpherson 25*)

Lothian Under 13 Indoor 8s

Week 1

Carlton 309 lost to Grange 316
Carlton 316 lost to Grange 334

Week 3

Carlton 272 beat SMRH 238
Carlton 284 beat SMRH 247

With Carlton planning to field a regular women's side for the first time this season, pre-season recruitment gets underway with girls' and women's taster sessions on Sunday 12th February at the Gracemount High School games hall.

The indoor taster sessions will run from 2pm to 3.30pm (for girls P3 to S1/2) and 3.30 pm to 5pm (for women and girls from S2/3 upwards).

The sessions will be run as a basic and fun introduction to cricket for girls and women of all abilities - no experience necessary. Just turn up; you'll be made very welcome.

if you'd like more information please drop Helen Blair a line at women@carltoncc.co.uk.

After 14 years of magnificent service to Carlton, ex-Scottish internationalist Cedric English has decided to leave the club.

Cedric first arrived at Grange Loan in 1998 as a fresh-faced 24 year old from South Africa, having been hired by the club as their overseas professional.  After qualifying to play for Scotland, Cedric became a key member of the international side that won both the Inter-Continental Cup and the ICC Trophy. Domestically, his performances were instrumental in keeping Carlton in the top league of the SNCL throughout its existence – one of only two clubs to do so.

In recent years, Cedric helped the club to three Murgitroyd National T20 titles in four years and his crowning moment came when hitting a superb undefeated 72 against Forfarshire last August to effectively clinch Carlton’s first ever national league title.

Cedric has now reached the stage in his career when he's ready for a new challenge, but he is clearly sad to be leaving a club that has meant so much to him over the years:
 
“During the 14 seasons that I’ve been part of Carlton, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the host of different challenges that have come our way.  The club has really changed and developed since 1998 and all those involved, at every level, should be very proud of what has been achieved both on and off the field.
 
The journey has been memorable and good friendships have been made.  I’ll always think fondly of the club and the people who I have had the pleasure to work with.

Following an excellent 2011 season, and with the club now in very good hands, I now seek new cricketing challenges and feel that the time is right for me to move on to new ground. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have supported both Fiona and myself, and I look forward to catching up with you in the future."

The class of '98

One team mate in the Carlton side of 1998 was a seventeen year-old by the name of Fraser Watts. The current Carlton club captain is in no doubt of the value of the contribution made by Cedric over the years:

“'It’s sad to hear that Ced has decided to leave Carlton for pastures new. He has been a brilliant servant of the club for many years and will be sorely missed.

I'm very proud to have played with Cedric and seen first hand some of the amazing innings he’s played for Carlton. His performances with bat and ball during his time at the club have been second to none and provide some great memories for all of us. He’s been a prolific all rounder over the years and has done some much for the club, especially when it was really needed.  

I’d personally like to wish Ced all the best in the next cricketing chapter in his life and am sure it will be as successful as those that have preceded it.  He departs the club knowing that he is leaving us in a much stronger state than he found us and for that we can't thank him enough.”

In his 14 seasons at Carlton Cedric scored 6630 SNCL runs at an average of 44.49, hitting 16 centuries and 34 fifties. Before eventually hanging up his bowling boots at the end of 2010, Cedric had picked up 251 SNCL wickets from 1800 overs at an average of 23.15 and an economy rate of 3.22.

Figures, of course, only tell part of the story and Cedric’s influence as an on-field role model for a generation of Carlton youngsters can never be truly measured. While the word ‘legend’ is certainly overused in sport today, we can think of no better term to describe one of the finest players ever to play for Carlton.

Everybody at the club wishes Cedric all the very best for the future.

The Carlton 2s began their LiveSportOn.TV ESCA Indoor Sixes campaign with one win and one loss at Liberton High School.

A hamstring injury to Edinburgh Schools Academy 's Craig Everett during their victory over Morton meant that Carlton all-rounder Ruari Macpherson was 'nabbed' by the Academy. Luckily, watching Glenrothes keeper Cammy Ross stepped in to keep for Carlton meaning that Matt Wells (left) would be employed  to bowl in the first match against the Academy.

As it was, Matt didn't disgrace himself and was more economical than a couple of his more experienced colleagues. It was veteran Brad McKay who was the tidiest bowler, though, conceding just 17 runs in his two overs as Gordon Drummond's youngsters hit 136 for 4 in their ten overs. Despite 56 from Matt, Carlton finished 23 runs short in their reply as ex Carlton youngster Kevin Meier picked up 2 for 23.

In the final match of the evening Morton were bundled out for just 36, with Aussie accountant McKay again the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2 for 3. In reply openers Nathan and Haris knocked off the runs in just 1.4 overs to leave Carlton on 11 points, 5 behind the Academy. All to play  for though in the second round of fixtures in February.

Results:

Edinburgh Schools Academy 134 for 4 (Haris Aslam 1 for 21, Matt Wells 1 for 24)

Carlton 2s 103 all out (Matt Wells 56)

Morton 36 all out (Brad McKay 2 for 3, Haris Aslam 1 for 7, Nathan Pietsch 1 for 9, Steven Elder 1 for 17)

Carlton 2s 37 for 0 (Nathan Pietsch 14*, Haris Aslam 15*)

Carlton 2s skipper Nathan Pietsch leads his side into action in the LiveSportOn.TV ESCA Indoor Sixes this Friday evening. This is the first year of this event and Carlton will take on our old friends Morton CC and a side from Gordon Drummond’s Edinburgh Schools Academy squad in the first set of matches at Liberton High School.

Drummo’s Academy squad have already won an indoor title this winter – the Legget&Coe Edinburgh University Sixes. And with a side that includes some of our Carlton youngsters they’ll be keen to win out over our 2s.

The Carlton side will be 50% youth and 50% experience, with the side sporting their new Steedman & Co sponsored indoor coloured tops (left) in an event that promises plenty of high-scoring, frantic running and constant action.

Skipper Pietsch is clearly a fan of the razzmatazz of this form of cricket as can be seen with his official team announcement:

“Team for Friday's "LiveSportOn.TV ESCA Indoor Cricket Sixes is:

Nathan 'Old Man' Pietsch

Brad 'The Camel' McKay
Steven 'On Call' Elder
Matt 'Mittens' Wells
Haris 'Bend it like Beckham' Aslam
Ruari 'Mac-Attack' Macpherson

Our 1st game is against the Edinburgh Schools Academy at 7.30pm where
we're up against club traitors such as Fraser 'Black-Beard' Allardice
and Craig 'Bernie Madoff' Everett.

After the (almost) all Carlton clash, our 2nd game is against Morton at 8:30pm.

Should be a good chance for us to brush off the cobwebs and kick start
another successful 2012 season for the 2nd XI.

Any support will be greatly appreciated!”

The season begins in earnest at the beginning of February with the start of the Carlton indoor nets. The first session takes place on Sunday 5th February at Edinburgh Academy Sports Hall (6 to 8pm). Nets will then run at the same time weekly until the end of March.

With five senior league teams, including a women’s team, turning out during the summer we’re always delighted to welcome new players at all levels. For more information, email Martin Flynn at secretary@carltoncc.co.uk or turn up and say hello at one of our sessions.

It was a big 24 hours for two Carlton teenagers on both sides of the world this weekend, as 19 year old women’s international Leigh Kasperek hit an unbeaten 50 in Australian State cricket, while 16 year old Kyle Macpherson starred with the bat as Carlton began their indoor season with two wins.

Leigh, who is spending the Scottish winter coaching cricket and playing for the Western Australian women’s state side Western Fury, starred in a 50 over match against Queensland Fire. Chasing 106 to win, Leigh hit the winning boundary to complete a 9 wicket win, at the same time bringing up her fifty and completing a century partnership with her captain Nicole Bolton.

A few hours earlier, Carlton began their indoor season with a match against Grange in the Cricket Media Indoor 6s at the MES Centre. Batting first, Carlton amassed 129 for 4 with teenager Macpherson (left) hitting an unbeaten 47, supported by his club captain Fraser Watts with 36*. In reply, Grange were skittled for just 51 with Kyle also picking up a wicket with his leg spin.

In the second match of the evening Carlton posted an imposing 167 against Stenhousemuir, with Preston Mommsen hitting 53*, Kyle 38*, Jamie Kerr 27* and teenager Mo Ahmed 20. Stenhousemuir were then dismissed for 98 to leave Carlton at the top of their group at the halfway stage. The final round of matches in the group will be played on 3rd February.

Round 1 scores:

Carlton 129-4 (K Macpherson 47no, F Watts 36no) beat Grange 51 by 78 runs.

Carlton 167-3 (P Mommsen 53no, K Macpherson 38no, J Kerr 27 no) beat Stenhousemuir 98 (I MacDonald 30no, S Olivier 2-13) by 69 runs.

Grange 141-4 (G Maiden 30no, M Powell 27no) beat Stenhousemuir 120-3 (I Kirk 32no R Jones 25no) by 21 runs.

Carlton are involved in their first action of the season on Friday when they take to the floor at the MES Centre for the first round of matches in the Cricket Media Indoor 6s. The opening match in the tournament is a cracker, with defending champions Grange taking on 2010 winners Carlton at 6.30pm.

Skipper for the first round of matches is Scotland all-rounder Preston Mommsen (left), who takes charge of a 7-man squad that is an interesting blend of experience and youth. ‘Old’ heads Gordon Drummond, Jamie Kerr and Sean Olivier are joined in the squad by youngsters Mo Ahmed, Kyle Macpherson and Matt Wells.

Carlton are into action again immediately after the first match, when they take on Western First Division side Stenhousemuir at 7.30 pm.

The three sides meet again in February, with the best placed side from the group qualifying for the semi finals in early March.

Carlton are delighted to announce the appointment of former Northamptonshire wicket-keeper Toby Bailey as the club’s new Head Coach.

Toby is the current national coach of Argentina and is an ECB Level 3 qualified coach, intending to start his Level 4 qualification next winter. He will join the club at the beginning of April, once his contract with the Argentinian Cricket Association comes to an end.

“I’m looking forward to joining Carlton,” said Toby, “and I’m excited about the upcoming season. It’s clear to me from the conversations I’ve had with members of Carlton and talking to people who know cricket in Scotland, that the club has a strong tradition and an ambitious vision. It will be a pleasure to work with cricketers of all levels, and in particular the talented group of youngsters coming through.”

“I have heard from former team mates how strong league cricket is in Scotland and I’m relishing the challenge of helping to repeat the success of recent seasons at the club. Joining Carlton is a fantastic opportunity and I look forward to meeting everyone in pre-season.” 

Club captain Fraser Watts, who was one of Toby’s 218 ‘List A’ and First Class victims behind the stumps during his county career, said: “I'm very excited about Toby joining the club, I think his appointment says a great deal about the club and our aspirations. He comes with a wealth of experience both on and off the pitch and I am sure he will help push the club, and in particularly the coaching setup, to a new level. His CV speaks for itself and having had various conversations with him he has some great new ideas and methods that can only improve the club and the players.”

Toby, who is 35, will also play for the club as a batsman and plans to pay a visit to Edinburgh in February to meet club members and to finalise his move back to the UK.