Esteemed Crosser reaches 90 not out

A great Crosser celebrated his 90th birthday on July 9th. Despite Richard Demarco's many significant achievements in the cultural sphere, he maintains fond memories of his time as a young Holy Cross cricketer. 

As we know, the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe won't be taking place this year. The Cowgate, usually a hive of activity at this time of year, was serenely quiet as I passed through it on Wednesday morning. I was on the way to meet Richard Demarco in relation to his massive archive project (currently based at Summerhall). Despite his long association with both the International Festival and the Fringe, he was not unhappy about the cancellation of this year's Festival. Though the Edinburgh Festival ‘gave Edinburgh a much needed special dimension’, he feels that the Festival has lost sight of its original mission and a rebirth is long overdue. Perhaps the year off will lead to some rethinking..

90 not out is a fine achievement for any cricketer and for any Crosser. Demarco attended Holy Cross Academy from 1941 until 1949. He was delighted to hear of my connections to the cricket club. He had heard about Hugh Kilpatrick's death. Both were at Holy Cross at the same time (Richard 3 years older than Hugh). He passed on his good wishes to the club and hopes that it can keep alive the Holy Cross name (the school having closed in 1969 and the rugby club having become Inverleith in the 90s). When reviewing the history of the school (published 10 years ago) he suggested that the cricket club 'deserves to have a history all to itself'. 

Richard admitted that he was ‘obsessed’ with cricket in his youth, as the letter below from David Harding (another Holy Cross Academy pupil who became a leading artist and art teacher) makes clear. The letter indicates Demarco’s passion for record keeping - something he’s maintained throughout his life, culminating in his archive which contains hundreds of thousands of items. The photo of the 1949 Holy Cross Academy school first XI includes both Richard and his brother. According to Hugh Kilpatrick's computerised records (which only cover 1st XI matches), Demarco only once turned out for the FP 1st XI (his brother Louis played 4 times). 

Demarco is currently in the midst of organising his vast and rich archive with the hope that it will be transferred to a purpose-build home in Granton ...possibly in 2024. From the energy and passion for life and art he displayed when I met him, a century seems within the grasp of this legendary Crosser.

Find out more about Demarco's archive project here. 

New pavilion on its way as Council rubber-stamp StewMel lease plans.

Following Thursday's (21st March) meeting of the Edinburgh Council Finance & Budget Committee at the City Chambers, we are delighted to announce that the plans to grant a 60 year lease to Erskine Stewart’s Melville Governing Council re the Arboretum Road pavilion and playing field have been rubber stamped.

A Partnership Agreement (maybe we could call it The Arbo Agreement?!) will see Inverleith Rugby Club, Holy Cross Academicals Cricket Club & Standard Life Cricket Club, St Thomas of Aquin’s & Trinity Academy Schools and Spartans Youth FC as tenants.

Key elements of the plans, which we have been played an integral part in shaping, will see Stew Mel paying for the refurbishment of the presently derelict and iconic pavilion.  Costs are expected to be in the region of £500,000.  Initial drawings are pleasant with a balcony feature likely to be popular on a day where the mercury hits double figures!

 

 

 

This will of course see the dreadful portacabins (which cost the Council £10k pa over the best part of a decade) removed! 

When will this all happen? The timescales are to be finalised however it is hoped that everything could be ready mid-2014.  Fear not though fellow Crossers, the Green Room is safe! The existing Clubhouse will remain in situ and hopefully we'll be able to hand the biscuit tin around at both the Cricket and Rugby AGMs to buy a tin of paint to spruce it up inside!

 

Our thanks go to all key stakeholders who have worked together in the most impressive fashion to get this from a discussion in the Green Room to Council sign-off in less than 12 months.

 

The full report can be downloaded here

Smudger contributes to CS Blog

http://www.cricketscotland.com/cricket-scotland-bloggers-page/groundsman-blog/

Arboretum Pavilion - now a danger.

Sad to see the old pavilion at Arboretum in such a state. The pictures (taken on Nov 1st) clearly show that people are accessing it at the rear-and posing a danger to themselves and others-including by removing various objects from the pavilion; some of which may be hazardous.

Post-season maintenance

[The Grounds Commissar writes]

It's that time of year where we need to do some post-season maintenance on the Arbo square. This involves spreading 80 x 20 kg bags of loam over the square. This year, there is an added complication, because the loam has been delivered to Peffermill and not Arbo. Therefore we need:

1) People with cars (and even better, trailers) to transport the bags up to Arbo.
2) Volunteers to carry the loam to the Arbo square and spread it.

Weather permitting, we're want to do this on Saturday afternoon, with the bags of loam being picked at Peffermill from 12.00 onwards. Depending on reasonable numbers, we should be able to transport the material up to Arbo by 1.00, with the loam spreading finished about 4.00.

This is an important job. The Arbo square has improved greatly in recent years and we want to carry on that improvement. So, if you can spare an hour or two on Saturday, please do this important thing for the club. If, due to bad weather, the operation is cancelled, an all points e mail will be sent out.

Don't leave it to others, get stuck in.
Looking forward to seeing many of you on Saturday,

Smudger
Grounds Commissar.

Saturday night entertainment

I can only imagine it was a very good and late session at Arbo last Saturday as it seems that Pat aided by a quorum of nameless Crossers has been busy hatching plans to hold some "armless" evening entertainment over the next few Saturdays starting this weekend and featuring a number of third team strongmen.

With the thirds at home it would be a great opportunity to see as many Crossers in attendance as possible. I'll be there, arm wrestling left handed so as to protect my bowling arm.

In my opinion KF would make a good bookie* and a tax levied on winnings would help towards contributions for the team minibus.

*obviously only "Cross Groats" will be in use not real currency.

I'll have 10 Groats on JB.

Cross 0 -Watsonians 2

Div 1 (Arboretum)

Holy Cross 172-7
S. Pickering 25, S. Bonfield 25, A. Cydzik 25*, D. Russell 24.
A. Learmonth 3-29
M. McLeod 2-22

Watsonian 2's 173-5
A. Learmonth 100*, B. Fox 23.
R. Worsnop 2-34
C. Ellis 2-26

A tale of missed opportunities. We were 50-1 off 11 but only got to 172 thanks to a productive last 4 overs. But in truth-despite a slightly under-prepared pitch and consistent Watsonian bowling- we were at least 50 short of a par score, with far too many quiet overs in the middle part of the innings (though not cut since Tuesday... the outfield was firm enough to give the batsmen good value for their shots-we needed a lot more boundaries!). Then, after Robin got 2 good early wickets, we failed to make another breakthrough for almost twenty overs ...plus the bad miss off Learmonth at 2nd slip was very costly...though he did play well, scoring heavily in his 'zones'. We'll need to play better against an in form Marchmont side this Saturday and against the East Academy on Sunday.

Div 5 (Craiglockhart)
Holy Cross 2nd XI 145 (N Webb 50+, N Shahzad 45*, C Mcfarlane 3 wkts) : Watsonians 3rd XI 146-8 (S Counsell 71, A Borthwick 31).


Div 8
3rd XI could not play because contractors were setting up the Park for the Moonwalk...

Russell turns the game at Arbo, 2s rained off, 3s ..... well!

Results digest:

Div 1 at Arboretum.

Grange 167 ao (48.1 overs)
K. Rae 52, W. Phillip 33, E Duboulay 24
D. Russell 3/27, S. Bonfield 2/37, R. Bainbridge 2/37

Holy Cross 169/3 (36.5 overs)
C. Ellis 65*, S. Bonfield 46*, K. Fraser 26, S. Pickering 23.
M. Enos 2/25
[cheers to Sandy R for scoring in the foul weather-and also for sending tweets from the 3rd XI and 1st XI games..!]

Div 5 (at Falkland-2nd ground): Holy Cross 2nd XI 154 (J Bates 64) : Falkland 3rd XI 32-1 Match abandoned.

Div 8 (at Campbell Park): Holy Cross 3rds lost to Mufs 4ths by a lot (108)-failing to chase down 214..

Mufs 4's perspective on this match in this thread:
http://tinyurl.com/44cpdyr

Inverleith Park

Given that we (and other East League clubs) use it, Crossers may be interested in recent proposals concerning Inverleith Park (as we Crossers know it is not the only local authority facility that may be developed in this manner..).

http://www.inverleithpark.co.uk/#/save-the-park/4546597877

Age of Austerity hits Arbo.

Because of the impeding spending cuts, a number of major capital projects have had to be shelved by the club treasurer. It is hoped that some or all of the projects may be completed when the economic climate revives (The President forecasts this to occur in the 2nd quarter of 2028 - when the first term of his presidency will end).

The projects postponed include:

1. Clubhouse extension plan:

a. The Graveyard Bar (proposed by Ellis Snr/PVB with Presidential support).
A peaceful snug-away from the boisterous atmosphere of the Green Room.
Here the more mature Crossers can enjoy their real ale, malt whiskeys and cigars in front of a roaring open fire - and listen to 78’s and watch ladies tennis.

b. The Safety Room (KF/S. Bonfield/ BAF):
Combined poker and smoking room. Stocked with supplies of papers and snacks.

c. Entertainment Wing (Bainbro/ Andy G/ G. Lohan)
For use during inclement weather. With facilities for Ping Pong, bar billiards, and pole dancing (no, not Ziggy). Also includes space for a 6-piece band.

2.Ground Improvements.

a. Combined hover-cover/ Tea urn (cje).
Sensitive to moisture (any significant rain triggers it into operation) this cover can extend to protect the entire playing surface. Plus the water collected runs directly into a massive urn, providing fresh Assam or Darjeeling tea 24/7.

b. Deluxe combined heavy roller/ mower/ scarifier (Coco/ Smudger).
Weighing 10 tons and with a top speed of 25mph. For lengthy stints of pitch preparation, it comes with a well-stocked fridge, cigarette machine and bunk bed.

Cross Duck out of SCU Trophy

An ahem.... 'understrength' Cross side came up well short against DHSFP in the SCU Trophy 1st round. In a game shortened to 40 overs per side and interrupted by one very heavy shower-but ending in fine sunshine, Dundee simply had far greater strength in depth. Nice to play in a game played in good spirits with plenty of friendly banter.

full scorecard here

Dundee High School FP 211/ 7 (40 overs)
K. Ancell 46, A. Nadir 40, D. Bailwal 34, D. Kyles 45,
V. Gaware 8/1/23/2
S. Bonfield 8/0/34/2
C. Ellis 8/2/29/0
C. McGill 5/ 0/ 42/ 1
N. Webb 5/ 0/ 40/ 1
E. C. Smith 6/0 38/1

A decent effort in the field, keeping things tight for the 1st 17 overs or so and then sticking at it against the inevitable onslaught against the change bowlers in the later overs. Some good catches by Shannon (x2), Vikram and EC (running back), and two sharp ones by Spick. A good effort too by those from the 2nd and 3rd XIs.

Holy Cross 123ao (33 overs)
C. Ellis 76*, E.C. Smith 11, C. McGill 6......it would be fair to say that the middle and lower order didn't fire: ducks for nos 4, 5, 6, 7..... 8, 9...(Calum MacIntosh putting several others to shame with a spirited 2). At 64/1 off 17 we were well in the game before EC and Shannon fell in successive Bailwal overs. The drying pitch was a little tricky after overnight rain and the heavy shower but perhaps not THAT tricky.
D. Bailwal 4/20
Hyatt 2/22
Nadir 2/ 37

Thanks to those irregulars who turned out and to Andy Q for doing some scoring and washing up after tea -and Smudger for his encouraging comments from over the fence. Good luck to Dundee HSFP in the next round.

Win, Lose or...Tie

1st XI
at Arboretum
Holy Cross 245/6 (50 overs) (20 pts)
C. Ellis 49, S. Pickering 47, E. C. Smith 42, S. Bonfield 39,
R. Dannreuther 36; B. Powell 3/32

Grange 2 181ao (50 overs)(8pts)
B. Parkinson 82; R. Bainbridge 4/ 29, S. Bonfield 3/22

further details to follow...
brief newspaper mention here

2nds tied with SMRH 2nds
91 for J. Bates
5 wickets Andy Killey
Believe we needed 1 to win off the last ball but a (direct hit) run out denied us. Fully story from Ziggy at about 3.34am

3rds had a narrow loss vs Teuchters
5 wickets for Gavin Morcom

details from? (bit of a lack of 3rd team reports-can someone volunteer-sounds like a good match)

Masterton 1st round

Just a reminder that the 1st XI play in the 1st round of the Masterton Trophy on Tuesday (18th)-vs MDafs at Arboretum, starting at 6pm.

The selectors have not yet revealed our team but it should be a strong one...lets hope that some of the batsmen can find some form after Saturday's poor showing. They will need to as MDafs have a good recent record in twenty over cricket.

Can those playing try to get down as early as possible - to assist with getting the ground ready etc.

Supporters most welcome - bar will be open from 6ish.

Winning Streak Ends as 1sts and 2nds Collapse

Two fairly dismal batting performances ended the club's run of success.

Don't have details for the 2nds but believe they made 95ao chasing just 125 to beat Falkland 2nds on a testing artificial wicket-Ziggy will provide details once he's finished his Kebab...believe the returning Andy Killey took 6 wickets.

At Arbo the 1sts were below par against some aggressive Carlton batting. A few slices of fortune went in Carlton's favour; but though we kept taking wickets we never stemmed the flow of runs. 183 was a decent score on a wicket that (having been waterlogged the day before) lacked pace and bounce but we should have at least got close. The final partnership of 39 between the two Andys showed what could have been achieved.

Carton 2nds 183ao off 41.2 overs (P. Swan 60, A. Majunder 33, F. Boyd 31; A. Millington 3/42, S.Bonfield 2/22)

Holy Cross 131 ao off 44.2 overs (A. Millington 23, C. Ellis 20; O. Ahmed 3/11, T. Clarke 3/38)

Carlton's view of proceedings here

Scotsman report here

3 wins..again!

Despite sustaining a suspected broken thumb, President Robertson was a contented man, gurgling with delight in the green room as all three sides won (yes even the 2nds!!) for a 2nd week in succession.

1sts beat Glenrothes by 3 wickets at Riverside Park.
Glenrothes 189/9 (G. Hopcroft 73, F. Khan 35, A. Millington 5-41)
Holy Cross 193/7 (S. Pickering 51, C. Ellis 48, C. A. Smith 43, F. Khan 3/25, G. Hopcroft 3/36)

2nds beat Leith FAB by 74 runs at Arbo
Holy Cross 206/9 (N. Metha 69, A. Cydzik 44, P. V. Bailey 20, Saeed 4/22)
Leith FAB 132 ao (McKean 69, Lohan 4/25, C. O. Smith 3/25).

3rds beat Preston Village at Polwarth Oval.Don't have full details
Think they made 170 odd (50 for Scott, 37* for Ellis Snr.....)
Bowling PV out for about 105 (4 wickets for Astley, 3 for Ellis Snr)

Bon-fires as 1sts claim opening win.

1st XI
At Arboretum.
Holy Cross 204-7 (S. Bonfield 68, C. A. Smith 34, A Fleming 3/52)
Watsonians 2nds 160ao (R. Crosby 58, D, Breach 32, R. Worsnop 4/34, C. Ellis 4/19)

A heavy shower at 7am had transformed a firm deck into a classic Arbo ‘sticky top’ which meant fluent batting was unlikely and some unusual bounce could be expected when the ball hit indentations made by earlier deliveries.

Cross made a very slow start against the tricky bounce of Leggett and the swing and nip of Sevak (who started with 4 straight maidens), with Rob playing a couple of good leg side shots before failing to move his feet against a fuller delivery and Charlie playing across a fairly straight one. Shannon ‘how dare you not describe me as an all-rounder in the HX fantasy league’ Bonfield then continued his fine form of the previous week with a composed and classy 68. He got good support from Calum (34 with several fine boundaries) as they put on 115 excellent runs at a good rate in a match-winning partnership. Despite a slump from 134/2 to 163/7, Dougie, Praveen and Vikram (24*) did well in the final overs to get us to a defendable total of 204 (28 wides also helped-the umpires wideing anything missing leg stump).

The solid Breach opened (though dropped 1st ball) with the aggressive (in batting style, not personality) Flannigan, who was dismissed by a Worsnop via a debatable lb decision. Then Fox (with a good record against Cross bowlers) was undone by one that kept low and soon after Yellowlees was adjudged caught behind as Robin found his line and length. 204 now looked a big total, especially after Fleming played on (just!) to Shannon, leaving Watsonians on 34/4.

But Watsonians now had their tricky wicket specialists at the crease: Breach who’d scored runs at Roseburn whilst playing for Cramond and Jaya who’d batted for several season on the Muirhouse ‘wicket’. Jaya was in threatening form and struck Robin for a cracking six before getting unluckily ‘strangled’ down the leg side. Crosby made clear his intentions early as he walloped a slow Bimbo long-hop most of the way towards Andy G’s house. He and Breach threatened to put together a significant partnership until Praveen (making up for an earlier indiscretion) took a superb slip catch (low and well to his left) off cje to dismiss the Watsonians' skipper.

Crosby’s fine striking and some sloppy fielding (sorry Dougie!), and ‘rusty’ bowling (Bimbo!-figures not for public consumption) kept Watsonians in the game but we kept chipping away with steady bowling (cje confirming his reputation as one of the most ‘boring’ bowlers in the league, just missing out on his 1st ever 5-for). With Crosby at the crease, Watsonians still had a chance (they certainly had enough overs to get the runs) before Shannon (returning from the bottom end) got one through Crosby’s defence to end the game. Certainly not a flawless performance (plus we got a larger share of fortune than our opposition) but an important opening win against a good Watsonians side.

Succesful Renovation

Under the supervision of our Facilities Commissar (Smudger), our Autumn Renovation was completed successfully on Saturday. The superb weather made things easier than in previous years.

The square looks in good shape and - with further efforts in April - it should (especially with a dry summer....) play well next season.

Thanks to all those who helped: Mr Admin, The Pres, Coco, Andy Q, (plus Robert and Michael) plus Spick on the container roof, and Mike N transporting loam.

PS If anyone's looking for some nice material for composting, there's a big pile of material in the South West corner of the ground (where we had our infamous 'unsafe' bonfire a few years ago).

Thrashed, Clobbered and Gubbed

After three victories in Week 14, all three sides suffered heavy losses this Saturday.

Scores summary-details to follow...




1st XI -At Arboretum
Edin Accies 221-8
M. Brown 60, A. Moffat 45, H. Paton 33
C. Ellis 3/37 (plus a few misplaced toys-though throwing them was fully justified).

Holy Cross 96ao
S. Bonfield 30
M.Brown 5/13
M. Jordan 3/26

2nd XI
Div 5 (Inverleith Artificial)
Carlton 3rd XI 282-6 (Majumber 106, Whatley 80*)
Holy Cross 2nd XI 197-4 (9)(Mehta 71, Wright 41*)

I only caught 20 mins of this game but witnessed: some fine striking by Nipun and pvb; one loudish oooohh from pvb; a dog running away with the ball; a Carlton fielder getting smacked by the ball in a sensitive area; a rather dire run out (of Nipun just as he seemed to be heading for a ton); Mr Admin getting out in an unfortunate manner.

On my travels I also caught 3 balls of the DT vs Mufs 2nds game-in which I saw 2 Mufs wickets and a 4...

3rd XI
Div 8 (Campbell Park)

Kismet 240odd (4 for Ellis Snr)
Holy Cross 100 odd ao (??)
Runs for McGill and Geddes (McGill made much of this on his return to the Arbo Bar: though he neglected to say that it was against their occasional bowlers given a shot after the game was effectively over as a contest...)

Boorish behaviour

http://tinyurl.com/n2pu5o

While his target here is Barmy Army, Lawson's thoughts on the 'new breed' of cricket supporters were apparently stimulated by a visit to Arboretum on June 27 where he witnessed several well oiled Holy Cross 2nd team players barracking the 1st team.

Dismal Cross Toss Away Final Chance

Result from SCU Trophy Semi:
At Arboretum.

Holy Cross Academicals 185-6 (50 overs)
C. Ellis 54, S.Pickering 29

NOSCA 186-5 (34.3 overs)
R. Main 45
D. Wolton 43

More details to follow once I've calmed down a bit.

In summary, on a difficult wicket (on which 185 should have taken some getting), the first 7 overs from the Newfield end went for 76 runs with a mixture of full bungers and slow long hops and full bungers and full bungers ... As bad a series of overs that I've seen bowled at Arbo (and I've seen plenty Dyer efforts). Rather frustrating given the hard work we'd put in to get our runs.

Apologies to our supporters (Coco, pvb, Mark B, Mahmood, Michael) who had to witness such garbage.

scorecard here: http://www.cricketscotland.com/cards/2009/holnos

Media report here:
http://sport.scotsman.com/cricket/Trophy-dream-ends-in-five.5474999.jp