Issue 38

Given the last 18 months or so that we’ve all been through it has been so good to get a full season of cricket in this year and for it to seem like we’re almost back to normal. There isn’t much for me to say. I am sure the captains will give everyone a good summary of the season. For me, it’s lots of thanks. To the senior team skippers who have done such a good job of marshalling the teams to some tremendous performances. Ali, Pete, Brad, Al and Keith Murray and Annette Aitken Drummond. Especially Ali Evans who has really led the club as well as the first team, a top player who has led from the front in every way. And on the topic of Ali, please join me in congratulating him on his selection for the Scotland World Cup squad that was announced in the week. He is in the form of his life, with some towering performances this season, and we are so proud of all he is doing. Ali is an inspiration to all of us. Director of Cricket Fraser Watts was unable to attend the end of season celebration, but through the wonders of technology, he spoke to the crowd remotely reviewing the season. Here is a transcript of his remarks. We have also had a number of Regional and National representatives this year at age group level with Max D’Ulisse and Rudy Adair who played for Scotland under 15, and Rua Macintyre who played for Scotland u17 and has just been picked for Scotland u19s. And a quick mention to Pete Deakin and the second team who could have won the league this year were they not deducted a point for slow over rate in one match. Such a shame but we can think that they won the league purely based on cricket performances. Huge credit also to the Women’s team, who have just been unstoppable this year. Winning pretty much everything and showing the rest how it should be done. What a team and what a women’s section we have, the envy of everyone else in Scotland. And congratulations too to Sam, Priynaz, Charis, Abbi and Hannah who helped Scotland win the World Cup qualifying event a few weeks ago, a huge achievement and we were very proud to have so many from Carlton involved. Very well done. /over

/Cont’d The development team was trialed this year and was a massive success and something we are definitely going to carry on next year. A big thanks to everyone involved especially Keith and Al Murray and John Beattie who masterminded and ran the show. Thanks to Gillie and and all the coaches who did such an important job this year. We had a few issues with coaching plans at the start of the year but we got through with some excellent senior coaching staff, led by Ali Evans. Thanks to Colin and Alasdair who continue to provide us top surfaces to play on each week. We know a lot of hours go into what they do - so thanks from all the players. Thanks to Kerry and the management committee who make the club run so smoothly. It is much appreciated by everyone. And to Kerry and Karen and the catering team who have done such a good job throughout the season, especially with the beer gardens. Thank you. To the cricket committee who do a top job in organising the cricket side of the club. We have achieved a lot this year so well done to everyone who has helped make that happen. Carlton is flying at the moment, mainly due to the hard work of many volunteers. This is something we must not forget. Our success comes from hours of hard work behind the scenes from the army of volunteers we are lucky to have. We really need everyone to keep working hard for the club. We are the best club in Scotland and we will continue to be so if we keep giving back. I urge you all to get involved where you can and help us get from good to great. 2021 SOME LIGHTER MOMENTS

CARLTON CC HONOURS BOARD - SEASON 2021 Batting First XI Shujaa Khan - 121 v Arbroath Utd - 14 August Shujaa Khan - 145 v RHC - 12 June Tom Simpson - 103 v RHC - 12 June Hugo Southwell - 102 v Watsonians (Masterton) - 1 June Second XI Gavin Murray - 109 v Kelso 24 July Murray Whitaker - 103 v Marchmont - 10 July Fifth XI Rory Ledingham - 140* v Dunfermline-Carnegie 2 - 13 June Bowling First XI Arun Pillai - 5-30 v ion8Forfarshire - 28 Aug Ali Evans - 6-14 v SMRH - 15 August Chayank Gosain - 5-18 v Watsonians - 29 May Omar Ahmed - 5-23 v Watsonians - 29 May Ali Evans 5-10 v Heriots - 13 July (Masterton s/f) Women’s XI Maisie Maceira - 5-14 v Dumfries and Galloway - 13 June Second XI Charles Stronach - 5-27 v Kelso - 24 July Angus Beattie - 5-19- v Morton - 17 July Shiv Gupta - 6-16 v Marchmont - 10 July Harry Simpson - 5-7 v Gala - 5 June Fourth XI Rory Ledingham - 5-41 v Drummond-Trinity 2 - 10 July Fifth XI Kyle Burgess - 6-21 v Edin South 3 - 29 Aug

1st XI Batting - Shujaa Khan 1st XI Bowling - Ali Evans 1st XI Fielding - Arun Pillai Women's Batting - Annette Aitken-Drummond Women's Bowling - Charis Scott Women's Fielding - Abbi Aitken-Drummond 2nd XI Batting - Gavin Murray 2nd XI Bowling - Charles Stronach 2nd XI Fielding - Harry Simpson 3rd XI Batting - Zaki Yusaf 3rd XI Bowling - Brad McKay 3rd XI Fielding - Paul Kentish 4th XI Batting - Rory Ledingham 4th XI Bowling - Andrew Lang 4th XI Fielding - Joe Ward 5th XI Batting - Keith Murray 5th XI Bowling - Kyle Burgess 5th XI Fielding - John Beattie Wicket Keeping Trophy- Tom Simpson Club Fielder of the Year - Abbi Aiken-Drummond Six Hitting Trophy - Hugo Southwell Best Individual Performance Ali Evans (5-10v Heriots in Masterton Semi-final) Best Introduction to Senior Cricket - Oli Stones Young Player of the Year - Rua McIntyre Player's Player of the Year - Shujaa Khan Women's Player's Player of the Year - Maisie Maceira Jappy Trophy - Stevie Gilmour TROPHY WINNERS 2021

Stevie joined Carlton in 2004 from West of Scotland where he won four Scotland caps. He played for Carlton until 2016, in 185 First XI outings he scored 3500 runs including 2 centuries. He also took 51 wickets with a best of 5-9. He was excellent in the field and is near the top of Carlton outfielders list with 84 catches. He captained the side in 2006 when we won the Masterton and again in 2016 when we won the Eastern Premier League and were National Club Champions. But this trophy is not what about is done on the pitch but what is contributed off it. Stevie took over as Head Coach in 2010 and has variously been Head Coach, Senior Coach but always Junior Coach. The success of the senior and junior teams in recent times must be significantly down to his coaching and organising skills and most of the young players throughout the club, The Jappy Trophy is Carlton’s highest accolade. It is named after Jimmy Jappy who, over a 33 year association with Carlton up to his death in 1980, worked tirelessly on the club's behalf. He served many years on Council, including 5 years as President, and performed just about every essential task around Grange Loan. Since 1981 the Jappy Trophy has been awarded to the person deemed to have made an outstanding contribution to the running of Carlton. A person can only be awarded it once. The full roll of honour can be seen on the club website. including many first team regulars, have benefited from the quality of his coaching. He is also a successful coach of the Eastern Knights. Stevie’s popular Summer Camps have been attended by large numbers over the years - introducing many kids to cricket and also providing important coaching opportunities and experience for others in the club. Over the last 18 months, Stevie has gone above and beyond, organising all the Covid affected practices and net sessions which have been essential to the club’s progress. And of course during full lockdown, there were his Zoom challenges to keep everyone active in their back gardens! Well done Stevie! JAPPY TROPHY 2021 STEVIE GILMOUR

How and where did you first become involved in cricket? Having been born in Pakistan, I was playing cricket in the back garden and local streets from as far back as I can remember. When I was around 10 years old, my family and I moved to Ayr. On one occasion, my mum happened to mention my love for the game to one of her work colleagues; luckily, they informed her of the local cricket club - Ayr Cricket Club. My parents were more than happy to get me off their hands and so took me along the next day… the rest is history! Who were your inspirations/important influencers? Everyone at Ayr CC has helped me become who am I today as a cricketer. In particular though, I looked up to people like Andi McElnea (1XI capt) and Dougie Johnstone (junior coach) as they really supported me throughout those years – from being a young junior, to captaining Scotland u17s and then later on to playing senior cricket. Thanks guys! Why Carlton? I went to university with Tom Simpson, and I think one day I told him of my plans to move to Edinburgh. I guess he did a pretty good job at convincing me to join because here I am! What do you like about the club? Carlton is very similar to Ayr in the sense that it’s a very community-based club, which is what I personally love and value the most. The club is very inclusive, and everyone here has been extremely welcoming since the day I joined! What has been the best match/your best performance? During my short time in Carlton colours, I have experienced several good memories already (hopefully many more to come). A few that stick out as outstanding team efforts are the wins against Heriots in this years Masterton semi-final and against Forfs for the National T20 cup! I believe my most important personal contribution was my ton against Arbroath in the league this year. What are you looking forward to in future seasons? Well, there are rumours of us going to Spain next year after winning the National T20 cup this year, so that would be an amazing thing to be a part of, if given the opportunity. But all in all, I just hope to keep enjoying my cricket and helping the team achieve more success in years to come. SHUJAA KHAN PLAYERS’ PLAYER OF THE YEAR Many congratulations to Shujaa for an outstanding season.

All About Maisie Women’s Player of the Year I joined Selkirk Cricket Club in 2014 as it looked like a lot of fun after watching my brother Archie play. In 2018 I joined Gala Cricket Club as I felt like there were a lot more opportunities for me to advance in cricket there. At the end of 2018 I had a trial for Eastern Knights and got selected into the U16s squad. As there were no girls/Women cricket teams in the borders my coach contacted Nic Wilson, Cricket Scotland and asked if any of the teams in the Wee Bash were short of players. Carlton was the first to offer me a game and I have played for Carlton Women ever since. I am still playing Junior and Senior 2nds Cricket for Gala. The cricketer that inspires me the most is Abbi Aitken-Drummond (sorry Annette). I have had the honour to play alongside Abbi and have enjoyed every minute of it, and watching her play I want to be as good as her on the pitch. My first Highlight this season must be winning the League and Cup double with Carlton women and seeing me and Zaara hold our nerve in the Cup final to get us home for the win; playing alongside and against the Wildcats has taught me a lot and Annette, Abbi, Sam, Hannah, and Charis have all been very encouraging. Our Coach Peter Ross too - I love his training sessions and all the banter that goes with it. My next highlight is being selected to play in Malvern for Scotland U15s; we won 4 out of the 5 games that we played, which isn’t bad as we hadn’t played together at all before the trip. I had so much fun and made a lot of new friends. On the back of that Peter Ross asked me to be in his squad for the last 2 games of the Super Series where I managed to get on the pitch for a few overs and it's these situations where I can watch and learn from all the older players. And finally, playing for Eastern Knights U18s. These games over the season have been a lot of fun and also a lot of hard work thanks to coaches David and Caitlin. Our team won the regional series overall. I honestly can say this has been my best season yet and being presented with Women’s Players Player of the Year has just topped it off. Thank you to all my teammates for voting for me. I love playing cricket, but I know I still have a lot learn. Bring on 2022!!! Many congratulations to Maisie for an outstanding season.

1st XI In reviewing what he describes as a really enjoyable as well as successful season, skipper Ali Evans noted that while it was disappointing to be pipped by Heriots for the league title, Carlton’s percentage return of 86.67 would have been enough to win in many other years. But winning the Masterton and National T20 were great achievements for the club. Twenty-three players made appearances for the first team this season - each one making valuable contributions on the field and reflecting the overall strength of the club. The team has had a fine balance with the young players complemented by the experience and enthusiasm of the senior players such as Fraser Burnett and Umair Mohammed. Ali is sure that there are exciting times ahead because this is still a young side. Ali noted in particular the emergence of Shujaa Khan whose performances justly earned him the Player of the Season award. Shujaa has brought stability to the top of the order. Also positive is the continuing development of Tom Simpson as a top order bat and leader. National T20 Champions Masterton Champions Eastern Premier League Runners-Up S Khan 715 runs @47.67 U Mohammed 205 runs @41.00 H Southwell 226 runs @32.29 T Simpson 435 runs @29.00 A Shah 327 runs @25.15 A Pillai 18 wkts @7.50 A Evans 18 wkts @9.56 R Allardice 13 wkts @13.69 A Beattie 16 wkts @14.44 R McIntyre 15 wkts @21.93 Some quirky stats from the First XI season Record partnership for the 2nd wicket 226 - Tom Simpson, Shujaa Khan v RHC 12 June Hattricks in successive matches - thought to be the first time this has happened - Ali Evans v Stewarts Melville: 6 for 19 - Arun Pillai v Forfarshire: 5 for 30 For only the second time since 1990 two bowlers took all 10 wickets in an innings v Watsonians 29th May Chayank Gosain 5 for 19 Omar Ahmad 5 for 23 This is the twelfth such occurrence since league cricket started in 1951. There were two instances of penalty runs being awarded. In all 8 players scored half-centuries. The bowling also showed great strength in depth with all the top bowlers taking more than 14 wickets. Cup victories notwithstanding, a highlight moment which will live long in the memory is the team’s immersion in the North Sea on the return trip from Stoneywood - even Omar Ahmad took the plunge after a little persuasion. All in all it is exciting to look forward to what can be achieved in coming seasons.

WOMEN’S XI WPL Champions Scottish Cup Winners Annette Aitken- Drummond 251 runs @62.75 C Scott 210 runs @42.00 Abbi Aitken-Drummond 240 runs @40.00 S Haggo 114 runs @38.00 C Scott 20 wkts @10.70 M Maceira 14 wkts @10.79 S Haggo 8 wkts @13.88 Netta picks up the story of the season from the end of the league campaign described previously in the NL A wee break occurred when our internationalists went off to become European Champions, before the serious business of trying to win the cup and do the domestic double. A quarter final clash vs Stew Mel wasn’t the easiest of starts to our campaign, but some tight bowling from Charis and Zaara (4-22) restricted them to 104. Abbi and I managed to see them off in the 15th over to secure us a place at Finals Day. A long drive to Dumfries followed, where we made short work of George Watson’s College in the semi to face West of Scotland in the final. Again, a really good performance with the ball, with both Charis and Hannah grabbing 3 wickets each, set us in good stead to take the title. A bit of a shaky start with the bat was steadied by youngsters Zaara and Maisie who won the final for us in style, and made history as Carlton became the first ever women’s team to do the double! It’s been such a great season for the women and we simply couldn’t do it without the help of all the parents and volunteers out there. A huge thanks to Stuart and Lidia in particular, and everyone else who has helped out with scoring and umpiring this year (CS Live wasn’t too much of a headache was it?!). A big thanks to Peter Ross who has made Friday night coaching sessions brilliant fun. Thanks to Samantha and Amelia on the Women’s Committee who have worked tirelessly all season to get more fixtures in than ever before. Thanks to Alasdair and the rest of the ground staff for preparing some fantastic pitches for us to play on, and a big thanks to Kerry and Karen for the banter and food at our Friday Night post-training socials. Now time for a well-earned break, before we retain both of our titles next season! Make mine a Double! AA-D

Expectations were high after a huge 212 run win in the first game of the season. The depth and youthful nature of the 2nd team showed much promise and talent and the side dominated opposition on many occasions. The tally of 11 wins and 244 points was impressive and in other seasons would top the table, but it was perhaps a season of missed opportunity as narrow defeats in 3 games ultimately cost us the Championship title. A 17 run defeat and harsh point deduction for slow overs in an ill-tempered game at Galashiels proved pivotal as Gala pipped us to the title by 0.13%. Small marginal gains and stepping up in the key moments are key aspects to take forward in future seasons. With the exception of some strong individual performances, at times the batting never really got going and lacked the necessary big partnerships needed to build big totals and chase down scores. Ben D’ulisse topped the averages with 270 runs at 45 with his well fought 69 at Clackmannan being a highlight. Gavin Murray impressed in his debut full season being top run scorer with 372 at an average of 31. His debut century at Kelso with 109 was just reward for his patience and shot selection. ESCA Championship - Runners Up P14 W 11 L3 G Murray 372 runs @31.00 H Laing 282 runs @35.25 B D’Ulisse 270 runs @45.00 C Stronach 24 wkts @12.25 H Simpson 18 wkts @10.17 C Everett 13 wkts @16.00 Murray Whitaker’s 103 on his first game back was a further highlight and both Hayden Laing and Will Hardie also provided experience and useful contributions, with Hardie securing a crucial 70 in the last game and Laing falling 3 short of a century at Kelso. After some rusty fielding performances in the early part of the season, the more consistent nature of the fielding and some outstanding catches became a strength and supported a balanced and experienced bowling attack. Charles Stronach reliably led the attack with maturity and aggression. He topped the wicket tally with 24 for the season and was well supported by his new ball bowling partners Rua McIntyre and Saif Khan. A real strength and feature of the season was the support bowling from Calum Everett, Harry Simpson and Rory Allardice. Everett’s 4-23 helped set up victory over Grange and his consistency and movement gave the team control and important wickets in many crucial games defending lowish totals. It was often the guile and quality of Allardice and Simpson that made the difference as they put the squeeze on many a middle order who had no response. /over 2nd XI

Cont’d/ Simpson’s 5-7 against Gala at Grange Loan was outstanding in the context of the game and further highlights with the ball were Stronach’s 5-27 at Kelso, Shiv Gupta’s 6-16 and Angus Beattie’s 5-19 in rare 2s appearances against Marchmont and Morton. The team fielded 25 players over the course of the season and several were provided with return opportunities to represent the 1st XI. This gave a number of juniors and developing players valuable exposure to Championship cricket. Notable performances came from Saif Khan with the ball and all rounder Charlie Kentish, whose 48 not out against Edinburgh CC was a game changer. Huge thanks to vice-captain Harry Simpson, scorer Bob Irvine and other supporters who helped with scoring duties. Overall, it was a hugely enjoyable season filled with success, humour, camaraderie and competitive edge. My personal thanks go to all the squad and the many characters that provided a sense of fun and team spirit throughout the season. PD Rainbow at Grange Loan 13 August 2021

ESCA Div 2 - 4th P14 W 9 L 5 Z Yusaf 322 runs @40.25 B Thurman 269 runs @44.83 P Kentish 233 runs @33.29 B McKay 19 wkts @14.42 M D’Ulisse 15 wkts @14.40 G Rittoo 14 wkts @13.57 The 3’s finished fourth in ESCA division 2 with 9 wins and 5 losses, a highly successful season in a good quality league. We played really good cricket at times and, once on top, we rarely let a win slip away although we did tryout best to do so with two one-wicket wins! Playing in the 3’s is a magical mystery tour - Leith Links one week, Fettes the next. The overarching theme for the season was to have fun and enjoy it and this atmosphere allowed players to perform their best and continue to develop their games. The team was also a happy balance of young and not so young where knowledge and skill was shared. In these uncertain times, playing cricket again and the associated social element has been a real privilege and is a great reflection on the effort put in by all 3’s players to make each Saturday a good day out. It’s not all roses though and I’m sure none of us will want to watch Heriots play out eleven consecutive maidens again. Thanks to everyone who played 3’s this year and look forward to going again next year. BMCK 3rd XI

4th XI The 4s had a challenging season. We used 39 players across the 14 matches we started. The one ever present was Fraser Kentish with only 3 other players into double figures: Joe Ward (12), David Simpson (11) and Al Murray (11). We also used 3 captains. We won 6 games, lost 7 and had one abandoned when we had Dunnikier 2s 88 for 7, but for most of the season we were flirting with the bottom of the league table. We did manage to put out strong teams on a couple of occasions but that seemed to coincide with us playing the teams at the bottom. And the flip side was we fell to some heavy defeats when we were weaker and up against good sides. Two games stick out. On week 2 we travelled to Dunbar and it came down to the wire. With 1 wicket left they needed 6 from 3 overs with the opening bowlers bowled out. Lucy Spouncer bowled a great 38th over, only going for 1. Fraser stepped up to bowl the second last and a couple of wides and a single had us staring down the barrel, but he followed it up with a full straight ball hitting the pads and the finger went up to give us a win by 2 runs. Phew! The other was the final match with David in charge away at second placed Broomhall. An excellent first half with the ball wasn’t quite backed up with the bat. Several senior players got good starts without going on but it was left to two young batters Ferg Foley and Ben Stronach to get the win and a 6th place finish in the league. We generally bowled pretty well – occasionally backing it up in the field, but tended to struggle with the bat. That is reflected in the averages – the batting prize went to Rory Ledingham for 122 runs at 24. With the ball 21 bowlers took wickets but only 4 took more than 6. Andrew Lang won the bowling award for his 9 wickets at 6.5. The fielding prize went to Joe Ward for his enthusiasm in the field, 7 catches and a run out. AM ESCA Div 4 - 6th P13 W6 L 7 D Simpson 168 runs @18.67 R Ledingham 122 runs @24.40 I Hathorn 113 runs @22.60 A Murray 113 runs @14.13 J Ward 18 wkts @20.28 F Kentish 13 wkts @24.92 R Ledingham 11 wkts @7.36 A Lang 9 wkts @ 6.56 4s Action at Dunbar

ESCA Div 7 - 4th P 12 W6 L6 K Murray 188 runs @20.89 O Stones 78 runs @19.50 M Robertson 158 runs @17.56 K Burgess 26 wkts @11.27 E Murray 10 wkts @18.10 The 5s have had a great year - played 32 matches 13 league and 19 friendly matches. At the end of the day in the lower leagues, the main thing is that everyone gets to participate and enjoy themselves. I think we have done that pretty well this year. 41 players played in the league matches alone, including 9 junior league debuts. We beat every team in the league at least once, apart from the winners Ed South 2 and we had our moments against them. We won 6 and lost 6, with one game abandoned. We achieved our highest ever league finish. We played 4 league matches at Grange Loan, including one match on a Saturday against Clackmannan. That was a memorable game for a number of reasons. Nobody had cancelled the Championship umpires so they kindly agreed to stand, although it was somewhat unusual to be warned about Level One offences at the start of a match in Division 7! It was even more unusual for our junior bowlers to be given warnings for chest high no-balls. The umpires then gave 4 LBW decisions to remove most of the Clack batting and that certainly helped us to bowl them out for 50 and get our first win of the season. I would like to thank the ground staff for all the wickets we have been able to enjoy here at GL. It is really great to have been able to play here so much. Also a big thank you to Amelia Beattie for sorting out all of our many fixtures. She has been fantastic. Thanks also to my two vice captains John and Euan. And finally, I would like to thank all the 5s players for their efforts. Our games have been played in really good spirit and there has been lots of feedback from other teams saying how much they have enjoyed the matches. With so many great performances, awarding the team prizes has not been easy. The standard of our bowling this year has been very good. There have been wickets for 22 of the 28 bowlers used. Gus Turner and Freddie Megaw have had 4fors. Euan Murray has taken 10, often important, wickets. But there has been one stand out performer this year. He has improved massively over the course of the past season and has opened the bowling each week. 5th XI Kyle Burgess took 26 wickets, including a best of 6 for 21, with an average of 11.27 and economy of 3.24. He won the ESCA Divisional bowling award for Division 7, the first time that a Carlton 5s player to do so. And he has been an absolute pleasure to captain. The winner of the bowling award is Kyle Burgess. /over

/cont’d It has been quite a low scoring season across Division 7. However, the 5s did have their first ever century – a brilliant 140* by Rory Ledingham against Dunfermline. Many congratulations to Rory for that great achievement and bit of 5s history. There was only one other 50, which was David Simpson’s fine 60 against Gala, although Mixed Development XI This season saw the innovation of the Mixed Development Team who played 8 matches in the ESCA Sunday League, winning one and running a close second in the other 7. 51 players took part - many of them tasting their first senior or competitive matches. It was hugely enjoyable for everyone involved and a huge debt of thanks is owed to John Beattie who masterminded all the logistics. Over 50s This season also featured the introduction of an Over-50s XI (or under-80s as the match reporter cruelly dubbed it. In two tightly competitive engagements with friends and rivals Watsonians, each going to the final over, they emerged victorious on both occasions. The u50s are therefore the club’s only unbeaten senior team. Ferg Foley hit 48 against Stew Mel and John Beattie also hit 48 against Clack. Apart from Rory’s century, the top scoring junior was Oli Stones with 78 runs at an average of 19.5. There were only three batters who scored over 100 runs in the season. Rory with his 140*. Martin Robertson was second top scorer with 158 runs at an average of 17.56. However, the top scorer with 188 runs and also the highest average with 20.89, was Keith Murray. There have been a lot of excellent fielding performances from the juniors. It has been great to have so many of them in the team each week. However, the fielding award for the 5s is going to a player who by his own admission has not been a great fielder in the past. This year he has worked really hard on his fielding and it has made a big difference. I don’t think he has dropped anything. He has thrown himself around in the field. The fielding award goes to John Beattie. KM JUNIOR CRICKET The next issue of the Newsletter will feature a full review of 2021’s junior cricket.

The Coaches Back to Cricket with Bubbles and Booking Systems Stevie Gilmour - Head of the Biggest and Best Coaching Team in Scotland -reports After a second lock-down in the winter months, I was desperate to get back out there coaching (or should I say “covid monitoring’) as soon as we could in early March. So desperate that I didn’t even notice the cold, which just shows that with a slight change in mindset we can be making use of the facilities at Carlton during more months of the year. Seniors There was a lot of uncertainty on whether Pete Steindl would make it back from oz to head up the coaching of the Senior teams and when it was confirmed he couldn’t make it we had to react quickly! I was delighted to secure the services of Dewald Nel with Evo stepping into the Head Coach position. “D” brings a huge amount of experience to the club and I hope that his schedule will allow us to keep him involved in some capacity in the future. Special mention must go to Evo for his time and dedication to not only leading the coaching of the senior teams but captaining the 1st XI, being Chair of Selectors (which is a huge job!), assistant coach of the performance squad and juniors, all whilst keeping his day job going of being a professional cricketer! Once the small matter of the T20 World Cup is out the way he will have certainly earnt a wee rest! Women The Women’s squad really have been the stars of 2021 and credit has to go to the Women themselves as many of them were the most dedicated trainers all winter in any weather! Evo did some fantastic work with a few of this squad pre-season and then we were lucky and excited to have Peter Ross appointed as Head Coach for the Summer. Peter is a highly qualified and experienced coach and I know the women have really enjoyed working with him and benefited hugely from his input. /over

/Cont’d Performance Squad Although the Performance Squad missed out on a full winter programme due to covid my thanks goes to Tom Foulds our S&C Coach for delivering our Zoom fitness sessions to the guys to keep us going. We had early morning sessions on a Tuesday and some player led online sessions on a Saturday afternoon, mixed in with some online sport psychology. In the summer we got back to our regular Monday evening sessions which I look forward to every week. The players work hard on all aspects of their game especially fielding, it really is a joy to coach. Huge thanks to Evo for all his skills and experience at these sessions. Juniors The club continues to thrive at Junior level and I really can't thank enough my HUGE team of coaches (too many to name!) for delivering these sessions with great enthusiasm and skill. A special shout out to Cheeky and Sibs as this potentially could be their last season coaching at the club for a while. The kids and parents love these guys! They both have big personalities and a great rapport with the kids, however, most importantly for me, they are also extremely good coaches! The girls hardball squad were lucky to have a quartet of current Internationalists this year as their coaches. Thanks to Samantha for leading this, as well as Abbi, Hannah and Evo. The next generation of women players are certainly in good hands! I had another busy summer of cricket camps which were great fun. It dawned on me that every one of my 16 strong coaching team this year is not only a club member but also attended my camps as a kid! Possibly a sign that I am getting old (er!). Overall, what a great summer of cricket, it really is a privilege to be a coach at the biggest and best club in the country! After a wee break, I will be in touch with the details for the winter programme so we can get ready to go again in 2022! A summer of success, but there were some tense moments round the boundary …… ...and at home too!

MORE WINNERS! Fantasy League Showing he is well qualified for the position of the Chair of the Selection Committee, Ali Evans won the Carlton Fantasy Cricket League beating Al Murray into a close second. The Final Leaderboard can be found on this link. Many thanks to Gavin Murray for making it happen. Sixes Despite the attempt of the Handicapping Committee to nobble them by including Fantasy Bob in the squad, Ledingham’s Legends won the World Famous Carlton 6s. A tense final with D’Ulisse’s Dangermen came down to the last ball from Arun Pillai, which Gus Turner duly despatched into the hedges to secure the Martin Flynn trophy. A photo gallery of all the day’s fun can be found on the club website. TAKE OFF IN FLIGHT LANDING

From the Office of the President Kerry’s vote of thanks What a busy and successful season this has been both on and off the field! Off the field, the Beer Garden and Bar were open most weekends - only rained off twice. We started the Beer Garden back in July 2020 when not much else was open and it was a way of bringing members of the club together before the cricket season could start. This year, we had to make a few changes along the way as Covid regulations changed - no vertical drinking, table service..... - but I am glad to say that the Beer Garden was still popular and it has been so nice to welcome new, social members to the club as well as familiar faces. It wasn’t without its challenges, like the payment system going down during the Masterton final or the torrential downpour just as we took delivery of 100 portions of curry, but on the whole it was enjoyable and hopefully the Beer Gardens will be up and running again next year. We've sold 1,000 pints each of East Coast IPA and Innis & Gunn as well as more than 500 pies. We have also been delighted at the success and popularity of the Jump Ship Brewing Non Alcoholic Beer Range - which was set up by Sonja Mitchell, a club member. Sonja kindly donated our first cases of lager and IPA and it has proved to be a big hit behind the bar and very recently was a winner at the World Beer Awards. Jump Ship Brewing is one of the new sponsors of the club this season - 21 players now have individual sponsors who are mentioned on teamsheets and social media posts (huge thanks to Gav Murray for doing great job on Twitter and Instagram). The club is so grateful to all our sponsors - player and match sponsors, board advertisers and of course CALA Homes who have been the Junior Sponsors for the last 3 years. All the matches and all the events at the Club couldn’t happen without volunteers – we are very fortunate at Carlton to have so many people who work hard to make it a success. But of course we can never have too many volunteers, so if you are keen to get involved, please let me know. I would like to say a special Thank You to the Management Committee – Alan, Richard, Euan, David, Fraser, Siobhan and Karen – who work away throughout the year to keep things running – thankfully lockdown has meant that we have avoided holding meetings in the Changing Rooms. Following in Andy’s (and Hugh before him) footsteps was daunting but the role has been so much easier with great support. And finally, Thank You Bob for keeping us all so well informed and entertained with the newsletters – quite an achievement especially during the winter. We are hoping to hold a couple of social events during the long, dark winter months so hopefully see you before next April!

Carlton would like to thank all its sponsors for their support during 2021 and looks forward to a continuing positive relationship with them all in future seasons. Junior Cricket Sponsor Board Sponsors Match Sponsors - Colin Campbell; Archie Gray; Angus Mair; Jill Millar (in memoriam Frank Millar); Player Sponsors: Ali Evans - Bruntsfield Sports; Ali Shah - Print Pixels; Angus Beattie - The Opticians at Marchmont; Arun Pillai - A Wee Pedal; Callum Everett - Holibob; Chayank Gosain - Artemist Investments; Fraser Burnett - Tailend; Harry Simpson - Leo's Beanery; Hayden Laing - Superlogo; Hugo Southwell - Magenta HR; Omar Ahmad - Home Instead; Rory McCann - Corbo(private sponsor); Rua McIntyre - It’s Good 2 Give; Ruari MacPherson - The Foleys(private sponsor); Shiv Gupta - It’s Good 2 Give; Shujaa Khan - Vision Coaching; Tom Simpson - Brass Neck Rum; Umair Mohammed - Umair Mohammed Dentist; Will Hardie - Ardnamurchan Distillery; Abbi Aitken- Drummond - Jump Ship Brewery; Annette Aitken-Drummond - A Wee Pedal.