The 1st XI travelled the short distance to Grange Loan intent on maintaining their unbeaten league run, bolstered by the return of all-rounder Donovan du Randt. Carlton 2s won the toss and asked us to bat first, perhaps emboldened by the absence of big-hitting Oli Hairs. While we lost a couple of wickets early, three 50+ run partnerships between Mike Carson (53), Tom Wylie (24), Donnie (89) and Kenneth Rae (27) set us up well, taking us to 199/5. From there, Rob Loomes shepherded the side to a total of 285 all out in the final over of our innings with his unbeaten 47. With two matches, including the promotion play-off, still to play, Mike Carson has already surpassed his previous season’s best run tally of 911 in 2018, in all 1st XI fixtures.

In their reply, openers Isaac Foley (48) and Peter Gill (49) made a strong start including an 83-run partnership. Thereafter wickets fell at regular intervals with three each for captain Gareth Weatherall and Evan Howe and two each for Tom Wylie and Callum Martin. A rearguard action by Dougie Firth (30 off 31 at number ten) was too little too late, Carlton bowled out for 197, also in the final over, giving us a win by 88 runs and the hope of a clean sweep of the Championship if we can beat Heriots 2 at Goldenacre in our final league match.

The 2nd XI hosted Edinburgh CC at Myreside, hoping to build on wins in the two previous weeks and shore up their position in Division 1. Edinburgh are destined for promotion to the Championship and still have a chance to top the division this season so were expected to be tough opponents. Winning the toss, captain Dan Kirk elected to bowl first. Edinburgh started well, with a 48-run opening partnership broken by Rizwan Dharani in the ninth over. The rate was maintained by the top order even as Ross Tait took three wickets in short order, reducing Edinburgh to 90/4 after twenty overs. From there, our bowlers had the measure of Edinburgh, Rory High, Will Ellison and Ben Hogg each taking two wickets at economical rates to have them 141 all out inside 39 overs, a great result.

Our reply was slow but steady. Rory did an excellent job of anchoring our batting innings, partnering no fewer than eight batsmen during his season’s best knock of 53. None of our other batters coped as well with the bowling and Dan Kirk’s frustrating LBW dismissal with the score at 81/5 proved a turning point. Wickets began to fall more quickly, especially when the slingy action of Umair Farooq scythed through our tail. Despite a ray of hope from our last batting pair, we were bowled out for 129 with just over two overs remaining. The disappointment of the result should take nothing away from an outstanding performance in the field and with the ball.

Disappointment was the operative word for the 3s at Craiglockhart too. Our visitors, Penicuik 2s, won the toss and asked us to bat. The bowling was tight and runs hard to come by, though Sukhrajveer Singh made his maiden half-century for the club (50 exactly). Other batters including Pranjan (23), Laurie (19), Ujjwal (19*) and Caylin (17*) all got starts but at less than four-an-over we finished on 153/6. Penicuik lost their first wicket to Vikash Gautam in the first over with the score on zero but quickly composed themselves and put on two significant partnerships of 47 and 82 runs, led by captain Ethan Wood’s 59. With the score at 129/3 just beyond the halfway point, there was little competitive tension in the match allowing Penicuik to secure a five wicket win with more than ten overs to spare. The result allowed Penicuik to leapfrog us in the table but a handful of bonus points against Gala 2 tomorrow is all we will need to maintain eighth place in the standings. Note that Linlithgow 2s, having forfeited six matches, are deemed to have withdrawn from the league and all of their match results will be expunged (including our two wins against them).

The 4th XI travelled to Gyle Park to face RHC 4s. Having put on some very good batting performances of late, it was no surprise to see captain Ewan Robertson electing to bat having won the toss. Our batters did so well that Ewan himself didn’t even get to pick up the willow! Two of our juniors, Siddharth Rawat (66) and Ethan Haire (71) made their maiden senior half centuries for the club, each making eight boundaries in the process. The youngsters inspired their senior teammates to perform helping us reach 227/5 in our forty overs. In a complete team performance, those who didn’t bat did exceptionally with the ball, not least fellow junior Lewis Scott who took 2/7 off six overs. Both Alec Fair and Kevin Weavers took three wickets, Louis Ferguson and Alan Borthwick completing the wicket-takers. A special mention must go to Ewan whose four catches with the keeper’s gloves and a stumping matched the best wicketkeeping performance for the 4th XI. All this for relatively few runs, RHC being bowled out for 139 inside 33 overs, giving us a handsome 88-run winning margin and a very secure looking seventh place in the Division 8 table.

The U16 Girls competed in the Scottish Cup final on Sunday 17 August at Kelburne CC’s Whitehaugh Oval in Paisley, facing fierce local rivals Stewart’s Melville, our nemeses in the Women’s Cup competition the previous week. Winning the toss, we asked SM to bat first. Junior rules provide for retirement at 30 runs scored. Barring Izzy Armstrong (bowled first ball by Tara Harrison), each of SM’s top order hit the retirement mark, Lucy Pillinger particularly quickly, scoring 33 off just 17 deliveries. SM made 151/1 off their 20 overs with three retirements. Our batters made a quick start too, with Elizabeth Sweetman (35 rtno) and Isla Robinson (14) sharing a 40-run partnership. Millie Bailey also retired with 30 runs off 32 deliveries and Emma Buckle contributed 18* but we couldn’t match SM’s scoring rate and finished 138/3 from our overs. A valiant effort against strong opposition and a well-deserved runners up spot.