Issue 82

Committee who rise to every challenge; an expert ground team who make so much cricket possible; and a cohort of skippers who give their all for their team week in week out. I cannot thank them all enough. It was great this year to see the First XI play such positive cricket and push Heriot’s so hard - and to see the Women’s 2nd XI win the Challenger Cup. I was very proud to welcome Omar Henry, President of Cricket Scotland, to the club and to see how impressed he was with how we manage our junior section. Our young cricketers progressing to international age group glory was also a source of great pride. I was pleased to launch the Carlton Legends to try to reconnect with our former players and I am grateful for their support. It was also very pleasing to see Grange Loan being used for a wider range of activities - InsideOut PT are a valuable partner, and the emergence of Square Cut Kitchen stands to give our special place greater prominence in the community. As Cricket Scotland begins to focus on diversity and inclusion training I am proud how diverse Carlton is and how welcoming it is to all. We have a lot on which to build. And yet we need to do more - we need to find ways of engaging with more people to help the various tasks around the club; we need to up our game on attracting sponsorship; we need to develop a more active social programme. But most of all we need to keep loving Carlton and keep loving cricket. I am sure there is something that you can do to help us achieve great things. Please offer to help when the calls go out. In the meantime, thanks to everyone for a fantastic 2025, have a great off season and see you at the Christmas Social! Carlton President Bob Irvine reflects on his first year in office. It was a great honour to be invited to be President of Carlton, but did I think then that come May, I would spend a windy Sunday afternoon hanging perilously off a ladder trying to repair the nets? Or that another Sunday afternoon would be spent with my hand down a toilet trying to unblock it before the summer camps began the next day? Perhaps not, but these are the perks for one of the best jobs there can be. It is the quality of the cricket played at Grange Loan at all ages and levels that inspires every year. For me, one of the delights of our club is taking the field with youngsters whose cricket skills are already at a level far beyond what I could ever have dreamed of and seeing them progress to the top teams. Maybe I taught them something - who knows? But it is what makes Carlton special. Being President has been easy - because there is a fantastic set of people who pitch in and do the work (well maybe not unblocking toilets, but everything else). We are blessed with an energetic and committed Management

HELP US TO MAKE CARLTON BETTER THE 2025 PLAYER/MEMBER SURVEY WILL BE AVAILABLE SHORTLY THROUGH PITCHERO YOUR VIEWS MATTER MAKE SURE YOU TELL US WHAT YOU THINK Thoughts From Stevie This season has once again shown the strength of our club, not just in terms of the cricket played, but in the sense of community that runs through everything we do. While silverware was harder to come by this year, with the Women’s 2nd XI proudly lifting our only trophy, the real success has been in the spirit, togetherness, and commitment shown across all sections of the club. We all love to win, of course, but what makes our club truly special is that it is built on people first. Players, coaches, captains, volunteers, parents, and supporters give their time and energy to create an environment where everyone can enjoy their cricket, develop their game, and feel part of something bigger. That is worth more than any medal. The standard of our playing and practice facilities continues to rise, and we are fortunate to play on excellent surfaces thanks to the dedication of Regan, Paul, Russell and Olly. A huge thank you to not just them, but to everyone who works tirelessly behind the scenes to keep the club moving forward. Here’s to another year of cricket, community, and memories together, and to whatever challenges and opportunities next season brings. SG Carlton - Committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Carlton is a club for everyone. We are at the heart of our community and welcome new members and visitors regardless of age, culture, disability, gender, language, race, socio-economic status, religious belief or sexual orientation. We not only respect differences, but view diversity as a key element for our long-term success. Extract from Carlton Culture Statement Carlton therefore welcomes the new training packages on equality, diversity and inclusion released recently by Cricket Scotland and hopes as many members as possible will use them. Find out more about them on this link.

CARLTON CC HONOURS BOARD - SEASON 2025 Batting First XI Olly Davidson 143 v RHC 10 May Dan Da Costa 109 v Grange 15 Mayn (Masterton) Women’s First XI Abbi Aitken-Drummond 113* v Grange Women 8 June Eastern Knights u17 James Stronach 104 v Western Warriors u17 8 June Bowling First XI Rudy Adair 5-48 v Stenhousemuir 11 May Conor Regan 7-17 v Arbroath United 22 June Olly Davidson 6-18 v StewMel 26 July Shiv Jhala 6-69 v Heriot’s 30 August Women’s First XI Charis Scott 5-25 v East Kilbride 18 May Keira Ansell 5-29 v RHC Lynx 19 June Second XI Charles Stronach 5-22 v Linlithgow 1 June Conor Regan 5-40 v Linlithgow 1 June Fourth XI Aaradhy Khadse 5-1 v Penicuik 2 5 July Hamish Turner 5-21 v Gala 2 13 July (including hat trick) John Gill 5-15 v Tranent-Preston Village 3 26 July Fifth XI Scott Fraser 5-28 v Holy Cross 2 11 May Mixed Development XI Arjun Shelke 5-11 v StewMel 15 June Tom Sweet 5-6 v Penicuik 24 August Western Warriors Women u18 Aggie Foley 5-14 v Eastern Knights Women u18 8 July

1st XI Eastern Premier League Runners-Up P14 W11 L3 Olly Davidson 615 runs @38.44 Dan Da Costa 544 runs @36.27 Angus Guy 540 runs @ 41.54 Ruari Macpherson 441 runs @28.56 Chris McBride 355 runs @44.37 Ollie Davidson 43 wkts @ 10.58 Rudy Adair 22 wkts @20.95 Rory Allardice 22 wkts @27.31 Shiv Jhala 16 wkts @20.32 Chris McBride 14 wkts @20.07 (figures are for league and cup matches only)

Two years on from u15 triumph at Lord’s, Fergus Foley and James Stronach leave the pitch having played important parts in Carlton First XI victories. Foley 21* shared a 50 run partnership with Harry Simpson to seal a 2 wkt win against RHC. Stronach 26* outscored his skipper in a 51 run partnership to win over StewMel. 1st XI The 1st XI have enjoyed a phenomenal season in 2025 with the team managing some very successful results over the course of the year. In a year that saw many debutants and fielded a very young side in majority of our fixtures, I am immensely proud of how the team played throughout the year. The 1st XI managed to make it to the semi-finals of both the Masterton T20 competition and Scottish Cup. Unfortunately we fell short on both occasions to a very strong Heriot’s team. However, the cricket played throughout both tournaments was one of fight and a deep want to bring those trophies back to Grange Loan. The players can be proud of how they played and represented the Arrows in both competitions. We have also had a very good season in the league showing how consistent we have been, particularly in the second half of the season. We have had a few stand out performances from a number of players. Conor Regan has been a great addition to our bowling line up and has been pivotal to the success of the side. He has been well backed up by the likes of Rudy Adair, who has come into his own and is leading the seam attack with some outstanding performances. The additions of Angus Guy and Oliver Davidson have been critical to the success of the 1st XI this year. Angus has been a rock for us at the top of the order and has consistently put his best foot forward. The ever reliable Olly Davidson with ball in hand has controlled innings and changed games for us and the value of someone like that in tough situations is unmeasurable. He has also had some outstanding performances with the bat. Chris McBride, although largely unavailable due to Scotland commitments has been outstanding when back in and around the camp, winning us games and helping to lead and teach the younger crop of guys we have had this year. There is some great talent coming through - the Stronach brothers in particular. Special mention to Oliver Davidson and Chris McBride on all of their Scotland achievements this year, both being involved in first team squads/tours as well as ‘A’ team games. All in all, I look back on this year very fondly and I am hugely proud of how our team has gone about their business and in time, punching above our weight when other clubs ruled us out. I am grateful for all the advice and support from throughout the club. I look forward to seeing our youthful team prosper over the next few seasons and I believe we have what it takes to bring home some silverware along the way! Here’s to 2026, up the Arrows 🏹 DDC

Womens’s 1st XI Despite a lack of silverware this year, the Women's 1s had another solid season in the WPL, finishing behind a relentless Watsonians/Dumfries side (and some unfortunate weather-affected games). As skipper, the season turned out to be an exciting one of transition with standout performances from some of our younger players who have climbed through the ranks of Carlton from a young age, such as Keira, Sonia, Aggie and Elsie. This is hugely exciting and I'm looking forward to what comes next with this cohort of girls. We also had our usual support from our reliable Scotland squad members in Abbi, Maisie and Charis, who continue to innovate and push boundaries in their own games. I must also give a big mention to Flora for a fantastic all-round performance this season, scoring runs and taking wickets for fun. So whilst we don't have anything metal to show for this season, we still showed a lot of 'mettle' and are ready to come back stronger in 2026. Thank you to all players, partners and parents who supported in various ways this season. It takes a village to get games on and we are really grateful. A special thanks to Kelly and Rory for their scoring and support every game, Sarah for helping to prep the final touches on the pitch before our home games, ground staff team for belter pitches and Al for coming and setting up our Frogbox each week. SE Abbi Aitken-Drummond 254 runs @84.3 Sam Haggo 126 runs @31.5 Flora Corbin 125 run @ 62.5 Women’s Premier League - 3rd P 7 W5 L2 Flora Corbin 12 wickets @6.08 Keira Ansell 8 wkts @17.38 Maisie Maceira 8 wkts 8 wkts@12.5 Charis Scott 7 wkts @19.86

ESCA Championship - 9th P14 W3 L11 2nd XI Pavan Yaradi 191 runs @17.36 Ben D’Ulisse 139 runs @17.38 Charlie Kentish 123 runs @17.57 Charles Stronach 30 wkts @16.13 Rory Ledingham 17 wkts @23.76 Max D’Ulisse 11 wkts @23.36 Shreyas Tekale 11 wkts @27 Dougie Firth 10 wkts @22 The 2s had a lucky escape this year. Although we ended up second bottom and should have been relegated, we were saved by Watsonians winning their play off to return to the Premiership. In that circumstance only one team would be relegated. Phew!

Two Bens - Top Scores in the 2nd XI 2nd XI As expected, this season was much harder than our Division 1 triumph last year. Last year's batter of the year Ben Thurman, who scored over 300 runs, had moved to Glasgow, and with further players either moving up to the 1s or not being available for much or all of this season, we were without 5 batters who together had scored nearly a thousand runs. Add this to the ever improving standard of the Championship and it's not a surprise that this season was a challenge. Availability was also difficult but allowed 37 players to play for the 2s this year gaining valuable experience. Pavan Yaradi, Ben D'ulisse and Charlie Kentish all scored over a hundred runs with 7 batters having innings passing 50: Ben Stronach (75*), Ben D (75), Pavan (72), Charlie K (68), Ali Evans (67), Kyle Macpherson (56) and Harry Simpson (52). Hopefully all will continue to progress next season (especially this young chap Ali Evans sticks around) as they all showed that they have the skills and patience to score a lot of runs. Wickets seemed to be a little easier to come by with Charles, Rory, Max, Shreyas and Dougie all making it into double figures. 5 fers were taken by Charles (5-22) and Conor (5-40), both in same game against Linlithgow while Max (4-31) and Harry (4-35) took 4 fers. Hector Murray, Aadi Khadsi, Hamish Foley and Josh Cully all continued the good progression of the Lord's U15 champions into the 2s with others not far behind. It was great to see Kyle Macpherson and Pete Gill back playing at the end of the season, both showing their class while making important contributions. Hopefully both will be around next season. Thanks to Bob for scoring again this season, as well as Euan Murray and Kelly Foley when Bob was away. Thanks as well to Regan, Paul, Oli and Russell for all of the work that they have done to produce excellent pitches again this year. CS

Women’s 2nd XI Cricket Scotland Challenger Cup Champions 2025 was the fourth season of the Women’s 2nd IX. Looking back to 2022 one of our first games included Dilon Amin who was 9 years old and Aggie Foley 10 years old!!! The OG’s (The Originals - myself, Amelia, Ajitha and Di) as we are respectfully known by the youngsters also played on that occasion. Keira and Sonia with Ashley, Holly and Christina were a big part of the team back then and still are now. In August 2022 Kelly Foley scored for the first time helped by Dilon. How many games has Kelly scored for us since? In 2023 we welcomed the arrival of Elsie, Libby, Krithi, Abby and then Lindsay. Since then we have had some notable additions in Evie Miller in 2024, our rugby girls Slaw and Nashe this season along with Mirren, Amy and Mathilda. Equally as enthusiastic as the rest of us. The season has been hugely enjoyable with lots of success and improvement. We played in 11 Challenger League games winning 10. Losing only to Stew Mel in one of our four games when, I am sorry to say, the rookie umpire and howling gale got the better of us. The Young Guns v Golden Oldies was played in July at Myreside and went down to the wire. Won by the Young Guns to even up the series 1-1. Next year the OGs will have revenge! Beithy and Beatty battled it out in 4 intra-club games. The series ended 2-2. We played our player plus 1 game in fading light at The Inch in September. The usual sledging / shirt pulling and a bit of cheating made this game a lot of fun. Sorry for those that missed it. Most memorable moments were winning the Challenger Cup with Ajitha and Sonia opening the batting and getting the required runs (Ajitha 20 and Sonia 21) Sonia’s hat trick v Stew Mel, me running a 5 with Abby. 3 sets of mums and daughters played in the same game (Rajan/Subr Amin and Caton). So much good stuff. A real pleasure is watching how much our youngsters have improved - many have already progressed to the First Team. Really, they are getting too good for this league! SB In Challenger League and Cup matches: Sonia Amin also took a hat-trick in a Challenger League match v StewMel Sonia Amin 6 wkts Holly Sladen 5 wkts Ajitha Rajan 6 wkts Sarah Beith 122 runs Holly Sladen 129 runs Ajitha Rajan 120 runs

ESCA Div 2 - 6th P13 W6 L7 3rd XI The Third XI finished the Division 2 season in a very respectable sixth place with 6 wins and 7 losses. However, it wouldn’t be a 3’s season without some final day heroics to get us over the line in a very competitive division. The season started poorly with low scores and three heavy losses up front, but a core of players formed and, with some better availability, performances improved. All six wins were very closely fought affairs with four fantastic chases a highlight of the season, particularly on the final day against Kirk Brae. Winning our three matches at Grange Loan at the tail end of a season spent on the road also helped our position significantly. Conversely, all seven losses were heavy so it’s a great credit that the team bounced back so well. With a number of players who starred in 2024 moving up to the 2’s, 2025 saw the next (and even younger) generation forming the bulk of the team. Seeing their skills develop over the season was a highlight, most notably Tom Hathorn’s runs, wickets and wicket keeping, Lewis Broster’s wickets, the development of Shaun Smith and Robbie Murray into quality batsmen and Raghuram Parasur and John Gill both had success with bat and ball. In such a young team, it was also key to get some adult help with key runs and support from Euan Keatinge and Anish Amin in the second half of the season. Thanks to all 44 players who took the field for the 3’s this season including the eleven (!) different players who kept wicket. A season where change was constant but some really great results were delivered as well. Bring on 2026! BMcK Tom Hathorn 230 runs @25.56 Shaun Smith 196 runs @28.00 Euan Keatinge 161 runs @23.00 Robbie Murray 148 runs @21.14 Anish Amin 138 runs @ 23.00 Brad McKay 17 wkts @19.24 Tom Hathorn 11 wkts @16.00 Lewis Broster 11 wkts @33.45

4th XI Chris Sale 197 runs @ 24.63 Al Murray 172 runs @ 13.23 Benji Risi 171 runs @17.10 David Simpson 155 runs @ 17.22 Abhishek Mehta 132 runs @ 26.40 Stuart Dawson 15 wkts @ 21.4 John Carpenter 12wkts @12.67 Abhishek Mehta 10wkts @19.00 ESCA Div 5 - 5th P15 W6 L 9 The season got off to a positive start, chasing down MDAF’s 144 at the newly relaid Roseburn Arti thanks to 61 from Vijay Raghavan. We then had a run of losses, largely down to struggles with the bat but eventually turned things around in a rain affected match at Watsonians. In the second half we did the double over MDAFs and Watsonians and also picked up a win at Penicuik after skittling them for 52 thanks to Aaradhy Khadse’s 5 for 1 from 3.3 overs. While we didn’t have any other wins, we were competitive in almost every game and generally bowled teams out which got us plenty of bonus points. Highlights with the bat were Hamish Foley’s 89* and Abhi Metha’s 50 to chase down MDAFs 211 at GL and 51 from Anish Amin at Peffermill to lay the platform for the 2nd win against Watsonians. With the ball, Hamish Turner took 5-21 including a hattrick against Gala at GL, John Gill had 5-15 at Peffermill against league winners TPV and there was already mentioned carnage at Kirkhill from Aaradhy. AM

ESCA Div 7 - 5th P 16 W7 T1 L8 5th XI The 5s had a very successful season, finishing 5th in Division 7, one of our best ever finishes. We started all league 18 matches, but had to abandon 2, winning 7, tieing 1, and losing 8. We had a record 11 junior debuts amongst 49 players who played in the league games. We also played 2 pre-season games and 22 midweek games, winning our series against Watsonians, the newly instigated Myreside Cup, by 3 games to 2, and winning the Higgins Cup against Stew Mel 3 games to 1. There were lots of great individual performances, but it was particularly pleasing to see the team chase down so many significant totals. In the 16 league games that were completed, we batted first only once and therefore had lots of experience of chasing totals. All 7 wins and the tie were successful chases. Three of our losses were by 7 runs or fewer. So over the season, we had lots of close games that could easily have gone either way, which is exactly what you want. There were too many highlights of the season to mention them all, but I think our tie in the first league game against a strong Edinburgh CC team summed up our season. A wonderful fivefor from Scott restricted them to 178. A brilliant 50 from Josh got us close to their total, but it was left to Euan M, Noah and Harrison to scramble 10 runs off the last over to get us a tie that felt like a win. An incredible match, played in fantastic spirit by both sides, which is exactly what the 5s are all about. I would like to thank everyone who played and supported the 5s this year. It was great to get so many games at GL, so many thanks to Amelia for arranging the fixtures and the ground staff for preparing the pitches. I would also like to give a big thanks to Rahul, Euan, Anish and Pete for skippering when I was injured, unavailable or too exhausted to play. Roll on next season. KM Keith Murray 256 runs @23.27 Martin Robertson 253 runs @18.07 Noah Moncur 91 runs @15.17 Josh Cully 90 runs @30.00 Aaradhy Khadse 17wkts @18.47 Eliot Peltenberg 16wkts @16.63 Rohan Kumar Jena 15wkts @ 10.73 Angus Turner 14wkts @16.07 Rahul Khadse 10wkts @26.80

Over 50s XI Mixed Development XI The Over 50s enjoyed victories over old friends and rivals from Watsonians but were second best in two enjoyable outings against Stew Mel entering the senior senior lists for the first time this year. Regrettably a date could not be found for the annual tussle with the Grange Masters when all Carlton’s Internationals were available. The Mixed Development XI played 8 matches this season with a mixture of glorious victories and narrow defeats. Most importantly these matches gave opportunities to much younger players to take their first steps into senior cricket and allowed family members to play together (below left). Among others meeting the rigorous selection criteria this season were the President, the Director of Cricket (below right) and 9 year old Neveen Mehta who outshone them both when he made his senior debut at Penicuik alongside his Dad (above).

660 runs in all cricket including 4 half centuries. Joining a new club is always a bit nerve wracking, especially for someone like me who is terrible at remembering names. Once I got past that however, 2025 turned into one of my most enjoyable seasons of cricket for a long time. Yes, I wasn’t all that certain how you can play cricket on a 45 degree slope, and yes, it was a bit of an unpleasant surprise to find myself on the old team in football one Saturday, but as the weeks went by these ‘issues’ fell by the wayside and I began to see the team for the close knit group that it is. The way the team developed through the year, with juniors coming in and performing straight away demonstrated what a great environment the group and the club had created. The clearest manifestation of this was our thumping win over Grange at home which was my undoubted highlight of the summer. Chasing 200+ in thirty overs against an attack boasting multiple internationals? Not many teams can manage that. Though such highs must inevitably come with similar lows, I do not think the season could be described as anything but a success and I can’t stress enough just how welcome I have felt all year. Hopefully 2026 will see us take that final step to winning some silverware. Angus Guy reflects on a successful first season at Grange Loan.

Having traded Edinburgh for London last September for employment reasons, I found myself unattached to a cricket club for the first time in close to two decades. Would this fresh start allow me, now deep into my mid-twenties, to step back gracefully from spending all my summer Saturdays in the embrace of amateur cricket? Alas, no. A message from a Uni friend, some gentle persuasion, and I found myself at the start of the season, trotting out for North Middlesex Cricket Club, under the guise of “only playing about half of the games”. Located in Muswell Hill (N London), the ground has the quirk of being within shouting distance of 4 other cricket clubs, allowing you to hear which rival team has just got a wicket, based on the volume of celebration. The field is short and wide, leading to some strange dimensions for the 1s, and the unique experience of fielding shoulder to shoulder on the boundary with someone from another game on a postage stamp of a pitch, as the 2s and 3s play simultaneously side by side. I got to experience both of these, as I spent the season yo-yo-ing between the 1s and 2s (the Middlesex prem is somewhat stronger than the EPL). Nonetheless, after a couple of matches, I was completely sold, playing good quality cricket with great teammates who were all there with the right motivations. It reminded me of a certain South Edinburgh club for many reasons, including: An incredibly strong junior section and a culture that supports development and remaining associated with the club, with one weekend 54 current/former juniors playing in senior matches (out of 77); A genuine caring about every team doing well, not just the one you play for; And finally, ample opportunity for post-match socialising with fun, welcome, interesting, people. It was also the club’s 150th anniversary year, which meant there was a season long festival atmosphere, helped by some incredible on-pitch performances. In an unprecedented season, the 1s, 2s, and 3s all won their leagues (something never achieved by any club in the Middlesex league), as well as the women’s team and the development/u21s also winning their respective competitions. Playing in the 2s title decider, being the next batter in during a nervy, low-scoring chase was one of the tensest times I’ve had on a cricket field, and was a testament to how much I cared already about the people and club, despite only being part of things a short time. While Carlton will always be my club, I’m very happy to have had such a good experience at North Midd, and will no doubt be back to go around once more next year. Anyone who finds themselves in London could do far worse than end up at the Midd, and likewise hopefully I can convince anyone that if they find themselves in Edinburgh, then Carlton would be the club for them. It was a great disappointment to all at Carlton to see Angus Beattie pack his bags at the end of last season to seek fame and fortune in London. However a new location brings new challenges and as he reports here, his new club North Middlesex CC has had an exceptionally successful year. Angus Beattie picked up the ball and quickly set about turning a topsy-turvy match back in North Midd’s favour. Bowling with relentless accuracy throughout what was an economical 11.3-over spell, Beattie collected four wickets at the expense of just 26 runs. Shuttling between the club’s top two teams Angus bagged 30 wickets at 12.8. As reported in a local paper, the Camden New Journal at the end of June, he also took a hattrick - his first since an u13 match many years ago. It was not enough to bring victory however

HAMISH’S 5-FER AND HAT TRICK I started my spell down the hill and, to put it politely, it was dreadful. Everything was flying all over the place and the batters looked far too comfortable. Sensing the carnage, skipper Al Murray stepped in with a simple but effective fix: “go up the hill.” It turned out to be inspired captaincy. From the very first ball at the new end, my pace felt controlled, the rhythm returned, and suddenly I was in the game. The wickets began to come steadily, each one chipping away at their top order. By the time I was into my stride, the batters were struggling to settle. In the middle of all this I manage to take a hat trick. The first two were clean bowled and an LBW. For my hat trick ball a lefty came to the crease so I changed to round the wicket and manage to hit the off stump. My first hat trick for Carlton! There’s no better feeling as a bowler than seeing the plan come together like that. I finished with figures of 5 for 21, which I’ll happily take any day of week! But more than anything, it showed the value of teamwork – sharp catching, fielding pressure, tight bowling at the other end, and a captain who knew exactly when (and where) to move me. Hat tricks are rare beasts. In the history of ODI cricket, comprising over 4900 matches, there have been only 52. NL Stevenson may have bowled more overs in more matches than any Carlton player in a career of 50 years. But there is only one recorded instance of him doing the hat trick - in 1894 he took 3 in 3 for Old Blairlodgeans against Blairlodge, which he says brought him to the attention of Carlton for whom he debuted that same year. There is no record of him doing the trick for Carlton - although records are very incomplete so perhaps he did…who knows? Carlton saw a a minor glut of hat-tricks in 2023 when Shujaa Khan memorably took a double hat-trick in the Masterton Final, and Maisie Maceira and Saskia Aldridge both had 3 in 3 in the WPL. This year Carlton can celebrate 2 hat tricks. Hamish Turner did the deed for the Fourth XI at Grange Loan against Gala 2 on 13 July. While it’s Hamish’s first hat trick, it’s his second 5-fer - in May 2022 he took 5-14 for the 5th XI against StewMel4. Read about Hamish’s bowling spell below and watch it again on this link. Also on the hat trick trail this year was Sonia Amin who did it against StewMel in the Challenger League. NL Stevenson would be proud - but a tiny bit jealous too. Hat Tricks Hardly Happen

Readers might remember from The Arrow Issue 65 a report about footage taken at a Carlton match at Grange Loan in 1922. That footage is now digitised and available on the National Library of Scotland’s Moving Image Archive. This link will take you to it. A most enjoyable 90 seconds of a world long gone. Meanwhile Carlton also features in a recent publication, the second volume of stories about top players playing in club cricket. It recounts how the great Pakistani leg spinner Abdul Qadir played for Stenhousemuir in 1985 against Carlton at Grange Loan. As was told in The Arrow 77, he returned the not so stellar bowling figures of 1-110, as Carlton’s skipper Steve Alleyne hit him to all parts of the ground. However Qadir had the last laugh as he returned the compliment and blasted 98* to secure victory for Stenhousemuir. Thanks to Alan Macleod for spotting this reference. Carlton On Film and In Print

LITTLEJOHNS PLAYER OF THE MONTH MAY - OLLYDAVIDSON JUNE - CONOR REGAN JULY - TOM HATHORN AUGUST - ANISH AMIN Raise money for Carlton through EASYFUNDRAISING website or app

Square Cut Kitchen Now on Instagram Follow to keep in the know about all future events MAKE GRANGE LOAN THE SPECIAL PLACE FOR YOUR SPECIAL OCCASION Contact Kerry_david_simpson@hotmail.com)

Season 2025 - As It Happened April, come she will When streams are ripe and swelled with rain* It was a chill wind which shook the cherry blossom on GL’s trees as the 2025 season opened with Carlton 2nd XI restored to the Championship. They welcomed Heriot’s 2, who took advantage of the staggered start to the EPL to give match time to a number of first teamers. Predictably they proved too strong for Carlton, whose batting effort was not helped when Oli Stones dislocated a finger while fielding. Elsewhere the 4s opened with a solid victory at Roseburn - although Vijay Raghavan’s attempt to notch the winning runs with a big hit into the rugby stadium was foiled by one of those spectacular one-handed running catches at long off. It was the 5th XI the following day who provided the best excitement of the opening weekend when their Div 7 opener against Edinburgh 3 at GL went down to the wire. With young Josh Cully hitting an imperious 50, the balance of advantage tilted one way then the other as the closing overs approached. At the death, a single off the last ball left the scores tied, honours even and handshakes all round. May, she will stay Resting in my arms again* With the weather beginning to warm up, a start of season visit of Pizza Geeks was popular. The First XI got into action with a solid win against Falkland. Highlights were the innings of 87 from new arrival Angus Guy (see elsewhere in this issue for Angus’ take on his first season at Carlton). He seems to like GL - on his previous appearance for Clydesdale in the Championship Final in 2016 he scored 53. The following week saw Carlton’s other winter recruit Ollie Davidson return the only century of the league campaign at Barnton, although disappointingly the home side overtook Carlton’s total of 284 with apparent ease. The Women’s First XI also got into action with a victory, although the game was disrupted by a serious injury to an opposition player and an ambulance taking up position at square leg.

An apparently solid victory for the Second XI over Edin Accies on the basis of a top class innings of 75 by Ben Stronach proved illusory as Carlton were stripped of the points for playing a player not properly registered. A half century for the skipper and a 5-fer for Scott Fraser were not enough for the 5s against Holy Cross as they fell 7 runs short in a season of close finishes. The Scottish Cup campaign got underway with a good away win against Stenhousemuir which brought Rudy Adair his first 5-wicket haul for the 1s. Next opposition would be Drumpellier at GL. Season 2025 - As It Happened On 17 May a last wicket partnership of 60 between Charles Stronach and Conor Regan just failed to bring victory for the 2s at Gala. The 3s squeaked past Clackmannan by 4 runs to notch their first win, the narrowest of the season. A half century by Charlie Kentish well supported by Andrew Lang and John Gill provided enough for the bowlers to work with and bring a smile to skipper Brad’s face. On the Sunday, in victory at East Kilbride, Charis Scott took her second 5 wicket haul for Carlton - 5 for 25 from her 6 overs. The final game of the weekend saw a Mixed Development side containing 4 family pairs, including 2 father and daughter combinations, take on RHC at Peffermill. On 24 May, Carlton welcomed Chris McBride back to the ranks in a solid victory over StewMel and it was his 79* which ensured Scottish Cup victory over Drumpellier the following day. The Masterton also got underway with a good home win over Grange (always a pleasure). Dan Da Costa notched 109 off 64 balls, his only ton of the season. Wins followed over Drummond Trinity and Watsonians, when a 173 run partnership between Dan Da Costa (80*) and Angus Guy (70*) brought victory in some style, but an unexpected loss to StewMel meant that Carlton would face Heriot’s in the Finals Day in July.

Season 2025 - As It Happened The 2s could not get the better of Grange 2s despite a 99 run partnership between Harry Simpson and Ben D’Ulisse. For the 3s at Bass Rock youngsters Hamish Foley (64) and Tom Hathorn (39) showed the potential that would gain them Scotland u15 selections later in the season. The Women’s match at Inverleith was abandoned with the rain calculator awarding the match to StewMel - a blow to the hopes of retaining the title. The final day of May saw the 2s visit Linlithgow and bowl the home side out for 67 with Charles and Conor both taking 5 wickets. The first time that there has been a Carlton double 5-fer since Cheeky and Omar did it at Myreside in May 2021. June, she'll change her tune In restless walks she'll prowl the night* As the weather became a bit more unsettled in an otherwise hot and dry summer, a number of cancellations and abandoned matches dented the momentum of the season. The Women’s league campaign suffered another reverse when a very youthful side fell to defeat to eventual champions Watsonians/Dumfries. Meanwhile, a belligerent 71 from Benji Risi put the 5s in a winning position against MDAFS as they climbed to their highest position in the league and the skipper began to ponder whether promotion would be a good thing. On Sunday 8 June Carlton’s pride in the history-making first ever u16 Girls Cup match was tempered with the disappointment of coming second to Stew Mel despite a bright innings of 37 from Amy Yang. Later that day the Women took on Grange with Abbi Aitken-Drummond dominating the match with 113*, her 3rd century for Carlton which also saw her become the first Carlton woman to 1000 runs. Rain developed an unhelpful habit of falling at 3pm on Saturday causing a number of matches to be abandoned in successive weeks in June. The weather also had other impacts. On 15 June the 5s returned their first ever 10 wicket win - as youngsters Hamish Foley and Josh Cully easily overtook DT’s more than modest total of 46 after a convincing bowling performance on a questionable surface at Inverleith.

Season 2025 - A Summary The First XI became unstuck against Edinburgh South on a damp Inch pitch - a sub-par batting performance seemed to have been rescued by the bowlers but what looked like a winning position disappeared in a flurry of big-hitting by South’s No 10 bat. The Firsts put that low behind them and followed up the next day with an overwhelming cup win against Arbroath. Conor Regan had the ball on a string from the first over and finished with 7-17 leaving Arbroath far behind Carlton’s total of 195. A performance which deservedly saw him June’s Littlejohn’s POM. On the last Saturday of June the First XI entered the Peak Nails Period which would see 3 matches against the old rivals in ten days. The EPL encounter at GL went the visitors’ way, as Heriot’s took full advantage of the depleted bowling resources after Rudy Adair dislocated a finger in the 6th over, amassing 312 for 4, a total the home side fell well short of. Meanwhile the 2s convincingly won at Goldenacre in what was easily their best performance of the season. Tight bowling, with wickets shared around the bowlers, restricted Heriot’s to 114 and an untroubled 72* from Pavan Yaradi saw Carlton smoothly home. The Home of Cricket (aka the Meadows) lived up to its reputation when the 5s met Edinburgh CC there as the second half of the ESCA season got underway. No nail biting last ball tie this time. They bowled Edinburgh out for an apparently modest 103 but could only muster 23 in reply - the lowest total in 5s history. Their previous lowest had been 41ao in 2016, also against Edinburgh 3. By contrast, the following Sunday brought lots to cheer with a first 5 wicket haul for Keira Ansell in victory over Lomond Lynx and 87* for Hamish Foley in a high scoring victory for the 4s at GL against MDAFs. Both would go on to represent Scotland in age group games later in the season. July, she will fly And give no warning to her flight* The weather now settled into a prolonged hot and dry spell, scorching GL’s outfield and making things tough for fielders. The first weekend in July saw good victories for the Firsts at Falkland, which featured a maiden First XI half century for Ben Stronach.

Season 2025 - As It Happened The 3s began to make a habit of last over wins - the first of three in the second half of the season came over DT2, featuring an excellent innings of 81 by Tom Hathorn which brought Tom the July Littlejohn’s POM. Aaradhy Khadse’s 5-1 at Kirkhill set up a 9 wicket win for the 4s. It was back to Peak Nails on the Sunday for the Scottish Cup Semi-Final when rain interruptions made it difficult for Carlton to chase Heriot’s total and they returned their lowest 50 over score of the summer, meaning that the Goldenacre men proceeded to the Scottish Cup Final. against StewMel with a number of the Carlton Legends watching. The innovative Carlton Olympics organised by the First XI followed in the evening - a highly competitive set of challenges. It was a pity that the attendance was dampened by the weather. On 12 July good batting by James Stronach and debuting Fergus Foley supported Dan DaCosta and Carlton beat RHC at GL. Dan fell four runs short of a ton - his highest score of the league campaign. The following day Hamish Turner’s 5 wickets for the 4s included a hat trick, but it was not enough to deny Gala a win. Elsewhere in this issue Hamish describes his hat trick. Masterton Finals Day on Sunday 20 July brought the 1s an early start at Goldenacre, taking on Heriot’s again. Opting to bat first the Arrows produced a performance well below par posting a total of 97 for 9 from their 20 overs. Olly Davidson top scored with 30 but only 3 other batters made it to double figures. Although they did produce a decent bowling performance a few uncharacteristic lapses in the field let Heriot’s off the hook. In the end the home side got over the line with 8 wickets and 21 balls to spare and went on to beat RHC in the final. This is Heriot’s 9th winning of the trophy - Carlton have won it 16 times. The Women were also in T20 Cup action at Inverleith, taking on StewMel in the first round of the Beyond Boundaries Women’s Scottish T20 Cup. A brave batting effort led by top scoring Maisie Maceira, more oten the match winner with the ball, just failed to overtake the SteMel total on the last ball. On 26 July Olly Davidson took 6-18 as the 1s notched a 5 wicket home win 5-15 for John Gill in the 4s match against league leaders TPV was not enough to bring victory. The next day saw the 3s gain a much needed win with 4 balls to spare against Bass Rock at GL, with Euan Keatinge top scoring with 68 and good runs from Aadi Khadse and Tom Hathorn.

Season 2025 - As It Happened August, die she must The autumn winds blow chilly and cold* Suddenly it was August and the run in for the leagues. The First XI needed Heriot’s to lose to give them the opportunity to beat them in the final match and so claim the title. The 2s desperately needed to squeeze out a couple of victories to move nearer safety. There was congestion at the bottom of Division 2 where the 3s also needed wins to be safe. Wins for the 4s in the first two weeks of the month secured their position and the 5th XI were also in a relatively comfortable position. As August unfolded the 2s continued to struggle - while they won against bottom of the table Linlithgow, they failed to notch another victory despite the welcome return of Kyle Macpherson and Pete Gill. The reverse against co-relegation candidates Morton at Loretto was particularly disappointing - Carlton scored more runs off the bat but the large number of extras conceded proved the difference between the teams. The 2s ended up 9th, but were saved from relegation by the promotion of Watsonians to the EPL meaning only one club would be relegated. While an excellent win for the 3s against MDAFS, featuring an opening partnership of 123 by Eaun Keatinge and Shaun Smith - the third highest opening partnership in 3s history (the highest being the undefeated 166 by Seb Rae and Kyle Macpherson in 2011 against Penicuik 2), helped the cause greatly. But reverses against Edin Accies 2 and Edinburgh 2 meant the 3s entered the final match of the season against fellow strugglers Kirk Brae needing 7 points from the match to be safe. Set 197 to win, things didn’t get off to a good start as they were soon 21 for 2. But good batting by Hamish Foley, Tom Hathorn and Anish Amin kept the innings on track. Nevertheless when Max D’Ulisse joined Anish at 85-6 there was still some way to go to secure the necessary batting points. Slowly they got the score moving and passed the critical 110. Job done! The run rate was still demanding but supporters began to think that a win could be pulled off. As Anish passed his 50 (his 3rd half century in three innings in August for which he received the August Littlejohn POM award) this began to look more likely. But shortly after he was dismissed in the 38th over with 16 runs still wanted. Dougie Firth joined Max. At the start of the final over 10 runs were needed. 2, 1, 1, 2 meant that 4 were needed off the final two balls. Who needs two when one will do? Dougie blasted a mighty 4 off ball 5 and Dougie and Max returned to the excited accolades of parents and team-mates. Peak Carlton and a great finale to the season at Grange Loan!

The Firsts maintained their winning run throughout August - unfortunately so did Heriots (who saved their poor performances for the the Cup and Championship Finals) so the final match of the Premiership Season was reached with Heriot’s already having retained the title. Ever one to make a point, Shiv Jhala took 6 wickets in the final match to leave Heriot’s all out for a total which Carlton might have fancied overtaking had rain not put an end to proceedings. Season 2025 - As It Happened And then all that was left was for Carlton legend Fraser Watts to bring his star studded MCC team for the end of season friendly. Fans who turned up were disappointed not to see the legend at the crease, but were entertained by 96 for Carlton’s Chris McBride in the MCC cause. An excellent partnership of 89 between Isaac Foley and Pete Gill for the second wicket and a blistering half century by Dan Da Costa was not enough to bring victory to the hosts. September, I remember A love once new has now grown old* * These lines are the lyrics to a song by Simon and Garfunkel. It was at first a nursery rhyme which Simon expanded. Later that evening even the President’s speech couldn’t dampen the enjoyment of the End of Season Dinner, splendidly catered by Square Cut Kitchen.

Here we go, the 2025 trawl through the quagmire that is Pitchero's database of playing stats. First, two disclaimers: - Any data analysis is only as good as the quality of the underlying data, and some of the data in Pitchero is decidedly dodgy. I've fixed anything I've spotted, but there are bound to be errors remaining. - Any data analysis is only as good as the quality of the person doing the analysis, so the following should be treated as for entertainment only. Fixtures Carlton played 314 fixtures in 2025, and a further 32 were cancelled. The cancellations were primarily triggered by a wet week in June, a slightly damp end to the season and a lack of availability for junior games during the summer holidays. We played 179 senior fixtures, and 135 junior ones (Table1). The vast majority (219) were league fixtures, 22 were cup games and 73 were friendlies, although a number of the 5s friendlies were tightly competed series with neighbours for recently established shiny trophies. Even with the highly active women’s section we enjoy at Carlton, male teams play more cricket with an average of 28 matches for men’s teams and 19.5 for females. A number of women and girls have turned out for men and boys teams. PITCHERO SUPREMO MARTIN FIRTH DONS HIS WET TOWEL AND REVIEWS THE VOLUMINOUS DATA FOR POINTS OF INTEREST Table 1 Matches played - Senior/ Junior; Male/Female Table 2 Senior matches played by team Cup Friendly League Total Cancelled Senior - Men 9 45 86 140 10 - Women 3 7 27 37 0 - Total 12 52 113 177 10 Junior - Boys 8 21 89 118 18 - Girls 1 0 16 17 0 - Total 9 21 105 135 18 Grand total 21 73 218 312 28 Team Cup League Friendly Total Cancelled First team 9 17 2 28 1 Women's first team 1 11 3 15 0 Second team 0 17 2 19 1 Women's second team 2 16 4 22 0 Third team 0 18 2 20 1 Fourth team 0 16 2 18 3 Fifth team 0 18 24 42 4 Mixed development team 0 0 8 8 0 Over 50s 0 0 4 4 0 Social event 0 0 1 1 0 All teams 12 113 52 177 10

Table 2 shows the number of matches played by each senior team. Unsurprisingly, of the senior teams, the 5s played the most games (42), with a heavy programme of mid-week games complementing the league programme. The 1s lie some way behind with 28 matches, and the Women's second team are in 3rd place with 22, including a good number of friendlies. Players Table 3 shows the number of players used by each team. In total 149 players played at least one match for a senior side. Many of course played for more than one team through the season. The Women's first team was the most frugal in terms of players, fielding just 23 all season. Predictably, the 5s used the most - 68 players among whom were a significant number of junior players taking their first steps in senior cricket - 11 such were introduced to league cricket for the first time this season one of the highest rates in the 5s existence. On the other hand the 3rd XI deployed 47 players, including 11 different wicket-keepers, which is probably not ideal from a playing standpoint. The same XI did not take the field at any time. Table 3 Players Used Carlton takes considerable pride in how our Junior section provides a steady stream of talented players into our senior teams. As shown in Table 4, our league teams include on average 3 current juniors every weekend - so out of 77 players representing Carlton in senior leagues on any weekend, 33 will be juniors. The highest average is the Women's 2s with 4.5 juniors. The 5s are 2nd with 4.3 juniors, followed by the 3s with 4.2. Unsurprisingly, the 1s and 2s have the lowest average, 0.9 and 1.1 juniors respectively. The highest average weekend for juniors was 14/15 June with 3.8 per team. But that's a bit misleading, as the 1s, 2s, 3s & 4s were all cancelled by rain. The highest actual number of juniors was 25, on 12/13 July, which was also the highest average on a weekend when (almost) all our senior teams played of 3.6. Table 4 Junior Players in senior teams Team League Cup Friendly Total First Team 22 21 17 29 Women's First Team 21 11 14 23 Second Team 35 0 14 37 Women's Second Team 22 14 24 26 Third Team 45 0 19 47 Fourth Team 42 0 12 42 Fifth Team 49 0 62 68 Mixed Development Team 0 0 41 41 Over 50s 0 0 19 19 Totals 136 40 122 149 Matches Juniors Seniors Jun/team First team 17 16 96 0.9 Women's First team 11 31 74 2.8 Second team 17 19 30 1.1 Women's Second team 16 72 95 4.5 Third team 18 76 56 4.2 Fourth team 16 39 103 2.4 Fifth team 18 77 98 4.3 Total 113 330 552 2.9

Appearances 279 players represented Carlton in at least one fixture this season. 149 players played in senior fixtures, 173 in junior ones and 43 played in both senior and junior. 144 players (over 50%) played fewer than 10 fixtures (including 31 players who played just once). 4 players played more than 40. The most fixtures played by a single player was 57. So who were these eager beavers who just can’t get enough cricket? As usual, the top 10 is dominated by juniors. Aaradhy Khadse leads the way with a mammoth 57 games - more than 3 a week! Tom Sweet follows closely behind with 50 matches and Arjun Shelke is 3rd on 43. (It is worth noting that each of these players had a 5 wicket haul in senior matches this season - so practice does make perfect!). In 4th place is the only senior player in the top 10: Carlton's very own Ms Cricket Sarah Beith played 40 fixtures this summer, topping her 35 appearances last year. For seniors alone no one can get near Sarah: Holly Sladen and Amelia Beattie clocked up 29 and 28 appearances respectively while skipper Dan Da Costa was ever present in the First XIs 28 matches. A mid-season injury and foreign excursion limited Keith Murray’s appearances to 27, well below his strike rate in recent years. Of course, friendly games are great, but the business of the cricket season is the senior league and cup games. Looking just at those: Dan and Sarah top the list with 26 - not bad for an 18 week season - followed by Arun on 23 and Aggie, Angus & James S on 22. 9 other players somehow managed to play 18 league and cup games: Rory A, Ruari, Holly, Olly, Amelia, Sam, Keira, Rory L & Ajitha. 8 of the top 20 are women, which is a good reflection of how mainstream women's cricket has become at Carlton. 3 of those (Aggie, Keira & Sonia) are juniors, which I think shows how strong our pipeline of players is. Sarah Beith and Dan Da Costa 26 League and Cup appearances each It’s not only players who have put in a shift - eclipsing them all is Kelly Foley who scored nigh on 30 matches through the season. Where there was a Foley on the team sheet, there was a good chance you’d find her on the book. Bravissima!

More Pitchero - The Pipeline - Former Juniors in Senior Cricket On average, senior teams this year included 3 graduates from the junior section in addition to the 3 current juniors. But the spread is very different. - Women's teams have very few ex-juniors - below 1 per team, simply because girls cricket is still new and hasn't delivered very many 16+ year old players yet. - The 4s and 5s have very few ex-juniors - 2 and 1 respectively. That makes sense too - they have the most current juniors, also the most older players who are playing lower league cricket for fun (for some definition of fun). - The 2s have an average of 7.6 ex-juniors a week. OK, so one is Charles, but even 6.6 is a large number. And the 1s are second highest with 3.9, just ahead of the 3s with 3.6. - The First XI fielded 9 ex- juniors, as well as 2 current juniors, at some point this season. My interpretation of this is that the junior system is working well, producing players for our upper teams. Some former Juniors in senior cricket - Rory Allardice - first match for 4s 2009, Charlie Kentish - first match for 5s 2016, Kyle Macpherson - first match for 4s 2008, Ruari Macpherson - first match for 4s 2008, Max D’Ulisse first match for 5s 2018, Charles Stronach first match for 1s 1994 ……..and there are so many more …….

It was a real privilege to be part of such a significant moment in the club’s history and to play with a great group of lads that including experienced internationals like Fraggle, Ali and Rory McCann as well as the youngsters like Cheeky, Angus Beattie and Ruari Macpherson who had come up through the club’s youth teams. I also have a very clear memory of my first ever match for the Club which was playing for Rob Thornton’s 2nd XI against Glenrothes 1st XI at Gilvenbank Park. Finding their ground was a challenge but it was a great game and gave me an early sighter as to the standard of cricket in the East of Scotland. My first wicket that day and so my first ever scalp in Scottish Cricket was bowling Chris Greaves - an achievement that has grown in stature in the years since 2015 thanks to his career progression. Fond Memories of Summers at Grange Loan Cameron Shoebridge A welcome visitor to Grange Loan for this year’s end of season match with MCC was Cameron Shoebridge, whose seasons at Grange Loan he recalls with affection. Being back at Grange Loan on the final Sunday in August to play for the MCC in its annual fixture against Carlton CC brought back many fond memories of the 3 summers that I spent playing for The Arrows in 2015, 2016 and 2017. It was great to catch up with players and supporters who I remembered from my time at the club and also some of the newer Carlton players who have contributed to another successful season in 2025. There are a lot of stand-out moments for me from my seasons at Carlton CC but inevitably the highlight was my final match for the club being in the team when we won the Scottish Cup for the first time in the club’s history in an epic match against a very strong Watsonians side up at Broughty Ferry. Carlton were behind the 8 ball for large parts of the match but some valuable late order runs from Ali Evans and Cheeky Gosain got us up to a defendable total and then the bowlers got us over the line.

It was a great time to be playing at Carlton CC as the club enjoyed some outstanding on-field successes during those few years, apart from winning the Scottish Cup the club won the Eastern Premier League in 2016 (if I remember winning the League was confirmed on the outfield at Mannofield without a ball being bowled due to the weather) and there were some good performances in the Masterson Cup. There is still no finer sight in cricket than watching Hugo Southwell in full flight during a 20/20 innings (unless you’re bowling to him!). On a personal level, I learnt so much during my summers at Grange Loan, not just as a cricketer but as a person as well. During my time with the club I got to play a lot of 1st and 2nd team cricket, was lucky enough to get selected for Scotland U19’s and Scotland A, the Eastern Knights and also had some weeks playing with Durham CCC. I was only 16 when I first arrived so I was fairly wet behind the ears to say the least, but I got some great coaching and guidance from people like Stevie Gilmour and Toby Bailey and some of the club’s overseas players like Ryan McCloy and Mike Herdman gave me some good advice and encouragement. Actually it was Ryan who saved me from a potentially disastrous moment, I was helping him with some groundskeeping and I persuaded him to let me have a go on the ride on roller, big mistake, going down the hill the roller built up a rapid head of steam and like a scene from Speed 2 was heading straight for the stone wall and then probably out onto Grange Loan itself ! Like the resourceful Queenslander that he is, Ryan somehow got himself into the driver’s seat to slam on the brakes. Quite understandably Moon gave me a lifetime ban from the roller after that. When I was celebrating the Cup Final victory with the team on that August Evening back in 2017 I had no idea that it would be my last game for Carlton but I went away to University in Ireland later that year which changed my Summer availability and within a couple of years we had all been taken over by the Covid Pandemic and everybody’s routines were turned upside down. Once the restrictions were lifted I started playing again for my home club in Dublin, Malahide CC in the Leinster Premier League. I made a lot of friends though in Edinburgh and I keep in regular touch with Calum Sibley and earlier this year we both played for the MCC against Charterhouse School where Calum now works as a House Master. I also keep in contact with Chayank and I’ll be heading out to Portugal next month to visit him in his new life as a surf instructor !!! Also I see quite a bit of Carlton Legend, Jim Govan, at Malahide and we’ll always have a chat about how The Arrows are getting on. I will always have very fond memories of my Summers in Edinburgh, there is literally no better place to be on those long Summer days. Everyone at the club did so much to help me settle and made me feel very welcome, not just the players and coaches but people like Hugh Parker, Andy Macpherson and Ann who had to put up with me as a lodger for a couple of seasons. It was great to be back at Grange Loan last month and to see the club in such great shape and hopefully I’ll be back for the MCC fixture in 2026. Cameron approaching the wicket in 2017

There was another distantly familiar face hugging a laptop as Clydesdale put Heriot’s to the sword in the Championship Final at Grange Loan at the start of the month. Adam Richardson, who played a number of matches for Carlton’s 3s in 2021-22, was reporting the match for The Inside Edge as he works to make a name for himself in sports journalism. Adam reports what he has been up to in recent years. ‘After a short but hugely enjoyable season and a half at Carlton CC, life and work dragged me away from Edinburgh - though never too far. Cheffing first took me up to Dunkeld, where I spent a year heading up the kitchen at The Taybank. From what Euan and Cameron told me when I first moved, I think a member of the Keatinge family once owned the place before its current landlord took over! From there, I moved down to Kirkcudbright on the south-west coast, where my mum’s side of the family hails from and my parents have settled in retirement. Weekends in kitchens sadly ruled out playing cricket, but I still enjoyed watching games at Meigle CC and Gatehouse CC. I inevitably boomeranged back to Edinburgh soon enough though. In August ’24, two close friends opened Nadair in Marchmont, just down the road from Carlton. I joined them for the launch before moving on to Detour, another local spot. Reporting for Inside Edge brought me back to Grange Loan, where I covered the Grand Final between Clydesdale and Heriot’s. It was a wonderfully familiar day - a headache courtesy of Rory Ledingham's god given megaphone included - and it was brilliant to see Carlton faces celebrating the dual joys of “anyone but Heriot’s” and the 2s’ reprieve courtesy of Watsonians’ win. If I can find the time to play next season, GL will be my first port of call. It’s been far too long since I’ve been pinned LBW falling across my front leg, or witnessed a Brad team talk derailed by Kyle randomly exclaiming "CRICKET" at the top of his voice. The next issue of The Arrow will contain a full review of the season’s junior cricket.

First Team Shirt Sponsor First Team Sleeve Sponsors Cala Homes Umair Mohammed Cosmetic & Sports Dentist Junior Cricket Sponsors Women’s Shirt Sponsor Player Sponsors The Free Company, The Opticians in Marchmont, Ardnamurchan Distillery, Mitchell Glass, Wright Johnson and Mackenzie LLP, GSi, Livingston James, Haldi, BodySmart, Umair Mohammed Cosmetic & Sports Dentist Board Sponsors Littlejohns, Womens and Mens 10K, Chambers Tutoring Match Sponsors Angus & Ann Mair, Paul Bailey Carlton could not achieve its successes without the brilliant support of its sponsors. Thank you for helping us to realise our ambitions. Interested in a sponsorship package? Please contact sponsorship@carltoncc.co.uk Player of the Month Sponsor

2025 saw the launch of the Carlton Legends open to former players who have played more than 100 senior matches for Carlton. Through their membership, Legends receive a number of benefits but also, most importantly, support the continuing development of Carlton Cricket Club as well as reconnecting with old friends and today’s players. Many thanks to the Carlton legends for their support this year: Omar Ahmad David Carter Richard Dickinson Bruce Dixon Gordon Drummond Stevie Gilmour Archie Gray Alan Kemp Paul Kentish Jamie Kerr Graham Langley Bryn Lockie Alan Macleod Andy Macpherson Hugh Parker David Ponniah Fraser Watts Russell Weir Find out more about the Legends on the Club Website. Carlton Patrons Carlton is grateful to the following patrons for their generous support of the Club. Chris Paul Martin Robertson Jill Millar Archie Gray David Main Andy Macpherson Alasdair Macleod Graham Whyte Jim Cummings Christine Tonge Michael Ross David Fowler Find out how you can become a patron and help realise Carlton’s vision on the membership pages of the website.

SEE YOU IN 2026! "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing" George Bernard Shaw