Issue 71

We have come to the end of another busy season at Carlton – not sure if it is a sign of age or not but each year seems to go past faster and faster … Weather has been a big factor this season, with the delay to the start of the season for the 1s and then many cancellations of trainings and matches. The new ground staff team have had their work cut out all season and it is to their credit that the pitches have played very well and been well received by players. We were delighted to welcome Regan as the new groundsman this year. He is a great addition to the Carlton team. As is Paul Kentish who seems to have found his calling as a groundsman – and it all came about during a chat at the bar at the prizegiving last year. No looking back now Paul!! And we have to say a sad goodbye to Lewis, who took to his new role on the ground with gusto – we all wish him good luck in London. And of course our ground staff team wouldn’t be complete without Russell and Alasdair. Thank you for all your work. As you may know, Alasdair has a special birthday coming up at the end of the month and we are celebrating at Grange Loan on Saturday 28 September at 5pm. If you are able to come along and join the celebrations, please let me know. (RSVP to Kerry_david_simpson@hotmail.com). All welcome. KERRY BOWS OUT There are so many people who work hard at Carlton to make the club a success. The Management Committee meet throughout the year and a massive thanks to them for all the hard work. We welcomed Martin Firth on the committee this year – I doubt there is anyone who knows more about Pitchero than Martin (even the people who work there) and we are so lucky to have him. Martin and Alan Murray are both recently retired from work so the club should make full use of all their additional free time! Volunteers are so important to the success of the club and I would strongly urge anyone to get involved in whatever way possible. I first volunteered at Carlton in 2010 as the administrator for the U13B team. Since then I have done many jobs for the club. I have had some great experiences and learned many new skills and along the way made some great friends. After 4 seasons, this has been my last as President. It is time to hand the job over to fresh blood who can bring along new ideas. When I was first approached to take on the role, I laughed at the idea! What did I know about playing cricket? But I realised that a cricket club is about more than just playing cricket and there are so many other parts of the club to look after and get involved with. And I have Stevie for all the cricket questions! After 4 years in the hot seat, Carlton President Kerry Simpson is stepping down. Everyone at the club is hugely grateful to Kerry for her immense contribution to the Carlton’s success on and off the field, particularly in galvanising the social side of the club. Kerry gives some thanks for this season’s work while reflecting on her years at the top and on the importance of volunteers to the continued health of Carlton. She is a hard act to follow. There will be news about her successor shortly.

/cont’d I have got stuck into the running of the bar and along with the Karen and the rest of the teas team, I have been heavily involved in the catering side. We have hosted some great private events including 1st, 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th and 70th birthday parties (and an upcoming 80th). Also, we have hosted Lloyds for corporate team building events for the past 3 years which has been great fun to help with. They are probably some of the most enthusiastic (if not very talented) cricketers to have played at Grange Loan this year. If anyone is interested in using the pavilion for a private event, please get in touch. I am sure I’ll still be involved at Carlton in some way in the coming years. The club has been such a huge part of my family’s life for nearly 20 years and we have so many connections to it that it would be hard to step away completely. And is there really any better way to spend a summer afternoon than sitting on a bench with friends at GL, Aperol Spritz in hand, with a view of Arthur’s Seat, watching cricket? And it’s even better when Carlton win! https://form.jotform.com/steveg105/carlton-player-fee dback-form-2024 YOUR VIEWS MATTER HELP US TO MAKE CARLTON BETTER THE 2024 PLAYER/MEMBER SURVEY IS NOW OPEN PLEASE RESPOND ON THE LINK BELOW

CARLTON CC HONOURS BOARD - SEASON 2024 Batting First XI Chris McBride 100(ret) v Watsonians 27 April. Chris McBride 220* v Meigle 11 May Dan Da Costa 112 v Meigle 11 May Chris McBride 165 v Edin Accies 21 May (Masterton) Dan Da Costa 105 v Aberdeenshire 23 June Arun Pillai 124 v RH Corstorphine 17 Aug Dan Da Costa 112 v Watsonians 31 Aug Women’s XI Abbi Aitken-Drummond 101* v Stew-Mel Women 12 May Bowling First XI Lewis O’Donnell 6-22 v West of Scotland 5 May Angus Beattie 5-17 v Arbroath 18 May Lewis O’Donnell 5-23 v RH Corstorphine 7 July (Masterton) Chris McBride 5-26 v Forfarshire 27 July Chris McBride 5-10 v Falkland 10 August Lewis O’Donnell 5-36 v RH Corstorphine 17 August Women’s XI Abbi Aitken-Drummond 5-7 v WOS Women 9 June Second XI Rory Allardice 6-13 v Marchmont 11 May Rory Ledingham 5-37 v MDAFS 22 June Conor Regan 5-32 v Penicuik 3 Aug Third XI Rory Ledingham - 5-14 v Dunfermline Carnegie 21 July Fourth XI Dan Mowat 6-36 v Stew-Mel 3 28 July Robbie Murray 5-48 v Melrose 3 Aug Fifth XI Angus Turner 5-39 v Stew-Mel 4 27 July

A Word From Stevie Personally, it has been a strange season for me having been away so much, however, I have watched on in amazement at the sheer volume of cricket that has been played, and at the incredible work that has gone into making it all happen. On behalf of everyone at the club thanks must go to all the captains, coaches, parent volunteers and members of the junior, cricket and management committees. You all do brilliant, sometimes thankless work to allow the club to run smoothly. We have had new ground staff this season and along with the new hybrid wickets all our members have enjoyed high quality surfaces to play on. Thanks to Regan, Paul, Lewis and Russell for all their work this season. (And for Alasdair’s background knowledge). Congratulations to the Women’s 1st XI becoming WPL winners again and to the Senior 2nd XI, eventually winning ESCA Division 1 to get us back to where we belong in the Championship. At junior level we gained silverware again by winning the Scottish section of the U15 ECB Cup. And we should all be excited by Gabriella gaining her first senior cap for Scotland. Lots more to come. We should all be proud that week in week out all our XIs are dominated by players who have come through the junior system. I don’t think there are many other clubs in Scotland who can make that claim so strongly. Finally, my biggest thanks has to go to Kerry for the tremendous amount of work she has done in her final year as President of the club. c Congratulations to Gabby Fontenla on her first caps for Scotland Senior Women; Abbi-Aitken Drummond on her selection for the Scotland Women Squad for the WT20 World Cup; and to Sam Haggo, Maisie Maceira, Charis Scott, Chris McBride and Lewis O’Donnell - all of whom were selected for Scotland A women’s and men’s fixtures during the 2024 season.

Raise money for Carlton through EASYFUNDRAISING website or app A Word from the Coach Carlton’s Head Coach Dewald Nel reflects on what he thought overall was a was a pretty successful season with a lot to be proud of. Teams mostly finished up in decent league table positions. It was great to see the 2s dominate Division 1 and get back to the Championship where the club needs them to be. A lot of hard work went into making that possible and everyone can be proud of that. And proud too of the Women - a fourth successive title is a huge achievement and again is a great reward fo all the work and enthusiasm that I see every week throughout the season. A mid-table position for the First Team seems an ok outcome given the challenges of availability. But there are positives in that it presented lots of opportunities to whet younger players’ appetite to deliver at a higher level. There were chances also for for others to take on different roles. Lots of players stepped up when they were needed. Overall, I am very encouraged by the hard work and enthusiasm shown throughout the club.

1st XI Masterton Runners-Up Eastern Premier League 6th P16 W9 L7 Chris McBride 786 runs @46.24 Dan Da Costa 719 runs @37.84 Arun Pillai 404 runs @28.86 Angus Beattie 257 runs @25.7 Ali Evans 202 runs @25.25 Lewis O’Donnell 49 wkts @14.47 Angus Beattie 26 wkts 20.65 Chris McBride 22 wkts @21.68 Ali Evans 16 wkts @26.44 Arun Pillai 13 wkts @22.69 (figures are for league and cup matches only)

Angus Beattie demonstrated his batting prowess on more than a few occasions, but he truly excelled with the ball, taking an impressive 34 wickets at an average of around 19. Yet, the standout performer in terms of wickets was Lewis O'Donnell, who claimed 65 wickets at an average of 13.65. His haul included 49 wickets in league and cup fixtures, with five-wicket hauls in league, cup, and Masterton games. In the cup fixture against West of Scotland, Lewis took six wickets, while Ruaridh McIntyre, contributed four wickets, taking all 10 between them and will be honoured on the Carlton Wall alongside Chris and Dan, who put on a 205-run partnership against Meigle early in the season. Under Dan's leadership, we progressed unbeaten to the Masterton finals, defeating Watsonians and Grange in the round-robin stage, and Corstorphine in the semi-finals, where a stunning catch from Rory Allardice dismissed the dangerous George Munsey. In the finals, despite having Grange at 124 for 6 and a possible national final in sight, our total of 177 was not enough. Their seventh wicket added 56 runs, ultimately securing their victory. Returning to the league, we managed to get back to winning ways and scored 326 against Grange, reigniting hopes for the title. However, a 200-plus run stand for the fifth wicket by the opponents, coupled with less-than-ideal bowling, allowed Grange to reach the target with 14 balls to spare. We were also knocked out of the Cup in the quarterfinals by Heriot’s, who proved a tough match-up for us this season, having defeated us three times. Earlier, Dan had scored his second century of the season against Aberdeenshire in the second round of the Cup, and then a third in the final league game, now standing at seven centuries over two seasons. We ended the season by winning three out of our last four league games, finishing sixth. Although not where we hoped to be, there’s always next season to look forward to. I also look forward to the Stronach brothers, James and Ben, and Jamie Beattie who along with Chris were the debutants for the Carlton 1st XI this season and hope will make regular appearances in the future. For now, we rest our bow and arrows, ready to "Nock, Draw, and Loose" again next summer! AP First XI Our eason began with a loss against Heriot’s, but we quickly turned things around. In the second game, Dan Da Costa scored a century and Chris McBride delivered an extraordinary double century, leading us to a series of four consecutive league victories. The fourth win was a hard-fought match away at Falkland, where Angus Beattie and Rudy Adair secured the victory with a crucial 20-run last-wicket partnership, chasing a modest 115. We had several thrilling finishes throughout the season. In the first Masterton fixture, Lewis O'Donnell hit a six over long off the second last ball to clinch a dramatic victory against Watsonians. Unfortunately, we then faced a tough period with four consecutive league losses, which potentially jeopardized our title hopes. However, we bounced back with a couple of impressive away wins, notably against Forfarshire, where Chris' five-wicket haul helped bowl them out for under 100. He also picked up another five-wicket haul against Falkland and had a stellar season overall, contributing 1,281 runs and 23 wickets across all formats. Arun’s 124 v RHC was his third century for Carlton in all formats.

WOMEN’S 1st XI WPL Champions To retain the title is really special, especially with this group. The weather on the final day was pretty horrendous, but we managed to get through it and were all very soggy by the end! Winning four on the trot is quite an achievement, and it’s testament to all the hard work and commitment that everyone at Carlton has put in. It’s about all the girls wanting to do the best for themselves and the club; we really enjoy being on the pitch together, and having fun when we do it. Everyone’s played their part this year, and it’s been nice to see all the girls improve, the younger ones especially. It was great to get to hand Elsie Fraser her 1st XI cap this summer. The future is bright! Charis was taking wickets (and catches) for fun this summer and it was amazing to have her back in the side after an injury-plagued season last year. Other highlights included Aggie Foley's 3-fer in pre-season (including Scotland/A caps) to turn the game around, Sarah Beith's meteoric rise in progress and confidence as an opener and blistering spells from Gabby Fontenla and Maisie Maceira to test any batsman. Abbi and I were fortunate to be in the runs this year and it was great to be able to put some decent scores on the board for the team. The title win is great not just for our team but for the club as a whole, and just shows how committed Carlton are to improving and growing women’s cricket. SH Sam Haggo 177 runs @44.25 Abbi Aitken-Drummond 218 runs @43.6 Charis Scott 197 run @ 24.63 Sarah Beith 103 runs @14.71 Abbi Aitken-Drummond 7 wickets @3.14 Charis Scott 15 wkts @8.8 Sam Haggo 6 wkts @9.3 Saskia Aldridge 4 wkts @17.75

ESCA 1st Division - Champions P14 W12 L2 2nd XI Ben Thurman 312 runs @28.36 Ben D’Ulisse 245 runs @27.22 Charlie Kentish 201 runs @16.75 Rory Ledingham 178 runs @25.43 Oscar Waters 162 runs @32.4 Charles Stronach 18 wkts @16 Rory Ledingham 14 wkts @14.69 Ben Stronach 12 wkts @14.58 Saif Khan 12 wkts @20.33 Conor Regan 12 wkts @7.45 At the time of writing, we are provisional Division 1 champions! Edinburgh CC were top of the league at the end of the season, but were then penalised 20 points due to their low fair play score. They are in the process of appealing this decision, so hopefully this will be resolved quickly so that we know if we have finished first or second. Fortunately, whatever happens, we have been promoted back to the Championship after only one year away.

This year we had 11! Ben Thurman scored 3, Ben D'Ulisse 2 and Gavin Murray, James Stronach, Charlie Buchanan-Smith, Oscar Waters, Shiv Jhala and Rory Ledingham 1 each. Ben Thurman returned to the 2's after a number of seasons, bringing some much needed experience. He had his best ever season for the 2s, scoring over 300 runs. Ben D'Ulisse scored almost 250 runs including an excellent 94, falling just short of a well deserved hundred. James Stronach (15) scored his maiden 2's 50 as did Rory Ledingham. Along with a number of others, it's great to see the younger players working their way through the teams and continuing to improve. Bowling wise we have been lucky at Carlton for a number of years to have a 'seamingly' (get it....) never ending supply of good bowlers. This year was no different with 7 bowlers taking more than 10 wickets. Stronach senior took 18 wickets mainly due to playing every game, Rory Ledingham had a great season, with his mystery spin taking 13 wickets, Saif Khan took 12 wickets before injuring his knee. Ben Stronach took 12 wickets at a strike rate of 22 before injuring his back. Jamie Beattie, Harry Simpson and Conor Regan each took 11. Rory Allardice played one game for the 2's taking a masterful 6-fer, while Rory L and Conor both took 5-fers It was great to see so many play well this season, making our promotion a real team effort. Thanks to everyone who played for the 2's this year and for all of the effort that you put in. If we continue to build on this, and put the effort in at training, we can do well in the Championship next season. Thanks to Arun and Brad, for working with me to get the best team out that we could each week. Thanks to Bob for giving up his time and scoring pretty much every week. And last but not least, thanks to Regan, Paul and Lewis for all of the work that they have done to produce excellent pitches this year despite all of the rain! CS Amazingly, with 2 games to go and only 1 loss to our name all season, we still needed to win one of them and a get a minimum of 6 bonus points from the other to guarantee second spot and promotion. After losing the second last game but getting 8 bonus points, we needed to win the last which we fortunately did! This is a fantastic achievement and was due to some excellent performances from a lot of players. Even though we used a remarkable 36 players over the season, we always had a number of people play well. Batting this year has been a big improvement on last year, with batters responding better to pressure and learning that 45 overs is a long time to bat, so in most cases you can take your time! Last year there was only one 50 scored by a batsman over the whole season. 2nd XI The Road Back

Women’s 2nd XI The Women’s Second team have had a busy season playing 14 Challenger League and Cup games plus 3 intra-club games. We won all 10 of our Challenger League and friendlies - including the Plate Final which was eventually played on 22 September. Our only loss was in the semi-final of the cup to a very strong East Kilbride team who play WPL and although we were disappointed as we know we could have played better, we are already relishing the chance to get our own back next season. Aggie Foley set the tone in our first game with 3-11 and Evie Miller scored 27 runs. We welcomed Evie to the club this season and this was her first game. But there were many highlights Holly's 3-8 and 3-17 and Caitlin’s 3-1 against a good Watsonians side. And Amelia Beattie has kept us entertained with her fielding heroics and diving. Our closest games were both v Stew Mel. We had a batting collapse in our first game but Abby (16) and Libby (11) got us over the line. In our second game we were cruising towards an easy win until a previously retired batter came back in and went on a rampage of boundaries. But Keira and Elise stepped up and bowled brilliantly in the final two overs and we won the game with 9 runs to spare. Our most memorable game was at Perth Doocot. It was dry and sunny and we were playing on a grass wicket. We put 147 runs on the board with several 20+ scores (Sonia did a great job coming in at number 4 scoring 17 from 21 balls (it could have been more but she ran herself out) and our bowlers did an equally good job getting them all out for 28. The highlight of the season is seeing all our players develop, old and young alike, and the overall improvement in the team. I am excited by the potential of our young players and to see how far they can go. The mixture of old and young make this a very special team. Funniest moment was v Grange. John Blain scoring at square leg at The Inch in a women’s 2’s game. That was unusual enough until he made his apologies and left in a hurry to let the “Australians” in !!! I would like to thank every single parent for getting their kids to training and games because without them they wouldn’t have the opportunity to play. And to all the parents who helped with scoring and umpiring because the games couldn’t go ahead without them. Too many names to mention but special thanks to Kelly who scored nearly every game and to Jeremy Blood who umpired on many occasions. SB Cricket Scotland Challenger Plate Champions

Sarah Beith 278 runs Amelia Beattie 145 runs Ajitha Rajan 136 runs Aggie Foley 14 wkts Elsie Fraser 11 wkts Sonia Amin 10 wkts Holly Sladen 8 wkts Keira Ansell 8 wkts Di Blood 7 wkts Women’s 2nd XI

ESCA Div 2 - 9th P14 W5 L9 3rd XI The 3’s finished ninth in Division 2 in what was a tough campaign against some strong teams. Thirty six players played for the 3’s this year as we faced the usual challenges of availability, team balance and continuity as well as almost constantly playing ‘away’. When we had better depth, we could compete strongly and the highlight of the season was doing the double over Edinburgh 2’s and Dunfermline - a pair of satisfying results. However, lows would include the 39 all out vs RHC 2’s, the 62 all out vs Kelso and our inability to bat our overs, particularly in games against teams around us. Very pleasing was bringing the next generation of players into the 3’s such as Shreyas, Hector, Robbie and the Hamish’s and seeing them thrive and seeing our older young players such as Dougie and Euan develop and strengthen their games. Overall, an enjoyable season despite the final league position - thanks to all players for their efforts and contributions. BMcK Shreyas Tekale 208 runs @20.8 Calum Robertson 135 runs @27 Cameron Moore 118 runs @11.8 Euan Keating 102 runs @20.4 Brad McKay 20 wkts @13.8 Dougie Firth 20 wkts @15.65 Shreyas Tekale 14 wkts @16.86 Hector Murray 11 wkts @15.45

4th XI Al Murray 192 runs @ 16 Chris Sale 177 runs @ 22.13 David Simpson 156 runs @ 15.33 Aadi Khadse 15 wkts @ 9.8 Kartic Subr 12 wkts @ 11.08 Dan Mowat 12 wkts @ 16.75 Stuart Dawson 10 wkts @ 18.3 ESCA Div 5 - 6th P15 W6 L 9 After relegation last year the 4s found life in ESCA Div 5 a bit easier and were pretty competitive in almost every game. Other than DTs at the bottom and Livingston and Dunfermline Carnegie at the top the other 7 teams were quite evenly matched. We won 6 and lost 9 but the big difference this year was that we almost always picked up loads of points from the 9 losses. 3 batters passed 50 – Marc Dweck hit 81* at DTs, Chris Sale and Josh Cully both got 57* against Gala and Penicuik respectively. There were also useful cameos from Scott Fraser (42 vs Watsonians); Robbie Murray (41 vs DTs) and 38s for Martin Robertson, Tom Hathorn, Lewis King and Sam Haggo. With the ball 4 bowlers made it into double figures – Aadi Khadse (15); Kartic Subr (12); Daniel Mowat (12) and Stu Dawson (10). Daniel took 6 for 36 against Stew Mel and Robbie Murray 5 for 48 at Melrose. There were also 4-fors for John Gill; Abhi Mehta and Kyle Burgess and mention should also go to Lewis Broster who was a handful with the new ball and didn’t always get the wickets his bowling deserved. We used 39 players over the season and in the end finished 6th. Other than DTs, all our other wins came against teams which finished above us which hopefully bodes well for next year. AM

ESCA Div 7 - 5th P 17 W4 T1 L12 5th XI The 5s have had a challenging season this year in a very strong Division 7. We played 17 out of 18 matches, at times in very damp conditions, and finished 6th in the Division, which was a very creditable performance. We benefited from a strong finish, winning three out of the last four games, all at GL. We consistently bowled and fielded well, but at times struggled with the bat. Particular highlights of the season were Kartic’s five maidens in a row against Old Contemptibles, John Gill’s brilliant 60 to get us a tie against Peebles, 11 year old Tom Sweet’s league debut against Holy Cross where he got a first senior wicket and our 10 wicket win against MDAFS. It was also pleasing to win the Divisional fair play award, which reflected the sporting way in which the team conducted itself throughout the season. We also had a full schedule of midweek matches, which included winning the Higgins Cup against Stew Mel by four games to one, and also prevailing by three games to one in our series against Watsonians. Many thanks to the ground staff for our games at GL and everyone who played, supported, scored and umpired this season. KM Keith Murray 395 runs @24.69 Martin Robertson 198 runs @18 Benji Risi 136 runs @13.6 Alan Ansell 21 wkts @10.86 Benji Risi 19 wkts @14.43 Rahul Khadse 15 wkts @18.8 Noah Moncur 14 wkts @17.36

Grange’s Jamie Crawley shouldered arms only to hear the ball crash into his off stump Grange 1-1. As the commentator observed - there are two kinds of leave. Grange’s batting never got going after that and Carlton went on to win by 4 wickets. Watch on this link. But the internationalist seemed to have the upper hand over his nemesis in the Masterton Semi-final when he pummelled 22 off the first over. Rory retreated to the deep mid-wicket boundary to plot his revenge. It was not long in coming. In the next over Munsey pulled powerfully, and stood admiring the flat trajectory of the ball. Another 6, spectators thought. But Rory had other ideas, having made a lot of ground to his right he leapt high to pluck the speeding ball two-handed. In a tousy match at Scroggie Park, Carlton, chasing the Falkland’s modest total of 114, have slumped from 92-5 to 96-9. Rudy Adair sees off the hat trick ball and he and Angus There have been many matches in recent years when Rory Allardice’s crafty off spin has done for George Munsey. Rory does for Munsey again! Two overs later Rory pulled off an almost identical catch to dismiss Owen Gould - and Carlton were on their way to a momentous victory. Tragically this champagne exhibition of fielding was out of Frogbox’s field of vision. Lewis O’Donnell steamed in down the hill at Grange Loan for the first ball of his second over in the league match against Grange. Beattie slowly inch run by run toward the target which is reached when Angus clumps it for 4 inspiring wild cheers from his teammates on the boundary. In the early season at GL, Chris McBride drives to mid off for a single which brings up his 200 - only the second ever Carlton batter, and the first since 1908, to reach that milestone. 2024 Champagne Moments “In victory, you deserve Champagne; in defeat, you need it.” N Bonaparte

“Only the unimaginative can fail to find a reason for drinking Champagne” Oscar Wilde But Mike Kennedy has other ideas and with an almighty swing deposits a huge 6 amongst the unwary sunbathers scattering them every which way and putting Carlton on the path to victory.. long-off boundary by a mile. Lewis smacks the next for 4 to bring off what only moments before had seemed a most unlikely victory. In the gathering gloom at Myreside, Carlton need 7 off the last 2 balls to win the Masterton tie. Lewis O’Donnell swings and connects, the ball clearing the At the Meadows the 4s gritty Div 5 encounter against Dunfermline reaches its feisty nerve-wracking conclusion. Kyle Burgess, still buzzing after a fine bowling spell of 4-23 is giving it lots of talk, saying how he spends hours dreaming of his big moment winning a game for Carlton and he proceeds to go out to bat and nail his first ball through the covers for 4 to win a very tense game. On a challenging surface at Inverleith, the 5s dismiss (or as the skipper says restrict) Old Contemptibles for 61. Victory looks far off as early wickets tumble. In the Women’s crunch end of season league match, StewMel have got off to a blistering start with Emma Halliwell imperiously striking it to all parts of the pushes the first ball for a single. 11 still needed. Skipper Charles Stronach then dispatches the second ball into the bushes up the hill for 6 (only the 5th maximum of his entire career). Watch on this link. Three off the next ball leaves Max at the business end with 2 needed. He prods and somehow a catastrophic misfield allows them to scramble 2 (see below) and bring the 2s home to a season defining win. At GL the 2s reach the last over against Drummond Trinity needing 12 to overtake their imposing total of 263. Max, newly arrived at the crease, ground. Undaunted, Aggie Foley bowls full, castling the older girl to take her first WPL wicket. Watch on this link. In the end of season friendly with MCC, Jamie Beattie joins brother Angus at the crease with the score on 88-5 - a long way behind. 13 overs later he sweeps Grange’s Charlie Peet for 4 to bring up the 100 partnership - the first between brothers for Carlton. "Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.’ Scott Fitzgerald

The Season’s Big Partnerships 205 Chris McBride and Dan Da Costa for the third wicket v Meigle Club record for the third wicket. And in the same match Chris McBride and Arun Pillai 145* for the fourth wicket 159 Abbi Aitken-Drummond and Charis Scott for the second wicket v Stew Mel Club women’s record for the second wicket. 154 Ali Evans and Arun Pillai for the fifth wicket v RHC 132* Keith Murray and Marc Dweck for the first wicket 5th XI v Drummond Trinity 5 135 Chris McBride and Ruari Macpherson for the first wicket v Grange

Over 50s XI Mixed Development XI The over 50s enjoyed two victories over old friends and rivals from Watsonians and,with a few guests from Watsonians and Edinburgh South, lost narrowly to the ‘Grange Masters’ at Portgower Place. While a range of factors, not least the weather, limited the Mixed Development XI to only 2 fixtures in the season those fixtures allowed some junior players to demonstrate their skills and readiness for senior cricket. The next issue of The Arrow will contain a full review of the season’s junior cricket.

A WHOLE LOTTA CRICKET GOING ON Martin Firth takes another dive into treasure trove of stats that is Pitchero. As the 2024 season comes to an end, here is the third annual dive into the treasure trove of statistics that Pitchero offers. This is largely for entertainment - for several reasons our data in Pitchero isn't 100% reliable, so any analysis is at least partly fiction. I'm pretty sure that makes it prime material for The Arrow! Pitchero reports that we scheduled 325 fixtures, and played 270. It is an indication of the disruption caused by this year’s poorer weather that 305 matches took place last year. It will be no surprise to anyone that the 5s top the list with 35 fixtures played, a testament to Keith Murray’s labours to arrange an extensive and enjoyable mid-week programme. This is followed by the 1s with 28 matches (only 2 league fixtures fell to the weather), and the PS Team with 19 - another testament to the effort that Euan Sweet has put into playing fixtures throughout the summer holidays as well as during term time. 101 senior players played at least one fixture. - Sarah Beith tops the list for the second year in a row with an astonishing 35 appearances - she is truly Carlton’s Ms Cricket. She was closely followed by Keith Murray with 32. Dan Da Costa, Ru Main and Lewis O'Donnell each played 28, closely followed by most of the regular 1s players. - Looking just at league and cup fixtures, Sarah, Dan, Ru & Lewis are joined by Chris McBride, all with 25. - Keith (16) and Sarah (10) top the list of friendly fixtures played, followed by Dougie Firth & Stu Dawson (8). 79 junior players played at least one senior fixture. - Top of this list is Aggie Foley with 24, followed by Aadi Khadse & Shreyas Tekale (both 21) and Benji Risi (19). - Looking only at league and cup fixtures, Aggie is still top with 22, then Aadi (18), James Stronach (14), Abby Caton & Benji (13). - It is a telling indication of how Women's cricket is growing at Carlton that 5 of the top 10 juniors playing senior league and cup cricket are girls: Keira Ansell, Elsie Fraser and Sonia Amin join Aggie and Abby in the top 10. Sarah Beith -- Carlton’s Ms Cricket Aggie Foley - 24 senior appearances

One of my favourite things about Carlton is that families play the game together. - We have two families with 4 active players: the Beatties and the Subrs, plus a further 10 families with 3 players and 5 with 2. As far as I know, the Subrs remain the only family at Carlton all of whom play. (Can Kelly be tempted onto the field?) - The Khadses lead the list of fixtures played with 99, followed by the Beatties (82), Subrs (80), Foleys & Stronachs (both 67). With Aaradhy now playing senior matches, it looks like the Khadse’s record will only grow in future years. - It is an exceptional achievement by the Beatties to play 82 senior fixtures - the next highest is Subrs (50), followed by Al and Gavin Murray (49) and Keith and Robbie Murray (48). - Looking just at senior league and cup fixtures, the Beatties remain top with 65, followed by the Stronachs (44), A Murray (39) and Subr (38). - Finally, combining the Murrays (who are after all family by any reasonable definition), they top all the lists: 104 fixtures played, 97 senior fixtures, 67 league and cup fixtures. Raise money for Carlton through EASYFUNDRAISING website or app

As the sun sets on another season at Grange Loan, it’s a good time to sit back and reflect on this year’s events. The season started with some challenging weather - throughout this the team worked well and, as the weather settled, we were able to produce some good surfaces to play on and witness some well-fought games of cricket. The installation of the hybrid pitches in the spring was another exciting challenge. The wear tolerance and longevity of these pitches far exceeded my expectations and I’m confident that, as they mature, the quality of the surfaces will only improve. A big shout out has to go to Paul, Lewis and Russell for their buy-in and hard graft throughout the season, with thanks also to Alasdair for his support and guidance. Finally, and most importantly, a huge thank you to everyone at the club who helped out, said hello and made me feel very welcome. As we now do our final post-season work and put the square to bed for the winter, it’s a good opportunity to review not only what went well, but what we can improve going forward. I’m looking forward to continuing on next season and building on what we have achieved this summer. A HYBRID SUMMER A new groundsman and new surfaces at Grange Loan - Regan Sinclair reflects on working with Carlton’s newly installed hybrid pitches

PERFECT PITCH? While Carlton’s stars luxuriate at Grange Loan, members of Carlton’s lower teams uncomplainingly test their skills on some more interesting cricketing surfaces.

WHY NOT USE GRANGE LOAN FOR YOUR PARTY, CORPORATE EVENT OR SPECIAL OCCASION? Contact Kerry_david_simpson@hotmail.com) Pictures from recent Lloyds day at GL courtesy of Alan King

Firstly I’d like to say a big Thanks to Carlton CC for letting me join your club half way through the season (I hope I’m welcome back next year 😂) What a lovely club in a lovely setting with some lovely cricketers. I am particularly impressed with the junior set up with our juniors well represented throughout our adult teams. That is something that every club on the planet strives for. I very much enjoyed playing in between the 2nd and 3rd team, being involved with the second team’s promotion and in particular getting my first 5 wicket haul for the club. Also had a great game for Brad in the 3rd team away at Dunfermline, where the opposition were pretty feisty to say the least and as a team we overcame that and beat them (actually doing the double on them I believe ). I’ve moved up to Edinburgh from the south coast and come to Carlton having played many years at Gosport Borough CC in the Southern Premier League. My former home club play on a council ground so Grange Loan definitely feels like an upgrade. I hope everyone has a good winter and I’m looking forward next season …which I am already thinking about. Thanks - Up the Carlton -#cricket is life. Conor Regan - Welcome to Carlton Carlton was pleased to welcome Conor to the club in the middle of the season. Moving to Edinburgh from deepest Hampshire and living close by, he tentatively came through the gates wondering whether there was any chance of a game. The big man proved his worth - in 5 matches for the Second XI he took 12 wickets at 7.45 and an impressive economy rate of 2.45. Conor has also thrown himself into the social side of the club with characteristic enthusiasm Conor played the first part of the season in Hampshire - here is appealing in Gosport’s league match against Hambledon. Although he took 3-17, he ended up on the losing side.

BLAZERATTI Dan Da Costa struck a blow for traditionalists in donning the Carlton blazer for the toss at the end of season match between Carlton and MCC. Fashion critics were quick to express their disappointment that the MCC skipper and Carlton legend Fraser Watts was not attired in the red and yellow MCC but adopted a more sober ensemble. While the Carlton blazer has a long history dating from the early days of the club - it is first spotted in team photographs from the 1877s - the blazer Dan wore is one of 12 procured in 2013 in association with the club’s 150th anniversary. The photo below shows 8 of the original owners at the anniversary dinner held, appropriately enough, in the Carlton Hotel.

BLAZERATTI Some sightings of the much sought after fashion item

Cricket can be a cruel game. This season saw Chris McBride dismissed twice in the 90’s having done all the hard work. Similarly Dan Da Costa and Ben D’Ulisse (for the 2s) also had to trudge back to the pavilion thinking if only…… This season’s four 90s is a relatively healthy crop. History suggests that once a Carlton batter gets to 90, they are determined not to miss out. While there have been 100 centuries scored for the First XI since 1975, there have been only 37 scores in the 90s. For the 2nd XI, the same period has seen 48 centuries but only 27 90s. There are some exceptions - in 2016 Hugo Southwell didn’t convert any of his three 90s. He fell at 96 and 98 and was left stranded on 94* as Carlton’s innings closed. He saved his tons for the Masterton. If falling in the 90’s is disappointing, being dismissed for 99 is doubly so. Two batters have experienced this disappointment for the First XI. Tom Simpson fell at the last in July 2021 against Watsonians (photo below). While Tom had reached the three figures a month before his 99, the other batter dismissed on 99 failed to reach that landmark in his Carlton career of 55 innings between 1955 and 1958. In June 1956 then skipper Bill Courtney was dismissed for 99 against Kirkcaldy at Grange Loan. His dismissal brought to an end a partnership of 219 with David Tattersall. Tattersall went on to 110* in that partnership. This was his second century in 26 innings for Carlton. The previous season he had scored 104 against Leith Franklin at Leith Links. He was Best Bat in 1957. He was a Lancastrian and came to Edinburgh to study brewing. Another Tattersall, Roy, played for Lancashire and had 16 Test matches for England. The Courtney-Tattersall partnership was only the third 200+ partnership in the club’s history and the first over 200 partnership since 1934. It was marked by the award of tankards to the two batters shortly afterwards. The press photo shows Jim Fleming, who had been part of the 1934 partnership making the award.

Only one Second XI batter has been dismissed for 99 - a discovery which brought distressing memories back to Brian Forrester, ‘Batting first away to Freuchie 2nds in 1993, the game started in the second XI’s usual manner – keeping the opening bowlers out. Ticking along at 3 runs per over, then upping the run-rate – the time when I’d normally get myself out. We’d got to the 41st over, still no wickets down, 188 on the board, faster-scoring batters in next - number 3 was David Ponniah, Alex Comer, Chris Kear, David McLean (now an umpire), Scott Fraser and David Carter all waiting to bat - time to attack! Dancing down the wicket in a vain attempt to clear extra cover, I was stumped by yards. ‘The scorers were still adding up the runs as I trudged off, so it was only after a pause that I discovered I had succumbed one short of that elusive century. If batters’ scores had been displayed, I’d have nudged yet another a single rather than attempt uncharacteristic heroics. Still, scoring 234 for 4, we won, which is what really mattered – and my batting average improved considerably.’ This was Brian’s top score in 189 innings for the Second XI in which he scored 3870 runs - leaving him by some way the 2s leading run scorer. Stranded On 99* A number of Carlton batters have found themselves stranded in the high 90’s as they run out of partners or overtake the opposition total eg Hamish Gardiner was 98* v Arbroath in 2015 when the winning total was reached. However there is only one batter in Carlton history who has been stranded on 99*. In 2017, the Women played Geo Watson’s at GL in a Cup semi-final, Katy McGill took 14 runs of the final over but was still left tantalisingly short of the magic figure. But she was delighted to learn of her place in Carlton’s history books, ‘Haha, what a claim to have! That's great to know. I do remember it happening. To be fair, whoever I was batting with at the very end, I owe big thanks to for getting that close - definitely got screamed at to run hard! Having glanced at a few of the pics, I remember it being much sunnier than they show so I must have imprinted that on a very fun innings.’ Unfortunately Katie could not repeat the magic in the Final and Carlton lost to Watsonians. Katie is now based on Bristol and works in product design. She is Co-President of the Scottish Cricketers Association (taking over from Ali Evans) and has been working hard to help players prepare for the coming Women's World Cup. 99 20 years after his 99 Brian dons the gloves in the Seniors’ match which was part of the 150th Anniversary programme.

When Abbi Aitken-Drummond took 5-7 v WOS Women on 9 June, she became only the fifth player in Carlton's history to score a century and take a 5-fer in the same season. She had previously scored 101* against Stew-Mel on 12 May. When Chris McBride took 5-26 against Forfarshire on 27 July, he became the sixth. Chris had 3 centuries under his belt prior to that date and would bag a further 5-fer. Make Mine A Double In 2001 Cedric English achieved the double in the same season with 3 centuries and a best bowling of 5-42. Although he had 15 other centuries and 3 other 5-fers for Carlton, this was the only season in which he achieved both. In 2022 Arun Pillai achieved the double in that season’s Masterton matches - with 110* v Penicuik and 6-14 v Edinburgh Accies. In 2023 Shujaa Khan had a century in the EPL at Meigle and 6 wickets, including a double hat trick, in the Masterton Final against RHC. In league and cup cricket Shujaa had 3 centuries and one 5-fer, but not in the same season. Nine other players have achieved this double for the First XI although not in the same season. They include Ali Evans and Stevie Gilmour. One other woman has achieved it - Olli Rae - who has 4 centuries to her name but only one 5-fer. Earlier records are lost, but, given what is known generally about their performances, it is highly probable that some of the pre-war Carlton greats such as George Jupp, CS Paterson or Tom Crosskey achieved the double in the same season. Two players have centuries and 5-fers for the Second XI - Stevie Elder and Chris Kear. For the 3rds only Akeel Aslam; and two for the 4s - Mike Kennedy and Fraser Allardice, who achieved both as a junior, taking 5-6 against Kismet in 2009 and scoring 103 against Fauldhouse 2 in 2011, which earned him an award from ESCA (below). No player has scored 100 and taken 5 wickets in the same match for any of Carlton’s teams. The surviving record books show that the first player to do the double for Carlton was Scottish international James Aitchison. He is more celebrated as one of Scotland’s greatest ever batters, but his medium pace took 33 wickets in his 33 matches for Carlton between 1955-58. In 1957 he took 5-41 against Stenhousemuir at the Tryst to bring victory. He was Best Bat and Best bowler in 1956.

Best WhatsApp of the season (after a late finish) Will Hardie dreaming of a big innings… Hi Mum A Few Moments Down boy!

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SEE YOU ALL IN 2025!