Issue 84

Congratulations to all those who received their awards for season 2025 at the Christmas Party/Awards Event While Olly Davidson swept the board with 4 awards - see over - Sarah Beith added to her tally with another two - the Women’s 1st XI Fielder of the Year and Women’s 2nd XI Batter of the Year. Brad Mackay won the 3rd XI Bowling Award for the third year in a row and Keith Murray won the 5th XI Batting Award for the 6th time - only Alan McLeod, who won the First XI Bowling Award on 8 occasions has a better haul in the modern era. However Keith has some way to go to catch up with N L Stevenson, who won the First XI Bowling Prize on no fewer than 25 occasions, the first in 1896 (when he also won the Best Batter) and the last in 1943 (at the age of 68!)

New recruit Oliver Davidson, who has joined us from overseas and is brother of last years Club Champion winner Jasper, didn't take long to show his class. In just his 2nd innings with the bat, he smashed the ball all around Community Bank Goodwood Oval. Amassing 11 sixes, with many going over the clubroom roof, he showed his class finishing 102*, with a tidy 4/45 with the ball to go along with it. WELL DONE OLLY! Carlton’s Awards Night was dominated by Olly Davidson who won a remarkable 4 awards - Best Bowler where he was the leading wicket taker in the EPL. He was also leading catcher so he scooped the Fist XI Fielding Prize too. His power hitting also secured the Six Hitting Prize and not surprisingly his all round contribution to the success of the 2025 season saw him win the Player’s Player Award. All that was missing was the man himself. The Committee reluctantly accepted that the fact that he is playing in Adelaide over the winter was a reasonable excuse for his non-appearance. Olly has been turning out for Goodwood CC one of the city’s top clubs and current AI Champions. Olly follows his brother and fellow Scottish International Jasper to the club. Jasper played there last season. Olly has been going well - scoring runs and taking wickets (just like at Carlton). See the report below from the Goodwood Facebook page of a recent innings. His 102* contained a remarkable 11 sixes - (which must put him well on the way to Goodwood’s Six Hitting Trophy to add to Carlton’s!). You can see his maximums on this link. The good news is that we expect to see Olly at Grange Loan again next season.

1st XI Batting DANIEL DA COSTA 1st XI Bowling OLIVER DAVIDSON 1st XI Fielding OLIVER DAVIDSON Women’s 1st XI Batting ABBI AITKEN-DRUMMOND Women’s 1st XI Bowling FLORA CORBIN Women’s 1st XI Fielding SARAH BEITH 2nd XI Batting PAVAN YARADI 2nd XI Bowling CHARLES STRONACH 2nd XI Fielding RORY LEDINGHAM Women’s 2nd XI Batting SARAH BEITH Women’s 2nd XI Bowling AJITHA RAJAN Women’s 2nd XI Fielding SARAH LAW Most Improved Woman Player - EVIE MILLER 3rd XI Batting TOM HATHORN 3rd XI Bowling BRAD MCKAY 3rd XI Fielding SHAUN SMITH 4th XI Batting CHRIS SALE 4th XI Bowling STUART DAWSON 4th XI Fielding BENJI RISI 5th XI Batting KEITH MURRAY 5th XI Bowling AARADHY KHADSE 5th XI Fielding NOAH MONCUR Wicket Keeping Trophy DANIEL DA COSTA Six Hitting Trophy OLIVER DAVIDSON Best Individual Performance CONOR REGAN Best Introduction to Senior Cricket ELlIOT PELTENBERG Young Player of the Year JAMES STRONACH Men Players’ Player of the Year OLIVER DAVIDSON Women Players’ Player of the Year SAM EVANS TROPHY WINNERS 2025 Award of the prestigious Jappy Award will take place at a date to be announced in 2026

Congratulations also to former Carlton Skipper Gordon Drummond who has been appointed Assistant Coach to the Men’s national squad alongside new Head coach Owen Dawkins. Congratulations to Shreyas Tekale on his selection for the Scotland u19 Squad to take part in the T20 World Cup in Zimbabwe between 15 January and 6 February. Scotland open the competition against hosts Zimbabwe on 15 January. They will then face Pakistan and England. Good luck to Shreyas! Shreyas with James Stronach during last season’s Scotland u17 fixtures

CHRISTMAS ASHES QUIZ 12 Who? 1 Who? 17 Who? 6 Wicket keeper who was behind the stumps for Shane Warne’s Ball of the Century. 7 Bowler at the heart of Bodyline controversy. 8 Ground where England won the Second Ashes Test in 2005 by 2 runs. 9 Bowler whose last wicket stand with Monty Panesar saved the First Ashes Test of 2009. 10 Bowler who put on 117 for the 8th wicket with Ian Botham at Headingley in 1981. 11 Opening batsman whose hand and ribs were broken by Dennis Lillee in 1976. 13 Batsman who led England against Bradman’s 1948 Invincibles. 14 Skipper who lost the 1978-79 Ashes series 5-1 to England. 15 Bowler who bowled Bradman for 0 in his last Test innings. 16 City where Stuart Broad took 8-15 in 4th Ashes Test of 2015. 2 Skipper who won the 1970-71 Ashes. 3 Wicket-keeper batsman whose skull was fractured during the Bodyline series. 4 Bowler who took 10 wickets in the second innings of the 4th Ashes Test in 1956. 5 Batsman with the highest ever score in an Ashes innings. Take the initial letter of the surname (or as otherwise indicated) of the answer and reorder into a familiar seasonal phrase. Answers on p35.

There might be no cricket at Grange Loan - but it doesn’t mean that nothing is happening there. Tree surgeons taking some dead wood from the big sycamore tree - also known as Quin’s Tree after John Quin, a second XI regular between 1974 and 1978 taking 119 wickets with a best of 8-16, who was customarily placed in the field under its branches. Further pruning of other trees around the ground has been undertaken by Brian Forrester and Di Blood. Indeed, Brian always finds a job to do - he is seen below being a good neighbour and sweeping up the leaves outside the ground. Meanwhile Conor Regan working hard to adapt the accommodation in the Pavilion to make it more suitable for women players. Carlton’s commitment to this was noted in Cricket Scotland’s recently published Facilities Report.

LEND A HAND It’s a good few years since the walls at Grange Loan were whitened. And they are showing it. - we are planning a get together before the start of the season when we can whitening the walls and otherwise get the ground ready for cricket as well as having a fund day. Watch out for details of how you can help.

My time at Carlton was one of the most special chapters of my life. I absolutely loved the people, the energy, and the sense of belonging. We had an incredibly strong cricket side with half the Scotland team at that stage, players who taught me about belief, confidence, and what it meant to compete with purpose. Winning the Scotland T20 Cup with that group was huge (photo above). I can still see the ball sailing over the wall; those sixes still live rent-free in my mind. I was a broke young bloke back then, luckily travelling the world with barely a cent in my pocket, working on the ground during the day at Carlton to earn a few quid and living off sandwiches from the corner shop. But Carlton made me feel like one of their own. That meant everything. I still keep in touch with Charlie Legget, a great human who now lives in Sydney and supports the Sydney Swans. I wish I saw him more often. And a big shout out to Ross Lyons we played together in Sydney and we slept on the couches of a house that was about to be demolished while playing 1st grade cricket against the likes of Starc, Smith, Cummins, Lee (the list goes on) eating WeetABix, noodles, and the odd rum to stay healthy. Ross definitely loved Oporto. Those were raw, simple times, and Ross was the reason I made the move to Carlton in the first place. I couldn’t have been happier they’re memories that will stay with me forever. After Carlton, I spent some time in North Wales where Andy Flower once played a few seasons to reflect on his journey. They brought me over after a Big Bash season, and it turned into something pretty special - I averaged over a hundred for the season, scored around 1,400 runs, eight hundreds, and broke the all time run scoring record in 2015 that might stand for sometime to come. Looking back, I wish I’d achieved more at Carlton, but I was still learning who I was as a player - young, fearless, and a bit careless and very reckless with shot choice. But what a team we had half of Scotland’s side, all heart. Blake Dean was Carlton’s overseas amateur in 2010 and has seen a lot of water flow under the bridge since his spell at Grange Loan. Blake, back row, left, with the 2010 National T20 winning side.

Re-teaching himself to play left-handed and starting in Canberra’s Second Grade competition, The Southpaw Project follows Blake’s five-year pursuit to be the first true "ambidextrous cricketer" to play in the Big Bash League - batting, bowling and fielding left and right-handed. Following a path less travelled, Blake tries to prove to himself he can perform at an elite level, while changing the game he loves. Blake top scored fior Carlton in the T20 Final against Forfarshire - highlights can be seen here Murgitroyd T20 Cup 2010. As he describes opposite, he has recently featured in a documentary The Southpaw Project which follows his remarkable journey to play left-handed. You can view the trailer here - unfortunately the film itself cannot be streamed in the UK. Blake on his way to 55* v West of Scotland, GL July 2010

The Southpaw documentary follows my life over eight years from playing for the Sydney Thunder and Canberra Comets, through the struggles with mental health, to rediscovering love for the game. I injured my body and my mind along the way, but Southpaw became about resilience; about rebuilding, from the bottom up. I worked my way back in the doco re teaching myself the game left handed batting and bowling in my prime eventually going from 5 XI all the way to winning a 1st-grade premiership as a stand alone left-handed batsman and left-arm orthodox bowler. I broke a lot of records and become a very good coach in the process I made it back to the Comets, but with a young family, I couldn’t sustain the workload. Life changes, priorities shift. My son, Dash, is 10 now, a brilliant futsal player representing Australia’s under-10s team currently and my daughter, Winslow, is 7, already shining in gymnastics. They’re my life now and I could not be happier with my wife Alyce of 11 years and my small family. I’m now a professional cricket coach (12 years) and I own my own 500sqm cricket facility Southpaw Cricket for high performance athletes. Running over the last 12 years it has grown to incredible measures with now 125+ athletes training with us 1on1 sessions weekly developing professionals from young ages and we couldn’t be prouder. We also own a big indoor football training facility OneFutbal and we are hopefully making a difference in a lot of athletes’ lives. Maybe one day I’ll find my way back to Carlton. Until then, the memories, the friendships, and the lessons still guide me. That’s what Southpaw is really about falling down, getting back up, and remembering who you are.

ASHES TOUR CHRISTMAS PARTIES Who do you recognise from these snaps of England’s Ashes Tour Christmas Parties of years gone by? Answers on p35

A photograph, believed to have been taken in the 1890s from the lower slope of Blackford Hill, reminds us how rural the setting around Grange Loan was in Carlton’s early years. In the foreground is the South Suburban Railway which opened in 1888. The track is dividing into sidings which were sited on hte approach to Newington Station which is off the photo to the right. The street in the centre is St Alban’s Road with its junction with St Thomas Road. Eventually all the farmland will be covered in housing. St Alban’s Road extended to its current junction with Blackford Road in the 1920s. At the time this photo was taken Carlton’s ground would have been a bit to the left - a bit up Blackford Road. Just a pity none of these fields became Carlton’s second ground. The Rural Idyll and Carlton

Coming Next at Grange Loan Friday 20 February 2026 Fun Sports Quiz Curry AGM* (*details to be circulated to members in due course) Winter Training Please see Pitchero for details and to book.

The President’s blazer is greatly admired on its occasional appearances at Grange Loan such as at this year’s awards. There are several other proud owners - a set of blazers was procured in 2013 as part of the 150th Anniversary celebrations. Blazers have a long history in cricket and at Carlton - the first surviving picture of the First XI (below left) shows a number of players sporting a striped blazer, presumed to be in the club colours. IS IT TIME TO REVIVE THE CARLTON BLAZER? Blazers were conventionally worn by many at matches and in team photos up until the mid 1920s when for some reason they fell out of favour and fashion. The photo above right shows Scottish internationalist, and future President of the Scottish Cricket Union, AS Cairns in elegant garb. If there are enough interested we can explore how to procure new club blazers. (The more there are the cheaper it is likely to be). If you are interested please let the President know on president@carltoncc.co.uk

MAKE GRANGE LOAN THE SPECIAL PLACE FOR YOUR SPECIAL OCCASION Family Celebrations Business Events will be memorable at one of Scotland’s most beautiful and prestigious cricket grounds Contact: events@carltoncc.co.uk Catering at Carlton is by Square Cut Kitchen https://carltoncc.co.uk/club/grange-l oan/

Since moving to Abu Dhabi in March, life’s been a bit of a whirlwind. The visa situation made things hectic at the start, but I’m finally all settled now and working as a Senior Physio on Yas Island. Not a bad spot to be based, right between the Etihad Arena and the F1 track. Most days I can hear the cars roaring round, which definitely beats the sound of Edinburgh traffic! What’s been the biggest change? Well, let’s just say going from “four seasons in a day” at Grange Loan to stepping into a giant oven has been interesting. Out here it’s hit 48 degrees at times—step outside for a couple of minutes and you’re basically toast. Forget fielding long-on to long-on, I’d be cooked before drinks. Luckily, the indoor facilities are unreal, so summer life just moves indoors until things cool down. As for cricket… well, arriving bang in the middle of summer meant there’s been no chance of playing—there’s no summer cricket here because frankly you’d either be burned alive or collapse somewhere between mid-off and cow corner. But there is a London-based team out here in Abu Dhabi who I’ll be turning out for in a couple of weeks. With a bit of luck I might sneak into their second or third team to get started—so watch this space! This being my first full season away from Carlton, I’ve really been missing the whole cricket family. I’ve been keeping up with the matches on YouTube, and it’s been brilliant to see the wins piling up and everyone chipping in to keep the club buzzing. Hope you’re all having a great summer (and a not-too-dark, not-too-rainy winter soon enough—though it is Edinburgh after all!). I’m looking forward to catching up with you all next summer, hopefully playing a couple of games back in the Carlton strips 🏹🏹 A big miss in season 2025 at Grange Loan was Ali Shah who moved to Abu Dhabi to pursue his clinical career. Carlton is still in his mind however and he send this post card recently. Despite the hope expressed here he has not made his way back to the cricket field as ‘adult life has taken over’ Ali pictured recently with brother Ahmad and Ahmad’s young child. Ahmad is still in Edinburg h

At the end of the Hundred Acre Wood CC's last match of the season, Rabbit, the team's self-appointed skipper and opening bat, who was an animal of strong opinions and frequently cross, addressed the team. 'Now I expect you all to attend the dinner and prize giving,' he said crossly, waving his arms in his most captainly fashion. 'It is important that you show your support.' 'I don't wear a support', from a dark and gloomy corner at the back of the room came a voice which sounded suspiciously like Eeyore's. Rabbit crossly ignored the snigger that went round the room and waved his arms a bit more vigorously. 'There will be prizes for the best batter and best bowler.' Pooh, who was the team's wicket keeper listened hard. He quite liked the word dinner - it generally meant that there would be food available. And food was always of interest to Pooh. And Pooh was sure it must be very nice to get a prize. For he had nothing against prizes as far as they went. He just thought that they didn't go far enough. ' ‘But......,''Is there a prize for best wicket keeper?' he asked. 'Of course not. You're the only wicket keeper, so you would always win it. What kind of prize would that be?' Rabbit looked crossly at him and Pooh felt again that he must be a bear of very little brain. ‘B…b..b..’ piped up a small voice. '................but...............,' it was Piglet, who batted number 3 although as a very small animal he didn't really like fast bowling.'..................but.................,' and as a small animal he was not very bold at speaking in public. '............but..............., you always win the best batter prize.' 'So?' said Rabbit even more crossly. Piglet swallowed hard. He was a back foot player and finding himself on the front foot made him feel uncomfortable. He had no option but to swing through the line of the ball. 'Well,' he said a little squeakily, 'shouldn't it go to the batter that scores the most runs? I got 43 not out in one match.' Carlton’s end of season dinner was a great success earlier this year as was the prize giving last week. However these celebrations can be more problematic at other clubs as this extract from the annals of the Hundred Acre Wood CC discovered a few years ago by Fantasy Bob demonstrates The Annual Dinner of the Hundred Acre Wood CC

Rabbit sighed and waved his arms again. He was getting crosser by the minute. 'You only got that because Owl was umpire and he doesn't know the LBW law - you were really out 3 times.' 'But you were out for nought in every innings.' 'Only because Owl doesn't know the No Ball law either. You see the Committee has to take these things into account.' Eeyore looked up gloomily from packing his kit. He was the team's slow left arm bowler and had never won a prize either. ‘Will the Committee take into account that I would have had a shedload of wickets and a couple of hat tricks this year if the slip fielder hadn't dropped everything that came to him?' Rabbit felt the eyes of the team turn towards him as one. 'I couldn't help that the sun was always in my eyes.' He had explained many times to his team how all the best skippers stood at slip so they could read the game better. Rabbit felt it was certainly true that at slip everyone could see you as you waved your arms around in a skipperly fashion, but reading the game at the same time took lots of concentration which was difficult with a bear of little brain standing beside him and continually asking whether it was nearly time for tea. 'Who is the Committee?' asked Pooh, who thought it might be able to make sure that there was honey on the menu. 'I am, of course,' said Rabbit. 'I have to do all the work in this club.' He added crossly in the manner of skippers everywhere. Later Pooh and Piglet made their way home from the clubhouse. After a long and thoughtful silence they began to speak. 'I expect the dinner will be lots of fun.' 'It usually is.' 'As long as you don't expect to win a prize.' 'And you know Rabbit really does do all the work......' '....even if he can't bat....' '.....or catch......' 'He does do all the work.' 'The team wouldn't work without him.' 'Yes, he deserves a prize.' Pooh and Piglet make their way home from the clubhouse.

Step Into Christmas Fairytale of New York Happy Christmas War Is Over Blue Christmas All I want For Christmas Is You Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree The Most Wonderful Time of the Year One More Sleep The Singer of the Christmas Hit Shares the Surname of One of the Sports Stars (spelling may be different). Can you match them? Merry Christmas Everyone I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day Answers on p35

Good luck to Ruari Macpherson on the recent launch of his exciting new venture. ACE CLUB GOLF Are you a budding musician in Carlton’s ranks? Fancy performing at Grange Loan? Folk, Pop, Classical, Jazz? We would love to organise a musical evening or two? Get in touch at events@carltoncc.co.uk and we’ll get something moving THE SOUND OF MUSIC

LIKE FATHER LIKE SON Carlton teams these days are rarely without a father-son pairing. It was not always thus - the Arrow looks at the emergence of this trend. Carlton First XI in 1934 - seated centre NL Stevenson, back row right his son Dr DCL Stevenson At page 181 of NL Stevenson’s Play, describing events in 1929, he recalls a match against St Boswells, ‘The situation was indeed desperate, for there was only Smart (who was no bat) and my son Douglas (who was still at school) to follow me.’ This is the first recorded instance of a Carlton father and son playing together - something that is significantly more common nowadays. Douglas Currie Lang Stevenson was NL’s only son. He also had 5 daughters. (A father and daughter outing would have been beyond the realms of the imaginable in 1929 - it has of course happened several times in recent years). Douglas would appear to take his names from Carlton stalwart, and schoolmate of NL, Douglas Currie. As well as Stevenson’s son, he also in later life had a lifeboat named after him (see Arrow 68). Douglas Stevenson was born in 1912 - making him 17 at the time of his St Boswell’s appearance - old these days for an introduction to Carlton’s senior teams. He was a student at Edinburgh Academy. Readers will know that Stevenson eulogises about his own school days at Blairlodge and no doubt that school would have been the first choice for Douglas had it not been forced to close in 1908 following an infectious disease outbreak which compounded financial difficulties. Subsequently he studied medicine at Edinburgh University, qualifying in 1934 and after training a Liverpool and Leicester, service in the RAMC, pursued a career as a consultant surgeon largely in London. He died in 1986.

While Stevenson’s report of the 1929 match does not say whether his offspring got a bat - in the time honoured fashion one suspects he was a late recruit to the team and fielded fine leg to fine leg, being rewarded with all the cake he could eat at tea. However he matured into a regular member of Carlton’s First XI during the 1930s. He is said to have played ‘serviceable innings’ during 1933, a ‘valuable innings’ against Cupar in 1934, and in 1938 featured in a partnership with his father which ‘made the difference’ in a close match with the University. He can be seen in the First XI photograph of 1934, and the averages for that year record him having 12 innings with an average of 10.8. Meanwhile his father averaged 15 in 8 innings while taking 43 wickets. A photograph of Carlton juniors in 1934 shows a number of names of famous Carlton First teamers, but none of them appears to have either gone on to the First XI themselves or turned out with their father. It is hard to think that there was not some match at some time when a youngster was pressed into service if only to make up the numbers, but any such instances are unrecorded. It is many years later when the records do show such an occasion. In 1978 former skipper Alun Davies (above) and his son Ceri, then aged 16, appeared together in a number of friendlies. Young Davies was not called to the crease in the 3 matches he played but got a bowl in each, taking 4 wickets in all for 92 off 25.5 overs. Ceri played 9 matches for the Second XI that season, taking 11 wickets @ 13.82. Sadly he pre-deceased his father. The next recorded outing of father and son marks the beginning of the present era of familial selections. In June 2000, Gavin Scott, then Junior Convenor, proudly turned out for the 3rd XI alongside his two sons Alasdair and Douglas aged 15 and 13 respectively (photo above). This was not a case of Dad dragging boys out quite the reverse. Both were established junior players and had featured in the Carlton (South Morningside PS) which had won the Scottish Primary Schools Trophy in 1997 for which they were rewarded with a trip to Edgbaston for the national finals.

Ali had debuted for the recently established 3rd XI in 1998, playing 3 matches in all; Douglas debuted in 1999 playing 6 matches, while Ali played 8. So it was Dad who was making up the numbers. They played twice together that year and twice together the subsequent year. Gavin played only a handful more games for the 3rd XI while his sons began to move up the ranks both eventually playing a few games for the First XI. The team did well at Edgbaston - they won the first two games and the parents were concerned that if they won the third they would win their group and would be playing again the next day. We did not have accommodation for another night and our train tickets were for that evening only! They lost - but only just. Particular highlight of the trip was of Douglas taking a hat-trick. Douglas was in primary five (the rest were P7) and according to Gavin was only there because his dad was one of the coaches! Gavin and his boys in 1997 Ali Scott in 4th XI action in 2011 Dougie Scott back row right - with the 4th XI in 2023

Also in 2001 was the first sighting of two Forresters in the 3rd XI ranks as 12 year old Gareth Forrester appeared alongside Dad Brian. The pair played together again in 2002, with 5 matches in 2003 and another 4 in 2004. Gareth played another handful of games for the club including 3 appearances for the 2nd XI. Brian’s last competitive match for the club was in 2006. He retired, having played a record 201 matches for the 2nd XI, and 50 for the 3rd XI. Brian was coaxed out of retirement as part of the 150th Anniversary celebrations - photo below. In 2003 Shaun (below) and Tom Barrett made one appearance each for the 3rd XI, their first outings in Carlton colours. The next season they played more regularly with teen-age Tom making 12 appearances to his Dad’s 6. Tom Barrett 59* for 3rd XI in 2008 Tom moved through the ranks debuting for the 2s in 2007, for whom he played 38 times in all scoring 2 centuries and a highest score of 154* in 2013, and the First XI in 2009, playing 13 matches in all. Shaun went on to be a stalwart of the 4th XI and when the 5th XI came into being in 2016 soon became its hugely popular skipper. The subsequent years saw a significant expansion of Carlton’s junior section and the club’s first successes in the national cup tournaments. The Fourth XI was launched in 2008 and the Fifth XI in 2016. The first father and son pairings in the annals of the Fourth XI were in 2009 when Russell and Adam Weir each played 6 matches that season and Neil Irvine-Hess played 4 matches alongside Dad Bob.

In the years since it has been an unusual day when there hasn’t been a father and son combination in one of Carlton’s teams. But larger family groups have also forced selection. In July 2014 Carlton 4th XI took the field with 3 McIntyres - Rua becoming the youngest senior debutant at the age of 9 years 10 months 10 days. The team also included Kevin and Murray Whitaker and David and Harry Simpson. Rua took 1 wicket for 10 off 2.2 overs. Other combinations of father and two sons have been Paul Kentish playing alongside Charlie and Fraser and Charles, Ben and James Stronach. More recently matches have contained 3 Khadses. In 2023 the 3 Stronachs played for the 2nd XI against Dunnikier at GL. As yet no father and son combination has played together for the First XI, although all three Stronachs played at least one match for the Firsts in 2025. In 2016 the 5th XI played its very first match and the side featured 3 father and son combinations - Rua and Phil McIntyre, Euan and Craig Burgess, and Archie and Martin Robertson. Also taking the field were three fathers whose offspring featured in higher teams that day - Richard Allardice, John Beattie and David Main.

EASYFUNDRAISING website or app It is unlikely however that the record of the Everetts in 2010 will ever be beaten. The 4th XI side playing Stew-Mel that day included, Craig, Euan and Calum alongside their Dad Johnny. Raise money for Carlton through EASYFUNDRAISING

Looking to take care of your health by boosting your strength and fitness, to transform your body shape and improve cricket performances? Inside Out could be your solution. Parents of junior cricketers are welcome too. Go to www.insideout-pt.co.uk for more info or email Coach Marc to book a free taster session: support@insideout-pt.co.uk. FITNESS TRAINING AT GRANGE LOAN CALLING ALL ART AND DESIGN STUDENTS WHY NOT USE CARLTON AS A SUBJECT WITHIN YOUR PORTFOLIO? There are lots of possibilities. Landscape of Grange Loan Player Portraits Drawings or paintings of action (taken from the website photographs) Collage or montage We’d love to exhibit your work in the pavilion next summer!

Former wicket keeper Fraser Boyd relaxes with his recently arrived second child Mara during a visit home last summer from Borneo where he and Naomi are now resident. Meanwhile Grandad John gives Fraser’s elder child Torran an early lesson at Grange Loan - John may no longer be Junior Convenor at Carlton but he hasn’t given up on youth development. FAMILY NEWS On Wednesday 29 October 2025 Fraser Allardice and Sanmeet Kaur celebrated their civil partnership at Tower Hamlets registry office. Many Congratulations to them!Sharing the happy moment are Rory Allardice and Rosa Tonks.

Neville Madziva sends Christmas Greetings and eternal gratitude to Carlton for helping his mother this year. She is now recovering well and enjoying life. Many congratulations to Shiv Jhala and Samantha Hamlet on their recent engagement.

MURRAYFIELD AT 100 The Carlton Connection There have been celebrations in the course of this year for the 100th anniversary of Murrayfield coming into existence as the HQ of Scottish Rugby. The first match at the newly built stadium was on 21 March 1925 - a victory over Scotland in a Grand Slam year. What has gone unremarked in all the razamataz is the significant role of a Carlton member in its early days. The first groundsman at Murrayfield, and the man responsible for its development was Arthur Ernest Sellars. A E Sellars was a right arm medium pace bowler, In 1920 he took 119 wickets for Carlton and won the Best Bowler award. He played for Carlton following World War I having previously been professional at Leith Caledonian (a club which did not revive following the suspension of cricket during the war). He had also also played pre-war for Stewart’s for whom he took 7-55 against Carlton in 1914. While at Carlton he won two Scottish caps, tasking 5-22 against ireland in 1920. He can be seen back row second from the right in the Carlton photo of 1922. While he is no longer seen in First XI photos after 1922, there are reports of him continuing to play for Carlton well into the 1930s. Sellars had been employed by the Scottish Rugby Union as groundsman at Inverleith where international matches had hitherto been played. He has taken over from his father Tom. In all he would spend more than 50 years in the employ of the SRU. Sellars died in February 1949 at the age of 74 from pneumonia following a chill he caught while on duty at the Scotland-Ireland rugby match. He was succeeded as groundsman at Murrayfield by his son Tom who continued until 1969. The Sellars therefore had almost 100 years of service to the SRU.

MURRAYFIELD AT 100 The Carlton Connection Aerial picture of Murrayfield taken in 1948. The cricket field in the foreground is in the area now occupied by the Hive Stadium and training pitches. The white building is the ice rink - it had been built in 1939 but immediately requisitioned by the Army for war purposes. It would not open as an ice rink until 1952. Between the ice rink and Roseburn (whose cricket pitch is discernible are tennis courts, no longer there. Murrayfield was used for the Scottish Lawn Tennis championships in 1926, when it was won by IG Collins, the first of his 3 successive triumphs in the competition. He also won the doubles for 10 years on the trot. Collins was also capped by Scotland at cricket playing against Australia in 1926, the week before he won at Murrayfield. The western part of Roseburn can be seen to have been made over to allotments as part of the war effort, in common with other parks and open spaces in the city. The photo shows the wings to the original West Stand which had been added in 1935. At the time the stadium capacity was presented as 100,000 - 80,000 of whom were accommodated on the terraces. The stadium was built on land used previously by the Edinburgh Polo Club. (There is still an Edinburgh Polo club which is now based at Dalmahoy). The SRU paid £4752/5/- for its 19 acres. At roughly the same time Carlton had paid £3000 for the purchase of the smaller site at Grange Loan. The stadium was 2 years in the building and financed largely by debentures. International rugby matches had previously been played at Inverleith, which proved too small for the crowds the matches increasingly attracted.

Sellars’ loyalty to cricket continued. In the early 1930s he developed a cricket pitch on the back pitches at Murrayfield. The new cricket ground at Murrayfield was made use of by Murrayfield CC, who had previously used the adjoining Roseburn Public Park. At that time Murrayfield were an established ‘junior’ side in Edinburgh - they won the Parks Trophy in 1923. They may have had aspirations to play at a higher level. They described themselves as one of only 3 open clubs in the city - the others being Carlton and Grange. Fixtures with such senior clubs as Perthshire, Aberdeenshire and Watsonians appeared in their schedule. AE Sellars was Secretary and Vice-President to Murrayfield CC during the 1930s and his son Tom was the club’s long-serving skipper. Tom had also previously played at Stewart’s. Like his Dad he was a decent bowler, taking 8-46 against St Katherines CC in 1936. Following the death of Arthur in 1949 Tom took over his role as Head Groundsman at Murrayfield. The full history of Murrayfield CC is not clear. Following the Second World War they appear to have struggled. In 1960 they fell out of the East League and attempted an unsuccessful merger with Corstorphine and were heard of no more. The name was revived when London Road CC adopted it in the mid 1990s, eventually becoming MDAFs. The cricket ground at Murrayfield also disappeared as the SRU made use of it for training pitches. While Murrayfield CC enjoyed regular fixtures with Grange and other prominent clubs during the 1920s and 30s, they did not feature on Carlton’s fixture card until after World War 2 when the Evening News in 1949 reports that a new fixture had been arranged between Carlton and Murrayfield to take advantage of the fine weather which continued into September. With the establishment of the East League in 1951, Carlton and Murrayfield met more regularly until the latter club folded. In that period the clubs faced each other 11 times with Carlton winning 10 times and there was a solitary draw. MURRAYFIELD AT 100 The Carlton Connection In the immediate post war period, there was a plan to establish a county cricket side in Edinburgh - Midlothian CCC. A limited company was formed to pursue that objective and while newspaper reports made clear that this was distinct from the Murrayfield Club, its first Directors were members of Murrayfield. Plans were advanced for its entry into the County Championship in 1951. However the hope to make use of Murrayfield as its home ground proved unsuccessful and when they proposed to the Counties Association the alternative to use a public park (aka the Meadows), their fledgling membership was revoked and the venture died. Sellars in 1920 and 1935

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Christmas Quiz Answers Ashes Tour Party Photographs: 1 Robin Smith, Jack Russell, Alan Lamb 2 Chris Tavare, Bob Willis 3 Bob Taylor, Derek Pringle, Norman Cowans, Derek Randall 4 Geoff Boycott ,Ian Botham Ashes Quiz 1 Vaughan, 2 Illingworth, 3 Oldfield, 4 Laker, 5 Hutton, 6 Healey, 7 Larwood, 8 Edgbaston, 9 Anderson, 10 Dilley, 11 Edrich, 12 Trueman, 13 Yardley, 14 Yallop, 15 Hollies, 16 Nottingham, 17 Trescothick THE HOLLY AND THE IVY Christmas Hits Photos from top l-r Barry/Elton JOHN - Step Into Christmas Neil/John LENNON - Happy Christmas War Is Over Alex/Mariah CAREY - All I Want For Christmas Is You Stuart/Kirsty MCCALL/MCCOLL - Fairytale of New York Gary/Shakin’ STEVENS - Merry Christmas Everyone Mark/Roy WOOD - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day Steven/Elvis PRESLEY - Blue Christmas JPR/Andy WILLIAMS - The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year Brett/Brenda LEE - Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree Denise/Leona LEWIS - One More Sleep Kerry & Karen would like to thank everyone for the support given to Square Cut Kitchen during our first year. If you need catering for a special occasion in 2026 please get in touch. And look out for details of our next Supper Club which will be held in the Spring.