Issue 42

Carlton in Europe Carlton is grateful for the support of the following sponsors for their participation in the ECL. Carlton Squad Ally Evans (c) Angus Beattie Fraser Burnett Shiv Gupta Shujaa Khan Rory McCann Umair Mohammed Arun Pillai Adeel Raza Ali Shah Harry Simpson Hugo Southwell Murray Whitaker Carlton Match Schedule Monday 21 February 8.00 (GMT) Brescia CC 12.00 (GMT) Olten CC Tuesday 22 February 10.00 (GMT) Prague Kings CC 16.00 (GMT) Cluj CC Wednesday 23 February 12.00 (GMT) Zeytinburnu ZaferSpor CC Thursday 24 February and Friday 25 February Play Offs EUROPEAN CRICKET LEAGUE Competition Format There are 5 groups of 6 teams. Carlton is in Group C. During the weeks from 7 February to 11 March, each group plays a round robin of T10 matches plus play offs to establish the group champion. The group champions then play a similar format in Finals Week, 14-18 March, to establish the overall Champion.

Carlton in Europe Carlton is grateful for the support of the following sponsors for their participation in the ECL. Just 28 days till Carlton kick off their European challenge at the Cartama Oval in Malaga. And, as Stevie Gilmour reports, preparations are hotting up: We are a few weeks into our preparation for the ECL and have been training hard at MES. At the first session everyone was so excited to get going; none more so than Hugo Southwell who swung so hard at his first ball he nearly dislocated a shoulder. By the end of the session the guys had learned some new techniques to improve their power hitting game and understand that doing the basics well with bat and ball is still extremely important in this short format of the game. Additionally, our intelligence work so far tells us that the straight boundaries are very short - so good strong straight hitting will work for the batters and the bowlers will have to be smart with their lengths to combat the oppositions’ swinging willow. We will be learning a lot as we go, and quickly. We arrive around 9pm at night and play our first game at 9am the next morning. Evo will be tossing up in the dark as the sun does not rise until after 8am! Combined with the heavy dew that will make for a challenging start to our campaign. What a great opportunity for the club and an honour for the squad who will wear our colours. We hope you will be able to support us by watching the livestream. Keep up with all the news Complete Coverage of the European Cricket League @EuropeanCricket Matches will be streamed on the European Cricket Network YouTube Channel or Premier Sports Fancy a Winter Break? Carlton is unable to run a supporter’s bus for this event - but fans can still travel. There are regular flights to Malaga from Edinburgh Airport and the ECN offers discounts on hotel and car hire packages.

Carlton in Europe victory. An earlier encounter in 1997 had more Carlton interest with Bryn Lockie scoring 58 in a side skippered by George Salmond. The Northern Italian City of Brescia was founded over 3,200 years ago, the cricket club is somewhat younger and enjoys keen local rivalry with Brescia Jinnah CC. Brescia (in antiquity Brixia) has the best-preserved Roman public buildings in northern Italy. The monumental archaeological area of the Roman forum and the monastic complex of San Salvatore-Santa Giulia have become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Brescia is considered to be an important industrial city. The motor industry has been an important employer in the region and Brescia was home to the once prestigious Mille Miglia classic car race, which has now been discontinued. Its football team now plays in Serie B but once had Roberto Baggio and Pep Guardiola on its books. Cricket in Italy dates back to 1793 when Admiral Horatio Nelson is said to have organised the first-ever recorded game in Naples. Exactly 100 years later, Sir James Edward Spensley founded the Genoa Cricket & Football Club, to be followed shortly afterwards by similar entities in Milan and Turin. For many years AC Milan was a cricket club. The advent of Fascism, however, saw the disappearance of the game, which only resurfaced after World War II. During the 1960s the diplomatic community in rome competed for the Rome Ashes. The transformation from and exclusively expatriate activity started in 1980 with the foundation of the Associazione Italiana Cricket. Recognised by the ICC in 1984 as the first Affiliate Member, the Associazione acquired Associate status in 1995. Scotland have played Italy on a number of occasions. In 2013 half centuries by Richie Berrington and Calum Macleod were enough to bring See the big hitting of Brescia’s batsmen as they secure qualification for the ECL.

Carlton in Europe Switzerland is also the venue for the Cricket On Ice festival, played every winter on the frozen lake in St. Moritz (1700 metres above sea-level) an event that dates back to the early 1900s, but which was refreshed in the 1990s as a glitzy invitation event. Olten is in the north of Switzerland, equidistant from Zurich and Berne with a population of around 19,000. Olten CC was founded in 2003. This water colour, “Vue de la Ville de Genève et de Plein-Palais ” of 1817 by Giovanni Salucci, shows a game of cricket in Geneva and may suggest a long Swiss history of the game. But there may have been a bit of a hiatus after that match - the first club was founded in Geneva in 1872. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that the game began to take root. The inaugural meeting of the first Swiss Cricket Association wasn’t held until 1980 at the Australian Embassy in Berne. While this Association gained ICC Affiliate status in 1985, disagreements in 2009-10 with a rival umbrella organisation led to suspension from ICC. This was overcome by the creation of Cricket Switzerland in 2014. Cricket became a recognised sport in Switzerland in 2018 and has been growing rapidly in popularity, there are now 28 active clubs. Women’s cricket was started in 2014.

Carlton in Europe Prague Cricket Club is the oldest cricket club in the Czech Republic - and the most successful. It was formed in 1997 when a group of ex-pats from the UK and the subcontinent began playing. They mainly played touring foreign teams attracted by the sights of the city. The Českomoravský Kriketový Svaz Czech Republic Cricket Union was set up in 2000 and has worked to develop and structure the game. There is now a well structured league system playing T10, T20 and 40 over matches. The Czech Republic became an affiliate member of the ICC in 2000 and an associate member in 2017. The national side made its debut in 2006, when it played a series against Austria. It made its international tournament debut in 2008, at a T20 tournament in Wales, and has since participated regularly in international events. A Prague King’s player was at the heart of the Czech Republic’s finest cricketing hour. This came in August 2019 against Turkey, who were making their first venture into international cricket. During this match the Czech Republic set or equalled four T20I Records. They made 278 in 20 overs thanks largely to Prague Kings’ batsman Sudesh Wickramasekara’s 35-ball hundred. They then bowled Turkey out for 21 to win by 257 runs. Both these figure in the record books. Wickramasekara’s record setting innings is not on video but this link shows his style as he scores heavily in a domestic match last season. He has been the Czech Republic’s T20 player of the year for the last 3 years.

Carlton in Europe Cluj Cricket Club dates from 2009 - in 2021 they swept the board of Romanian domestic trophies and have a number of hard hitting batsmen to look out for - most notably Taranjeet Singh, who plays alongside Pavel Florin (see NL 41) in the national side. Singh who scored 72 off 23 balls in this season’s T10 final. The first cricket match in Romania was played in 1893 when a match between the towns of Braila and Bucharest was arranged to welcome the arrival of the new Queen of Romania - who was the grand-daughter of Queen Victoria. Cricket was played until 1930, after which it declined and died out. In recent years the game has begun to grow again, particularly in the main centres of population where there are significant numbers of expats from the sub-continent. In July 2010, a Romanian XI took the field for the first time in a European Twenty20 tournament in Skopje, Macedonia. In June 2013, Romania was granted affiliate status by the ICC and in 2017, they became an associate member and have competed in events regularly since. There is only one turf wicket in Romania where the national side play - near Bucharest - at present it is the only turf wicket in Eastern Europe. Cluj is the second most populous city in Romania and is situated in the north west of the country based on a Roman foundation It is considered the traditional capital of the historical province of Transylvania. The IT industry is significant, and Cluj is sometimes described as Romania’s own silicon valley. There was once a Nokia factory and research facility although these have more recently closed. It is a lively place - one third of its population are students and it’s nightlife is lively - there is a street which contains nothing but student bars.

Carlton in Europe Turkish club Zeytinburnu ZaferSpor was founded 2012 in Turkey’s largest city Istanbul. It is therefore the youngest club that Carlton will face. Apart from its success in reaching the European Championship it beat the full Bulgarian national side in 2019 and supplies a number of players to the Turkish National Side. One to watch is skipper Mecit Ozturk. As in many other countries, British naval and commercial influence in Turkey established some early cricketing roots. Matches were played in the late 19th and early 20th century. A fledgling league in the area of the Bosphorus played for a few years. There was enough interest for one of Turkey's biggest football clubs, Fenerbache, to establish its own cricket branch in 1911. Unfortunately, the First World War l;ed to interest in cricket dying out in Istanbul and it is only more recently that cricket it has revived. Following approaches from the residual, largely Asian ex-pat, cricketing community, 'kriket' was included officially as a developing sport by relevant Government bodies in December 2006. The Turkish Cricket Board (TCB) was granted ICC Affiliate Membership in 2008 and is now qualified to play international cricket. Turkey's first ever international matches took place in Corfu, Greece during the ICC European Championship Division 5 in September 2009. Its baptism in international competition proved to a difficult one, as described in the page about Prague Kings CC. However progress has been made. Cricket is now being played across Turkey. Twenty-five sports clubs have cricket branches, with around 1000 cricket players all around Turkey. 15 of those clubs have senior and junior men, and 10 of them have senior and junior women teams.

Alison Cowie It was with great sadness that Carlton learnt of the passing on 15 January of Alison Cowie. Alison was a big supporter of Carlton and a good friend to many at the club. She willingly gave her time in support of the junior section for many years - she was a past Junior Social Convener and a keen helper at many a BBQ. She was also found working hard in the Carlton kitchen on a Saturday afternoon as part of the cricket tea team. Mother of Dougal and Ruairidh Main, and wife to David, her cheerful smile was seen round the boundary on many evenings and weekends. Alison had a warm, friendly personality and a kind word for everyone. She will be greatly missed by all at Grange Loan. As well as being a dedicated teacher at Portobello High School for many years, Alison was an accomplished traditional musician and made recordings of her self-penned fiddle tunes which can be found in this specially created website. Alison’s family wish to recognise the remarkable care given to Alison in her final months by Marie Curie. They have set up a just giving page to support Marie Curie’s vital work. Here is the link https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/alison-margaret-cowie As a club, we also wish to recognise and support Marie Curie’s great work and we will be hosting a fundraising afternoon tea in the Spring. More details to follow soon.

Matches Average Innings Runs per wicket Runs per over 1950's 48 115 14.39 2.81 1960's 62 127 16.36 3.47 1970's 68 133 21.54 3.28 1980's 69 158 27.66 3.28 1990's 69 169 24.89 3.49 2000's 67 192 25.71 4.07 2010's 70 211 28.69 4.69 2020's 14 207 29.04 5.21 IN THE PINK The decision that this season the Eastern Premier League will use pink balls is the first significant change to playing conditions for a number of years. Batting and bowling bonus points will also be introduced. Over the years a number of rule changes have had an impact on playing outcomes. The table shows how Carlton’s 1st XI scores have increased steadily over the years. To what extent does this follow from changes in playing rules and conditions? Grange Loan wickets have been covered since 1998, anticipating the subsequent mandatory requirement of the league. Bowling restrictions were introduced in 2005, first to 13 overs per bowler and then to 10. No longer could a pro-bowler bowl unchanged through the innings. While this ensured more players contributed to the game - did it lower the overall quality of bowling? Fielding restrictions were introduced in the early 200s. More controversially, the draw was discontinued in 2002 - still the subject of discussion in many circles. The highest single years aggregate was in 2016 when in 10 completed matches, the 1st XI scored 2275 runs. This was of course the year Carlton won the CSL Championship. All ten home matches were won - the only year this has been achieved. But the highest average runs scored was in 2017 when in 7 matches the 1st XI averaged 248. It has yet to be seen whether ESCA will follow the move to pink.

Last season, we won the National T20 Cup, we took some brilliant teams down on our way to do so, that is very fresh in my memory. Carlton did the league double in 2016, winning the Eastern Premier and the National Play Offs, that was very special, the celebrations were even more so! Personally, not only was it my first season with Carlton, but also a 2nd league double, as I was part of the Grange team that did the same the previous year. However the top of the list is the Scottish Cup in 2017. Carlton had never managed to get the Scottish Cup in the trophy cabinet before and Fraser Watts had decided to hang his boots up. We were outplayed for a good part of both the innings in the final, only to come back, first with the bat in the form of Ali Evans (never before had we seen him bat like that), Ali Shah and Chayank Gosain to get us to a respectable score after losing more than half the team for not much; and then the opposition were only 2-down with a handful left to get when Angus Beattie and other spinners* turned the game on its head. Unforgettable! So , what does Carlton mean to me? Quite naturally, when you join a club you look at the players you will take the field with. I was quite fortunate to play alongside the likes of Fraser Watts, Gordon Drummond, Steve Gilmour, Rory McCann, Mario Olivier, Omar Ahmad, and Ali Evans when I arrived at the club. Hugo Southwell made his debut for the club the same season as well. Players will make a team, but it’s the families, the camaraderie, the community that makes a Club, and I soon realised that is what makes Carlton so special along with the number of junior players as proud to wear the Carlton badge as some of the senior players if not more. I am looking forward to the coming seasons now that quite a few of our current players have young families which makes it even better. (*Arun is typically too modest to mention his own 3-33) There has been no more popular arrival at Grange Loan than Arun Pillai who came from Grange in 2016. In 94 first team matches in all formats he has scored 1835 runs, taken 121 wickets and pouched 50 catches. Last season he topped the EPL bowling averages with 16 wkts @ 5.93 and played a vital part in the T20 Cup run. He reflects on some favourite moments at Carlton and what makes the club special for him. Roon!

U14 Indoor League - 14 January A short report from Ian Thompson Finlay Thompson, John Gill, Tom Dweck, Luke Boardman, Harvey Harrison, Jack Farmer, Ian Hunter A wonderfully sunny day for the start of the U14 Indoor league at Broughton High School. Cricketing weather? Until you got of the car and realised it really is still winter. There were five teams playing Carlton; Gala; Peebles; Murrayfield DAFS and Southmuir Sharks. All of them couldn’t wait to get back to cricketing fun. Carlton had two games - first against Gala then Peebles. Jack was captain this game and the bowlers did well restricting Gala to 71 runs off their 8 overs. (Along the ground to the back wall scored a 6, in the air scored 4). A WHOLE LOTTA CRICKET GOIN’ ON It may be the bleak midwinter but Carlton’s cricketers are hard at work. Scotland’s women and u19 squads have been in competition with Carlton players to the fore. Preparation for the European Cricket Championship is well under way. With senior and junior practice sessions at all levels in process; with the Old Bats happily braving the elements at at Grange Loan; with junior indoor fixtures across a range of ages, it’s as busy as mid-summer. All that is needed is the sunshine - but then that’s usually the case in mid-summer too. Keep up to date with and book for the sessions through Pitchero. In reply Carlton started slowly but with 30 scored off the last 2 overs Carlton won with 87 runs. Finlay was captain for the second game, again choosing to bowl first. Peebles batted very well, after their 8 overs they had 82 runs. Carlton again started slowly and were a little behind the rate, however some good shots brought them level par after 6 overs but Carlton needed 13 runs off the final over. John and Tom then started to hit the back wall and 20 off the last over saw Carlton home by 7 runs. The fielding and catching by all the teams were first class the running between the wickets was very positive and rewarding, it will pay dividends when they start to play outside later in the year.

Following a successful summer program, it has only been a short break before the return of Performance Squad training. With the purpose of encouraging the transition of young cricketers into the top Carlton teams, our program is designed by Stevie to work on the physical and mental sides of the game. We have a Strength and Conditioning session once a week with trainer Tom Foulds - Tom’s experience as a cricketer is vital in creating sessions that apply our fitness goals in a cricketing context. PERFORMANCE! Since it began a few years ago, Carlton’s performance squad has become an integral part of the pathway for aspiring players. Euan Keatinge describes the squad experience Stevie runs another fitness based session. These have consisted of new ways to improve fitness, including Boxing fitness, skipping and even Yoga, with breathing exercises included to improve our ability to concentrate for periods of time. It’s great to be able to ask questions and discuss with other members of the squad how what we do in the gym will improve our performance in the middle. On Saturdays we join the senior teams at MES for our nets sessions. These combine patient technical practice with live nets where we can apply what we have worked on. The opportunity to integrate with the 1s/2s players is a great chance to learn from senior players with lots of experience at the top level. With one eye already on the start of the season, it will be exciting to see the hard work and commitment of all squad members pay off, continuing Carlton’s proud tradition of junior players contributing to the senior teams. ooOoo Sweater News Is this a possible addition to the range of Carlton Heritage sweaters, successfully launched by Martin Robertson last year? Ideal for those chilly first weeks of the season. Moustache an optional extra.