2s stay up but 1s go down - results 24.08.19

Euan reports:

Under sunny skies, the season came to a close in contrasting styles:

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The 1s scraped together 8 players plus a late recruit from the rugby club who fancied a short break from the BBQ to take on Carlton 3s. Ziggy blasted a few boundaries to help us get to 73, and the bowlers ran in with purpose - Shannon taking a couple of wickets, Pradeep and Matt Bywater on his long-awaited return with one each - but it was always something of an uphill task. On the plus side, plenty of time was left over afterwards for some long overdue boundary golf.

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The 2s, however, set a precedent for cricketing great escapes this weekend. After their opener skied the first ball of the match to slightly surprised-looking Euan Hunter at cover, Livingston made a competitive 144 on a slightly tacky wicket, wickets being shared between most of the HX bowlers (Gerry getting 2) among some fairly economical bowling figures (especially Sandeep - 0 for 11 off 6).

In reply, Nipun and Robin put on 53 opening, with Robin contributing 40.  After 5 wickets fell for 32 runs, Euan Hunter blasted a rapid 29 (we'll ignore reports that most of those were scored off small children) to drag the score up to 120.  After Euan's demise, Vik and Sai put on 19 (Sai contributing a Leach-esque 1) before Keith came to the wicket to help Vik over the line, flaying 4 through the keeper's legs in the process to cue celebrations and a fine way to finish. A nervous wait ensued before Murrayfield DAFS Twitter account confirmed that the defeat of their 3s at Dunnikier meant HX 2s would live to fight another year in Div 5!

1s lose to Kirk Brae - 03.08.19

Ben Reports:

On what felt like the first dry, sunny Saturday in weeks, HX 1s took on Kirk Brae at Arbo.  The Kirk Brae captain won the toss and chose to bat on a green, slightly tacky wicket.  The HX bowlers did a good job of keeping the batting in check until the halfway point of the innings, but with wickets in hand Kirk Brae were able to accelerate after drinks to a competitive-looking total of 155-9.  Shannon picked up 3 well deserved wickets (as well as 2 run outs) and Vik grabbed 2 in a fiery spell.

In reply, a solid start to the HX innings from Euan House and Nipun couldn't be capitalised on, as four quick wickets halted any chance of gaining momentum.  Gritty partnerships between Tom/Quinny and Quinny/Shannon got us up to 90 and a couple of batting points.