Saturday 15th June

Stewart’s Melville CC 69 all out (33.3 overs); RH Corstorphine 72 for 3 (20.5 overs). RHC won by 7 wickets. Match Ball sponsor – Steve Kerr

The 1st XI lost to RH Corstorphine for the second time in a week again being bowled out for a low score. On this occasion they will feel there were some mitigating factors given the less than perfect batting conditions the side batting first would face. The start was delayed by half an hour to allow a very damp and soft pitch, particularly so at one end, to dry out somewhat. Unfortunately on this occasion captain Steven Parker made the wrong call and we were put in to bat. Calum Whitefoord, an exceptionally quick bowler and professional Mohammed Saad provided a formidable opening pair and Whitefoord in particular wreaked havoc bowling a fairly full length and capturing the wickets of Kris Steel (caught behind), Shaylen Pillay (lbw), Hayden Sweet (bowled) and Greg Bissett (bowled) scoring only 4 runs between them. At the other end Kyle McCallum (9) and Ben Wilkinson (0) went to Saad and all that left us 15 for six. For the remaining bats the object of the exercise was simply to accumulate a respectable total knowing that former Scotland off spinning star Majid Haq had still to come on. Ultimately a total of 69 was achieved with Mikey Miller top scoring with a patient 19 runs. Without achieving an early breakthrough with our bowling the result was never in doubt as RHC picked their way through 21 overs for the loss of three wickets.

View scorecard https://www.stewartsmelvillecricket.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Cscorecard-SMCC-v-RHC-18.06.19-1.pdf

There was an unusual backdrop to the match in that a rugby league match was taking place on the pavilion pitch between the Edinburgh Eagles and the Rockets from the North East of England. It was the writer’s first live experience of Rugby League (as a bag carrier) since the Stew Mel 1st XV made a weekend trip to Wigan aeons ago for fitness and training purposes.

Thoughts turn to next week with league leaders Forfarshire waiting at Forthill to complete the first half of the season. Last Saturday of the month we face Aberdeenshire at Inverleith in what is becoming a must win match following their first win of the season against their near neighbours Stoneywood Dyce. And … well done to the 2nds who got off the mark with a win against RHC’s 2nd XI in East Division One.

Saturday – EPL. Watsonians 34 for 3 (14 overs) v SMCC (Match abandoned). Ball sponsor – Alf Bissett.

Sunday – Scottish Cup. RH Corstorphine 142 for 8 (50 overs); SMCC 40 all out. (21.1 overs) Lost by 102 runs. Ball sponsor – John Archer.

Following recent wins against Heriot’s CC and Grange there was disappointment on Saturday when having removed Watsonians three main run scorers Zach Place, Michael Carson and Andrew Chalmers for 13 the rain came in leading to the abandonment of play after 14 overs with Watsonians in the process of a mini recovery.

Sunday’s match at Inverleith started out in similar fashion. Having won the toss captain Steven Parker inserted RHC on the inevitably slow pitch and Stew Mel captured the first three wickets for 15 runs. Thereafter RHC set about the recovery process and their numbers 4 and 5 Mohammed Saad who played for Pakistan A v the touring England Lions team during the winter and Australian Sam Flett, took the score to 88 before Flett on 39 was out. RHC grafted on eventually taking the score to 142 in their full quota of 50 overs with Saad top scoring with 55. In amongst this a notable event occurred with Callum Steel taking a hattrick before finishing with four for 30 from his seven overs.

It was accepted that 142 would be a challenging total in the conditions and after opener Patrick Ritchie was an early run out in a misunderstanding with his partner Greg Bissett the batting continued on a downward cycle with only Andy Wallace 12 not out and Hayden Sweet 10 reaching double figures.

On Saturday, league business brings us Corstorphine again, this time at Barnton.

View scorecard v RHC

https://www.stewartsmelvillecricket.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019-06-09-SMCC-v-RHC-scorecard-4.pdf

Thursday 6the June

Stewart’s Melville CC 133 for 6 (20 overs); Grange 125 for 9 (20 overs)

The 1st XI added Grange to their success list with an exciting win in the fourth T20 match of the Masterton Trophy series.

Stew Mel fielding the same team which had beaten Heriot’s at the weekend won the toss and elected to bat first. Grange opened their bowling with T Foulds and C Shorten. Patrick Ritchie and Ben Wilkinson were early victims and were followed soon after by Kris Steel so that Stew Mel were 26 for 3 in the fifth over. That brought Hayden Sweet in to bat with Shaylen Pillay who looked to consolidate the innings taking the score to 59 for 3 after twelve overs. The next over produced fifteen runs with Hayden hitting a four and a maximum off the final two balls of Aslam’s over, 74 for 3. Goudie and Foulds restricted Stew Mel to six runs in the next two overs, 80 for 3 after 15 before the batsmen raised their sights and taking 48 off the next four overs with Hayden being particularly severe adding three sixes and a four losing Shaylen on the way to a catch on the boundary. Ultimately Hayden was out first ball of the last over for a great knock of 65 with a bat borrowed from Shaylen having broken his own at the weekend. Five runs came from the last five balls giving StewMel a final total of 133, considered competitive but gettable.

Stew Mel had early successes with the ball while Grange remained in touch with the required run rate. Shaylen removed both openers, former Scotland players Gordon Goudie and Ryan Flannigan bowled in his first two overs, Goudie going for 23 off 19 balls while Greg Ruthven captured the wicket of no 3, Daniel Stewart (not the same !), bowled second ball. The second wicket brought in former Scotland captain Preston Mommsen a master at timing a run chase and the outcome appeared to rest with him. Ultimately he fell for 29 off 41 balls caught Kris Steel bowled Callum Steel at deep mid wicket leaving Grange 114 for 6 needing 20 to win with 14 balls left. Harris Carnegie on 33 was then out next ball caught by Hayden Sweet and the remaining Grange batsmen managed only another 11 runs to finish on 125 for 9 and nine short of the win.

View scorecard: https://www.play-cricket.com/website/results/4053549