The 1st XI hosted fellow unbeaten side Gala at Myreside. Heriots 2s are also unbeaten but being a 2nd XI, they cannot play in the EPL and are therefore not rivals for promotion. This, then, was a vital match for both sides. Gala won the toss and asked us to bat first. This was not the power-hitting display that we have been spoiled with by the 1s of late. Good bowling from Gala in trickier conditions meant this was the first league game this season in which no 1st XI batter made a half century, Mike Carson top-scoring with 38 and no other batter getting beyond 20. Gala’s opening bowlers, Dinesh Tharanga (3/39) and Janith Chathuranga (3/27) took three wickets apiece and had good support from Tharuka De Zoysa (2/12) and Vikesh Malik (2/25). This was the first game this season in which captain Gareth Weatherall was called on to bat and the first league game that we were bowled out as a team, ending on 156 all out after 40.2 overs.

After tea, our own bowlers showed exactly how difficult things could be made for batters. Gala were never allowed to score quickly or to build a significant partnership. Donnie took the first wicket, naturally. Gareth took two in two balls, both lbw, to have Gala 33/3 in the twelfth over. He took two more on his way to 4/13 off six overs, Gala then on 42/5. Gregour Carr bowled very economically (0/13 off six overs) before, under grey skies, Oli Hairs stepped up to bowl, took two wickets in his first two balls and the heavens opened. They had waited just long enough for Oli to claim his one hundredth wicket for the club. With the Gala score on 56/7 after 21.2 overs and conditions too wet to continue, the game was called a comfortable win for Watsonian using the ELC method (121 the par score in that situation). We remain top of the league, continuing to share that spot with Heriots 2s.

The 2nd XI travelled to Livingston and were also asked to bat first. They too put on a very solid display in the conditions. Captain Kirk led from the front with 61, Kevin Singh made a well-paced 52, and George Baltzer (27) and Will Ellison (24) offered valuable support. We were bowled out for 208 after 44 overs. Rain interrupted the second innings and continued to threaten. Livingston came out swinging after tea, certainly Ahmed Bilal, who hit 6 fours and a six to reach 36* off 29 balls, contributing to 56/0 when the match was abandoned after 11.3 overs. Livingston’s pitch preservation strategies left a little to be desired and probably cost them the opportunity to at least reach the 20 over mark that would have allowed a result to be determined.

The 3rd XI played host to Dunbar at Craiglockhart under the captaincy of Chris Cox. Chris opted to bat first (a given, by now). Fraser Kinloch, opening, made a solid 30 in tricky conditions with the ball swinging. Captain’s son Laurie made his best knock of the season so far with a top-scoring 49, undone at a nervous moment by a wild full toss. A cohort of welcome returners to cricket at Watsonian then bolstered our middle order, namely Salaar Ali (40), Zach Talbot (17) and later Kal Macleod (12), helping us reach 203/9 off our 40 overs. Ethan Haire opened the bowling with another decent spell. Kal partnered him and secured excellent figures on return of 1/13 off his 8 overs. Salaar too bowled tightly (0/25 off 8) before Fraser Kinloch offered up a couple of champagne moments. The first was an outrageous run out off his boot at the non-striker’s end from a thunderous low straight drive. The second a stunning one-handed catch off his own bowling that many would have happily watched fly past. Credit must go to Dunbar who stuck at their task, accelerating after their third wicket so that when the rain came and the game was called off, they had a 5 run margin of victory on ELC, recording 157/3 off 34 overs.

The 4th XI had an even tighter game against Marchmont 4 on Meadows 3, a poor pitch in the best weather conditions, which these were not. Opting to bat first, Edward Jones made a good 20 to start us off. Fourteen-year-old John Boothman starred with his first 50 (exactly) for the club, making partnerships with all comers including Dave Evans (15), Toby Tucker (13) and Pranjan Patel (20), helping us to 154 all out from 39 overs. Kudos to Marchmont bowler Chey Potla on his figures of 8-3-13-3 backed up by tight bowling at the end from Aslam Sheikh and Smith Sunil. Young Boothman was irrepressible, taking 2 wickets in three overs for a man of the match performance. His figures were only bettered by Kevin Weavers’ 3/17 off six, Edward Jones also taking two wickets. The ‘worm’ showing run progression throughout the innings had Marchmont comfortably ahead in the early overs without matching our later momentum, leaving the match achingly close as the weather closed in. The game was called after 35 overs with Marchmont on 152/9, a win by 6 runs per ELC.

The Women enjoyed only marginally better conditions on Sunday playing last year’s WPL winners Carlton at Grange Loan (they have in fact won at least the last four WPL seasons). The umpires decreed a shortened 20-over game to improve the chances of completing the fixture. Asked to bat first, every batter contributed, notably Anne Sturgess (28), Charlotte Nevard (25) and Kirsty McColl (24*), getting us to 128/5. Erin got Charis Scott caught by Kirsty McColl early on for 10. Sarah Beith (15) and Janie Hemsley (25) put on a good 49-run partnership before Tessa MacDonnell ripped the heart out of Carlton’s attack in six devastating balls spanning two overs, taking the next three wickets (Hemsley, Haggo and Beith) to have them 79/4 after 13 overs. From then on, wickets fell steadily leaving Carlton 25 runs short when they were bowled out for 103 in 19.4 overs. Another feather in the cap for an in-form Watsonian/Dumfries WPL team!

Look out for a separate post to round up the Masterton group stage action, now that our four games are complete. We await results on Thursday 12 June to find out whether or not we will progress to the semi-finals.

The weekend brings the usual full slate of fixtures including a WPL home match vs RHC Lynx.