Cross Fisted by Arrows

The 1st XI turned up at Grange Loan unsure whether the weather would allow any cricket to be played, as it turns out the rain only rained on the Cross parade as Carlton ran out comfortable winners.

After a brief rain delay Carlton batted first and wickets proved hard to come by for the Cross bowlers with the Morningside men getting of to a steady start. Things might (might) have been different if a couple of very difficult chances off the opener Lockie (to be fair Spickers did well to get a glove to one chance and the other was a cover drive crashed at KF at sillyish mid, who did well not get injured) had stuck. They didn't however and Lockie proved the anchor of the innings putting together a creditable and composed 106.

Things never got out of hand though with some tight bowling from Andy K, Vikram, Charlie, yours truly and Praveen who narrowly missed out on a hat trick. At about 45 overs HX were looking at chasing a total of circa 225/230 which would have been acceptable, however some serious tap from the remaining Carlton batsmen, (Bhopal in particular putting the ball out of the ground on several occasions) meant they finished with a total of 255.

With our batting looking slightly weak this was always going to be a bit of an ask however when Habib who produced an excellent, pacey 10 over spell, ripped through our top 5 for very few on the board we were done for. Some resistance was offered by captain Pickering and a good knock from Praveen both scoring 27, however Habib was backed up well by the other Carlton bowlers especially Walker and we were scuttled for a disappointing 87.

Despite a poor week for availability no excuses should be offered, in truth Lockie's knock and the best spell of bowling I've seen in a good while from Habib won the game for Carlton. On this performance one wonders how Carlton aren't higher up the league and I look forward to seeing us demonstrate bouncebackability away to Grange next Saturday.

Out-of-The-Ashes

http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/whats-on/2010/out-of-the-ashes

Crossers may be interested in this film being premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival. In a brilliant piece of scheduling it is being shown on June the 19th - when most of those interested in cricket in the Edinburgh area will either be involved in East League matches or following the Scotland vs England match. Fortunately it's also being shown on June 17th.

Summary:
In just a few years, the Afghan cricket team has risen from obscurity in the sport’s lowest ranks to phenomenal success in the highly competitive international arena. This is the remarkable and inspirational story of coach Taj Malik Aleem and his team, who became the sport’s unlikeliest heroes during a triumphant campaign culminating in the crucial World Cup qualifier in South Africa. In a country more often associated with war and rigged elections, their incredible journey is an absolute joy to behold.