Issue 21

For 2020 we ran 5 weeks of cricket camps! However, there were a few differences this year due to Covid regs. Normally we would run all day camps but with the restriction of 3hr sessions we had to change to half day camps with a maximum of 4 groups of 10 in the ground at any one time. So we had Kwik cricketers in the mornings and hardball players in the afternoons. With different kids in the morning and afternoon the format brought the added bonus that more children had the opportunity to attend! The downside from a parent's perspective was that they couldn’t get rid of their kids for a whole day!!! My favourite comment from a parent this summer was, “Stevie, even if you were running this for 10 minutes a day I would have taken it” !!!!!!!!!!!!!! All in all, we had 185 different children attending camps this summer which is amazing! Some of them came to all 4 weeks! I obviously could not do it without my awesome coaching team who kept the energy and fun, fun , fun going all summer long; at times in some horrific rain (which is usually the kid's favourite days as we do “Cricket Olympics” with sweets for prizes!) So, a huge thank you to everyone who attended and to my coaching team of Evo, Ben, Simmo, Ru Mac, Kyle Mac, Gus, Harry, Mikey, Sibs, Muzz and Jamie for their hard work and enthusiasm, which made it such a great experience for all. It only ran for 1 or 2 weeks (half days) and numbers were pretty small compared to now. But they were a great success!. Since then I have taken over the running of camps at Carlton, barring two summers when I was full-time at Merchiston. They have gone from strength to strength and for many young kids it provides a first experience of cricket which leads to becoming a club member (although we now have waiting lists for lots of age groups). Camp attendees take away lots of memories, but sometimes they leave things behind too! No summer at Grange Loan would be complete without the ever popular cricket camps. Stevie Gilmour reflects on the 2020 experience. It was a close call getting the go ahead for cricket camps just 3 days before my first one was due to start on July 13th. However, thankfully for coaches, parents and of course the kids, we have had a brilliant summer of cricket camps in a slightly different format. Summer cricket camps at Carlton were the idea of our then Pro, Pete Wooden, back in 2007. I teamed up with Woody to launch the first ever camp which mainly involved driving round all the local schools handing out some pretty amateur looking flyers!

What did you notice about how cricket had changed after a number of years away? The main thing that is a huge positive to me is the growth of girls and women's cricket. The numbers of girls/women participating in cricket now is a huge positive. How would you compare the mental skills required to succeed at rugby and cricket? These are very similar. I suppose the only slight difference I feel is that Cricket is more of an individual sport within a team sport. In rugby you can have a few bad moments in a game and are able to redeem yourself over the 80 mins with the support of the way players are playing around you, they can almost bring you into the game in a positive way! If your team then wins, these errors you may have made are forgotten about fairly quickly. In cricket if the team is winning, but as a batsman you are on a run of 2/3 ducks in a row, this sticks out and the only person that can change this is yourself. The only way to build confidence therefore is in the nets and this is why having the mindset/focus and preparation for these practice sessions becomes so important. You came through the age grades at Sussex - is there anything in that experience that you think Carlton could replicate to help youngsters develop? The only thing that I would say from my experiences of playing Cricket through the age grades at Sussex, is that the level of training and the intensity has to be the same in practise as if you were playing a game. From my perspective as a batsman, this means that a value needs to be put on your wicket in the nets every time you go in there. You also need a plan as to how you are going to accumulate your runs against different bowlers. Preparation before nets is therefore as important as the preparation for a match! What is the most memorable/important thing a coach has said to you? Be yourself! Whether it was cricket or rugby, you never want to be a player/personality that is not you! This is what brings out the best in most people as long as it is remains within the limits of the game! Your most memorable match for Carlton? Obviously every team likes to beat Grange at their place (this has happened a few times over the last few years), but my memorable game has to be the final against Clydesdale at Carlton when we won the league. Playing at home against a star studded opposition we skittled their top order and won very easily. On paper, they had a very strong side! Any other comments about Carlton and what it is trying to do/how it is set up? I think the most important thing about Carlton is the strength of the junior set up. While this remains strong and in place, we will always produce good cricketers that can make the step up to the first team at a younger age. As we are seeing now, the first team is particularly young. There might be some bumps in the road along the way, but this can only bode well for the future. Most memorable rugby match? My most memorable rugby matches have to be the Calcutta Cup wins again England in 2006 and 2008. In fact we also went on to draw in 2010, so didn’t lose against England at Murrayfield for a few years in that era! Always very pleasing!! Cont’d over Hugo Southwell came to Carlton in 2016 and his clean hitting made an immediate impact helping the club to the National Championship. Hugo wouldn’t spill the beans on his former team-mate Matt Prior, but he faced up to some questions about his rugby and cricket careers.

/cont’d Who are the best players you have played with? What made them special? I am going to turn this around. As much as I have played with some great players like Sergio Parisse (at Stade Francais) and as you mention above with Matt Prior (when playing cricket for Sussex), it is the guys that I have played against that have been some of the best in the world in their fields. In rugby, I have had the privilege of facing the All Blacks on 3 occasions in my career and I remember playing against an inspired Dan Carter side at Murrayfield in the 2007 RWC. We fielded a slightly weakened Scotland XV that day, as we were playing Italy in St Etienne the following weekend. Whoever won that match would proceed to the q-finals. Frank Hadden therefore decided to rest a load of players against the All Blacks, always a wise thing to do! Despite playing brilliantly we still lost - 43-0 I believe. Dan Carter that day was a magician, everything he did was outstanding. The thing that stands out which is relevant to cricket too is how much time he had on the ball in the face of a defence that was trying to cut his time down! He always made the right decision and they cut us to shreds that day. If I make an analogy with cricket, it was as though he had a few seconds longer to play a shot while facing guys that bowl 90mph plus!! In terms of cricket, I played against some great players over the years, but I will always remember facing up to Andrew Flintoff in a second team game for Sussex as an 18 year old when he was returning from injury! All I can say is that this wasn't a pleasant experience and it didn’t last very long! I got hit a few times and I can safely say he bowled a pretty heavy ball! What do you like about Carlton? The fast outfield when batting. What has been your favourite match? Last season against Grange I opened the batting and scored 55 runs in 4 overs. I then took 4 wickets for no runs in 2 overs. We ended up beating Grange by more than 100 runs. Who are you favourite Carlton players? Keeping: Tom Simpson Batsman: Mo Bowler: Ali Evans Who are you favourite Test players? Jimmy Anderson Ben Stokes What is your best fun training? Scenarios in the nets What is the best thing a coach has ever said to you? Kyle MacPherson, "You get a great amount of power!". James Stronach (rt) made his senior debut last season, alongside Robbie Murray. He now has the honour of being the youngest contributor to the NewsLetter.

Apart from the odd time helping out by standing in a Women’s game, or triggering a team mate (sorry!) as a player umpire after I’ve again managed to get out cheaply, my experience of cricket umpiring greatly pales in comparison to hockey. The Meadows and the Inch may be exotic locations to some but as a hockey umpire I’ve now managed to travel to places such as Malaysia, Turkey and Spain to officiate in a variety of international tournaments. Even so, the crucible of the Meadows on a (non-lockdown) August Festival weekend has been the most nerve-wracking place that I’ve ever had to stand, and it provided good practice of big crowds! There have from time to time been situations where teammates from the cricket world also end up being in the teams that I umpire during the hockey season. I believe there is an unfortunate member of the Carlton 1st XI who has actually received a card from myself. I’m not sure he was the happiest at the time… Unfortunately, many people are being put off officiating, be it football, cricket, rugby or hockey. I believe that the first of these may be to blame partially for the overt abuse that is sometimes directed to referees. Most officials, however, in both cricket and hockey take it up as amateurs, with little or no support. I am not paid whenever I umpire, I do so because of a love of the sport, and my drive to improve is so that I can help the best hockey to be played when I step onto the pitch with a whistle in my hand. All I would ask is, the next time you feel like having a rant or hurling a remark the way of an official, try talking to them later on in a constructive way, it’ll both help them understand where you’re coming from as a player, and you might also gain something from it too! Run for It! Carlton’s Women continue to sport the smart kit they acquired last season, courtesy of their kit partner, the Scottish Half Marathon. The next Scottish Half Marathon takes place on Sunday 19th September 2021. So there is lots of time to get yourself in shape. It follows a fantastic flat route along the magnificent East Lothian Gold Coast before a grandstand finish at Musselburgh Racecourse. Suitable for beginners or anyone looking to set a PB. Each finisher will receive a wicking t-shirt, finisher’s medal, keyring, recovery pack, accurate chip timing, tailored training plan, water & energy gels on route, a grandstand finish at Musselburgh Racecourse and a fantastic running experience! Not quite up to a half marathon? Not a problem! There's a Scottish 10K option as well which is just as flat and still has the grandstand finish. To find out more, visit www.scottishhalfmarathon.com FEDS! International hockey umpire and Grange Loan favourite Alex Fedenczuk reminds us that without the umpire there is no game.