The 1st XI were delighted to welcome Oli Hairs back from his time on international duty with Scotland in the West Indies this week. Fresh off the plane, he slotted straight into our Masterton team facing Grange at Portgower Place on Tuesday in the re-scheduled last game of the group stage. Both teams had already beaten Edinburgh South and Edinburgh Accies and lost to Carlton, making this effectively a quarter-final, with a semi-final berth on offer for the winner. Oli brought his trademark muscle and swagger to bear, hitting an exciting 68 off 29 balls including seven 6s and five 4s. Parker had been spectating from the other end, adding 5 to the opening partnership of 76 in 6.3 overs. Thereafter, he anchored the innings, making valuable partnerships with Bismillah and Bruce, only falling in the final over on 60 (three 6s, four 4s). Our total of 175/6 looked very competitive and so it proved. Grange lost the wickets of internationalist Chris Sole and fellow opener Jamie Crawley early in their innings (20/2). Jack Jarvis scored an important 53 from 38 taking Grange to 107/4 at the start of the 15th over, quickly followed by Jasper Davidson (21) and Freddie Huddleston. Campbell Swanson (45 off 17) and William Hodgson (15 off 12) put on an explosive 63-run partnership in the final 4.3 overs to tie the scores, Swanson being run out attempting a winning run. Some confusion arose among the Frogbox followers about what this meant before it was clarified that batting run rate breaks a group-stage tie (number of runs scored in the four games played divided by overs batted). Sadly, Grange edged us out on this measure thanks, largely, to their dismantling of Edinburgh South, chasing down 118 in 9.4 overs. Nevertheless, this was a great match and the T20 format continues to be a strength of the 1st XI.

Saturday’s EPL fixture against Arbroath at Myreside could not match the tension of the midweek game. Arbroath won the toss and opted to bat first. Their top six each contributed, with only Lennard Bester making a notable individual score of 66. Each of our six bowlers did well, none being hit for more than 6.5 per over and five of them taking wickets. Callum Martin claimed the best figures of 3/36 from his eight overs. Arbroath finished on 260 all out. In reply, we lost a couple of early wickets before Bismillah (45) and Rukhmangad (39) put on a 67-run partnership that provided stability and a glimmer of hope. When Bismillah fell with the score at 97/4 shortly after drinks, runs and partnerships were slow to come. We reached 150 all out in the 41st over, falling 110 runs short.

The 2nd XI visited Clackmannan County to round out the first half of the ESCA league season. This week’s leader, Captain Kirk, opted to bat at the Arns. He found himself at the crease after just eight balls and, following Kipling’s advice, kept his head while all around him were losing theirs. In an uncharacteristic start, the 2s were 5 down for just 32 runs after 12 overs. Ollie Robertson (24) came in at seven and provided Dan with a more effective foil, the two of them putting on 56 runs together. The tail didn’t wag, so much as swish a little, while Dan patiently carried on, eventually running out of partners after 43 overs, finishing on 72 not out with the team 149 all out. Whilst not an intimidating total, it proved more than enough. Ollie and Vikash opened the bowling and had done most of the work inside twelve overs. Vikash took a superb 5/27 and Ollie 2/19. Ross Tait and Matiullah Yar were the only change required, taking the final three wickets between them in less than seven overs, Clacks all out for 79. Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it.

The 3rd XI made the trip to lovely Melrose to face their 1st XI in Division 5. We opted to bat first when given the choice. Our top order each made starts but were unable to accelerate in the face of good bowling. Our youngest player, Louis Ferguson, was our top scorer with 21 in a total 95 all out. Melrose’s openers, C Scott and C Scott, made a strong start to the chase, putting on 50 before Calum departed for 17. Campbell anchored the Melrose innings hitting an assured 59 from only 44 deliveries, ensuring that our hosts reached the required total inside 15 overs. Daniel Bryen, stepping in for an injured teammate for the second time in three weeks, bowled very well, taking 3/8 off 3 overs before being hit for the winning 6.

The 4th XI hosted Morton’s 4s at Craiglockhart, opting to field first. This proved an inspired choice as our mix of youth and experience proved too much for Morton. On the one hand, Toby Tucker had his prayers answered with an excellent 4/17 off eight overs and Simon Israel took 1/13 in his five overs. The fireworks came from youngsters Alex Turner at the start (2 wickets for 1 run in four overs) and John Boothman at the end (3 wickets for no runs in 2.5 overs!), restricting Morton to just 69 all out in less than 29 overs. Our batters were no less impressive in the second innings, with captain Ewan Robertson making 26 before Matt Burgess (24*), Jamie Tucker (4*) and a few extras took us to the target in a breezy 14 overs. A brilliant team performance.

Our Women, joined with Dumfries, returned to WPL action after a three-week break, looking to build on their 100% record from the first three league games. We hosted RHC at Craiglockhart on a glorious Sunday afternoon. Missing some of our big hitters from the early rounds, the scoring in our batting innings was dominated by Iona Lowry (44, including five boundaries) and Erin Leslie (21) including a partnership of 41 between them. Our total of 116 all out, in just under 21 overs, looked a little light compared to our previous 212 when batting first but after tea the Women set about their bowling task. Our eight bowlers were all economical and six took wickets. Riti Patel (21) and Caitlin-Rose Neil (20) for RHC scored at around the required rate but once Caitlin-Rose fell in the 23rd over with the score on 81/5, our younger bowlers were ruthless. Lucy, Abby, Elizabeth and Charlotte took five wickets between them for just 25 runs to leave RHC 20 runs short on 96/9 at the end of their 30 overs. Another excellent result in an outstanding season so far for our Women.