Youth Policy Latest

1st team vice-captain KF reports the excellent news that:

'Evan John Keith Fraser was born on Sunday 13th December (3 days early?!?!?!?), weighing 7lb 1oz & measuring 54.5cm'

Hopefully Evan will be a star player for Penicuik Holy Cross in the future.

In the short-term he might be a contender for 'toys out of the pram' award (aka 'The James Bradley Memorial Princess Hissy Fit Trophy')

2010 Cup draws - updated for the Parks Trophy

• Masterton - Home vs Murrayfield-DAFS. Winner away to Stenhousemuir or Marchmont.
• ESCA 20/20 Cup (fka the Cow Corner) - Away to Edinburgh Accies.
• Presidents Trophy - A bye in the 1st round and then away to Stenhousemuir or Westquarter.
• Parks Trophy - A bye in the 1st round and then away to Standard Life or Botanics.

Security Breach - New Cross Committee Revealed.

It's been a few years since we had a contested election at the HX agm, leading some to mutter about "democracy with North Korean characteristics". However, the stitch-up has usually been accompanied by a North Korean-style level of secrecy.

Now, in a shocking development, leading Cross dissident, PVB, has posted a list of club officers to the world wide web at http://www.eastleague.org.uk/. For those without access to the ESCA website we reproduce his list in full -

• Secretary - Osama bin Laden.
• 1st XI Captain - Yogi Bear.
• 1st XI Vice-Captain - Tiberius Gracchus.
• 2nd XI Captain - Mickey Mouse.
• 2nd XI Vice-Captain - Jeffrey Archer.
• 3rd XI Captain - Cheryl Cole.
• 3rd XI Vice-Captain - Atilla the Hun.
• Juniors - Freddie Flintoff.

It is not yet clear how many of these are merely codenames or even whether this is a full slate. The omission from the list of President-for-Life Robertson has led to renewed speculation over the health of the Dear Leader.

Veteran Central Committee hard-liner, Comrade Admin, rumoured in some quarters to be a candidate for 3rd XI vice-captain, commented on the security breach - "This is exactly the sort of deviationism I was trying to prevent by obstructing the development of the website through two Five Year Plan periods. I look forward to working closely with Comrade Cole."

Breaking News....McGill is 'bowler of the year'

http://www.cricketscotland.com/AwardsfortheBest

This, along with his other great achievements can be celebrated this Saturday (contact Bainbro for details, though I believe that things kick off at The Stockbridge Tap at 6pm..)

Calling All Rat Fans ......

Short notice, we know, but Gerry's band, Doc Rodent, are playing tomorrow night at Whistlebinkies on South Bridge. Or as G puts it himself -

So there you are after a hard week of being harrassed by a pure bastard of a boss ...... or, indeed, you are that bastard and it's tiring, you know ...... and your day has finished and you fancy a pint. Hell yeah. So, I think you should be slinking down to Whistlebinkies and while buying a pint, noticing there's a band on ...... why, it's Doc Rodent ...... what a coincidence. Start at 6.30, finish at 8.30. Poifick. Good start to a weekend, I would say.

KF on Scottish Cricket (part 2 of a continuing series)

With the Ashes now over and the South Africa vs South Africa 2nd XI test series yet to start, in his latest posting KF turns to one of the er ..... burning issues of the day.

Climate change !!! Is it really happening? As I'm about 99% unqualified to judge (with a 1% error margin), I feel I must waffle on this contentious topic immediately. Is it colder now than a month ago ? Yes. Is it warmer than it was last night ? Yes. Seems like a no brainer to this no brainer. Indeed, if the climate didn't change it would surely be time to worry.

But what has this got to do with the East League fixture schedule, I hear you ask ? The ESCA website has announced that the fixtures for next season "will run from Saturday 1st May until Saturday 28th August inclusive". Meaning the usual pre-season friendlies will be on the 17th and 24th April. You may see where I'm going with this now. Indeed, I could say you are already getting warmer (or colder).

I don't recall any "t-shirt weather" during this early period of the season and my memories of playing cricket at that time primarily involve at least two jumpers. Come the end of August and into September, once the season has ended for most folk, its flip flop and barbecue time. Cricket doesn't necessarily require the players to be warm, but it does require the best of weather conditions to get a decent or at least playable pitch. I believe it's time to look at adjusting the season as I believe it starts and ends too early.

Squinting briefly at Scottish football, there is often talk of a winter shutdown. The obvious problem with this being that our winter can last about 8 months, so which 2-4 week period do you close down for ? Trying to nail down exactly when, or even if, we have our summer isn't much less difficult.

A serious look must be had at historical temperature records, rainfall charts and anything else of use. I wouldn't be surprised to find that there's been no cricket played on the 3rd of July for 120 years or something similar, but I'm sure those records would back up my intuition that the open and close of the season require amendment. As the days shorten in September the kick-off times might have to be brought forward an hour.

In the meantime, I'm sure Jon B will take orders for club fleeces or maybe for long johns (with embroidered badges ???? fnarr).

It is now time for you to shout down my simplistic idealism with unfortunate realities like overlaps with the rugby season or pitch availability or whatever ......

Art Attack

Some of you may have read about Michael Vaughan's excursion into the art world; 'artballing'-paintings created 'by throwing or batting painted balls at a blank canvass':
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8383197.stm

If you follow this link, you will see the efforts of a unnamed artist and Holy Cross cricketer who-inspired by Vaughan's work- threw 50 paint balls (assorted colours) at a blank canvas from a distance of 20 yards. For those hoping for a closer look, its current owner (C. Saatchi) has kindly agreed to allow it to be displayed in the Arbo Green room next May.

How to Save Cricket?

This may be of interest to some of the readers of this blog (especially those who prefer cricket to Twenty20 and who appreciate the batting of VVS Laxman):

http://www.spectator.co.uk/alexmassie/5569511/how-to-save-test-cricket.thtml

Captain Darling ?

This Thursday night at 9.15, Radio Three are broadcasting a talk by Mike Brearley on Narcissism and Leadership. Brearley, who lost only 4 of his 31 Test matches as England captain, is now a psychoanalyst. Apparently, he warns that "anyone in a position of responsibility has to be wary of the wish to be admired." Could be an interesting listen, especially for our notoriously image-conscious slate of skippers - EC, Ziggy, Ken and Coco.

2010 Cup draws

• Masterton - Home vs Murrayfield-DAFS. Winner away to Stenhousemuir or Marchmont.


• Cow Corner - Away to Edinburgh Accies.


• Presidents Trophy - A bye in the 1st round and then away to Stenhousemuir or Westquarter.

ESCA AGM Highlights

The League's agm was held last night. Here are a few bits and bobs that may be of interest.

• All Divisions - The season will run from 1st May to 28th August. A proposal to change the points system which came within a whisker of being passed last year was convincingly defeated this time.


• Div 1 - The Eastern Regional Academy under 19s will play a Sunday away game against each of the Div 1 club sides during the first 12 weeks or so of next season. Full points will be up for grabs but the Academy side will not feature in the league table. ESCA will provide umpires and contribute £65 to each Div 1 side to defray expenses.


• Div 1 again - As the SNCL is leaning on its member clubs to provide at least one umpire next season, Sandy Scotland thinks it is likely that there will be more umpires available for East League games next season. I'll let you decide whether this is a good thing or not (especially as most of the newly available umpires are likely to be pretty inexperienced), but please try not to be too rude in any comments.


• Divs 5 & 8 - The standard starting time for the 2nds and 3rds has been brought forward to 1pm. While it will still be possible for clubs to agree a later start, you have been warned, especially you, Gerry.


• Div 8 - Musselburgh 3rds were admitted to the division.

SNCL reconstruction-proposal passed

http://sport.scotsman.com/cricket/Clubs-vote-for-league-split.5804268.jp
http://www.cricketscotland.com/DecisionTime

Given the way this will disrupt the fixtures for the latter part of the season, this is likely to impact on East League clubs - see the ESCA messageboard for discussion.

http://tinyurl.com/yfobgds

Two Dogs or Two Shots?

Apparently Mr Worsnop has (again) been the subject of attention in the Scottish press.

Given that he seems reluctant to associate his business with the HX blog (...), we won't link to it here.

But Crossers may be interested in this biographical article:

http://tinyurl.com/yz6ba8e

Those who played with him at Craigmillar Park may be surprised by his comment: 'I occasionally play golf very badly.' Seems like 'occasionally' he also plays it very well - especially when hitting a 4 iron uphill...

KF on the Ashes (Part 5).

A final set of reflections on the 2009 Ashes by KF.

Did you get your tackety boots on and join in the assault on the hopeless Aussie skipper? Hopefully those partaking didn’t get blood on their ‘Wenger must go’ t-shirts (circa April 2009). Great past achievements and a high likelihood of future glory (it took Ponting a few short weeks to slaughter England in the 1-dayers and win the ICC Trophy), are no buffer against populist braying. If Bradman and Grace were Ashes captains going head to head, they couldn’t both win. It wouldn’t mean one was godlike and the other needed dropped in the harbour with concrete slippers. However, if I was in Ponting’s position now, I suspect I’d be passing on the captaincy before the next but one Ashes back on these shores. Losing it once could be put down to bad luck. Losing it twice is very careless. Losing it for a third time would cast a permanent shadow over 5-0 Ashes wins and world cup triumph’s.

Sir Ian Botham had to slave away for a whole test match and also borrow an 8-for from Bob Willis to claim an Ashes Test to himself in 1981 at Headingley. Flintoff, even more economical than Botham with his movement, managed to claim his own glory in the decisive last Match of the series this time with one short burst of effort. I don’t recall ever seeing a batsman look so determined to stay in and so hellbent on winning a Test Match single-handedly than Ponting was in the crucial 2nd innings in the final test. I couldn’t see how England were going to get him out. He looked as invincible as Charlie does against Fauldhouse on a ploughed track. Then, with a bit of a wibble-wobble towards the ball, down stooped Sir Freddie on his disintegrating knees and the rest, as they say, is history. One for my new 100 Great Sporting Moments series. Great theatre, and all the more improbable that it was an Englander doing it to the Aussies and not the other way round.

Usually if a team wins a series you can look at the top run scorer or highest wicket taker and say that their efforts were the difference. But Australia dominated all the usual individual performance charts and still came up short. A lot of this was to do with England relying less on main men, with the likes of Flintoff & Pietersen not being fully fit and Bopara’s form being almost unsettling. While Australia as the touring side with less bodies to choose from maybe stuck with who they had a bit too much. I’m sure anyone who viewed Australia play Scotland at the Grange will wonder why Brett Lee played no part in the Ashes. Without him, can anyone argue Australia are at full strength? Seemed a pretty strange one.

And so, off into the sun (Dubai I believe) goes the new Botham. Legs now useless as far as international sport is concerned. Legs so criminally treated, allowing even more destruction and injury to already toiling joints. I’ve probably said enough on the bewildering and desperate treatment of Flintoff’s injuries in the past. So we move on and what do we ‘discover’ at the end of the Ashes. Woopeedoo, we have a ‘New Flintoff’. Read all about the injuries and injections cutting Stuart Broad’s career short here in about 7 years time.

Baffling Figures ?

The following mysterious figures have recently been circulated amongst selected Crossers.

RE (14) 33
SR (8) 28
CE (12) 32
SS (20) 37
MR(18) 39
EC (18) 27

What do they possibly refer to??

I presumed that they referred to some innocent activity till I picked them up* this afternoon on my wind-up short wave radio:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_station

*to be honest reception was pretty fuzzy, so I might have imagined it.

More Trophies

2 HX players were amongst the recipients at the East League awards on Friday night.
Unfortunately Ellis Snr was on on tour, so had to accept his award via live satellite link-up. Though he was clearly audible, his 15 minute anecdote about life in the HX thirds didn't meet with universal approval.

Crosser stars in Champions Trophy

Those following the India vs West Indies match may have noted that our own Praveen Kumar is playing for India...

While he only gets on as first change for the Cross he is opening the bowling for India:

http://www.cricinfo.com/iccct2009/engine/current/match/415284.html

Champions Trophy Highlights

For those unable to believe yesterday's result (or without access to Sky), highlights
are available here:

http://cricket-online.tv/sri-lanka-vs-england-highlights-champions-trophy/

Winter Social Scene

Gentlemen,

As predicted the social side of the club rather looked after itself during the regular season however it's over winter that the social secretary really earns his crust, so coming up over the winter months we'll try to sort out a few events. I'll not let on what's planned but a few folk have come up with quality ideas.

However to kick things off.......Holy Cross Winter Golf League!!

"League" implies some degree of organisation which might be stretching things, however let's kick things off by all those who are up for playing every now and then let me know and I'll take it from there.

Coming very soon - social stuff that involves beer/nippy sweeties.

Another attempt at restructuring

Further proposals have been made to restructure the upper echelons of Scottish Cricket.

http://www.cricketscotland.com/TwoDivisions

Unlike the previous proposals, this one would appear to have no impact on HX, as the National League would remain as 30 clubs: albeit in two divisions rather than three.

Leagues for 2010

Now that the result of the playoff is known, the make-up of the East League divisions for 2010 is as follows.

Division 1
Boroughmuir
Carlton II
Edinburgh II
Edinburgh Accies
Fauldhouse
Glenrothes
Grange II
Holy Cross
Largo
Watsonian II

Division 2
Freuchie II
Heriot's II
Kismet
Leith FAB
Marchmont
MF-DAFS
Musselburgh
RH Corstorphine II
Stirling Co. II
Westquarter

Division 3
Clackmannan Co.
Drummond Trinity
Dunnikier
Falkland II
Grange III
Haddington
Livingston
MF-DAFS II
Penicuik II
West Lothian II

Division 4
Broomhall
Dunfermline II
Dunfermline Carnegie
Edinburgh South
Edinburgh Univ. Staff
Kirk Brae
Peebles Co.
Preston Village
Stenhousemuir II
Townhill

Division 5
Carlton III
Edinburgh Accies II
Falkland III
Holy Cross II
Leith FAB III
MF-DAFS III
Musselburgh II
SMRH II
Stirling Co. III
Watsonian III

Division 6
Boroughmuir II
Clackmannan Co. II
Dunfermline Wanderers
Edinburgh III
Glenrothes II
Heriot's III
Largo II
Morton
Old Contemptibles
Penicuik III

Division 7
Broomhall II
Dunbar
Edinburgh South II
Fauldhouse II
Largo III
Livingston II
Marchmont II
Peebles Co. II
RH Corstorphine III
West Lothian III

Division 8
Carlton IV
Dalgety Bay
Drummond Trinity II
Dunfermline III
Holy Cross III
Kirk Brae II
Kismet II
Largo IV
Leith FAB III
Musselburgh III
Morton II
MF-DAFS IV
Preston Village II
SMRH III
Teuchtar's*

*Subject to formal approval

(no) Caption Required (No. 4)

It has been suggested that our 2nd team skipper has too often been the
focus of adverse comment on this blog.

Hence I implore Crossers not to suggest a caption for this photo.

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).

Father & Son

Richard has joined his son Charlie as an award winner for his bowling in Div 8 - here are the top six

Richard Ellis Holy X 31
Colin McGill Holy X 25
Gerry Dodson Edinburgh South 24
Keith Geddes Holy X 24
Mak Raja Kirkbrae 22
Keiran Ramsay Peebles 22
Cheyank Gosain Carlton 21

The top 6 batters are

Mak Raja Kirkbrae 604
Scott Russell Holy Cross 415
Marc Swan Peebles 351
Mike Warren Broomhall 336
Shaun Barrett Carlton 296
Mike Nevin Holy Cross 290
Bill Hewitt Drummond 289

Crossdressers Required !

Assistance is required with maintenance work on the Arbo Square
this Friday (11th) and Saturday (12th).

Our Facilities Commissar has outlined the following timetable:

Fri 11 Sep from about 4.30 pm: scarifying commences
Sat 12 Sep from 9am: scarifying continues & square is spiked
Sat 12 Sep from app 12am: worst of the ends dug up
Sat 12 Sep from app 2pm: square is seeded then top dressed

All assistance (even if for an hour or two) appreciated.

UPDATE

work has been canceled this afternoon (Friday) due to problems with the scarifying equipment.

Smudger plans to start early on Saturday morning
(around 9.15), so any assistance then would be extra welcome.

Final Match Report

Carlton have posted a match report on the match between their 4ths and our 3rds on August 29th:





http://www.carltoncc.co.uk/fixtures_2009_4.htm#Aug29

The scorecard suggests that Scott DID get his 50.

BTW, did anyone leave their Cross cap at Grange Loan?-Ellis Snr seems to have picked up an extra one.

2nd team skipper delivers end of season message.

Having had his Blackberry confiscated by Mr Admin, he's been forced to post pseudonymously on the Cricket Scotland website in order to communicate to his clubmates:

click here
(see in particular the section below the photograph).

Final Positions Published

The Final League Tables have now been published on the ESCA site.

1st team: http://tinyurl.com/nrc6zh

2nd team: http://tinyurl.com/lb2uje

3rds: http://tinyurl.com/kmn5ut

A few Crossers also appear in the 'Top Performers' section:

Div 1: http://tinyurl.com/l4a5to

Div 5:http://tinyurl.com/kkekr2

Div 8 (yet to be finalised): http://tinyurl.com/ktob8y

Statto Reveals All

The final set of HX stats for the 2009 season have been produced by Colin McGill-and distributed via the email list.

Anyone who didn't receive them but who wishes to should make a comment to that effect below (though we bar non-Crossers given the useful insights they might give opposition teams).

There's an extra 'bonus' set of stats which include 'All-rounders by Wicket-Rate Ratio' and 'most slip catches per cigarette this Millennium'.

Awards for East League Men...it was all due to HJK

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/features/Cricketing-coach-and-umpire-are.5608688.jp

Coaching Corner (No. 1: the Forward Defensive)

With the season now over, it's now time for every Crosser to focus on the areas of their game that will need to be worked on with the club coaches in our indoor net sessions. Such 'technical audits' ought to begin with the essentials of the game:

'The forward [defensive] stroke is one of the most important in cricket. Not only does it enable a batsmen to survive against good deliveries but it forms the basis of all the drives. Learn to play it correctly and you are half-way to becoming a good batsmen...[g]et well forward; bend the left knee; get onto the toes of the right foot. These are the three basics which must be observed'.
(Boycott on Batting, London: Stanley Paul, 1980, pp21-23)

Here Ellis Snr (batting at Grange Loan last Sunday) demonstrates decent technique, though some might suggest that his bat and pad could be closer together.
Perhaps blog readers can spot other technical errors revealed in this photo.

And the Winner Was .......

For all those who couldn't make it to Awards Night on Saturday, and for all those who did make it but can't remember a thing, here is the full list of 2009 award winners.

Club Player of the Year - Charlie, with Shannon runner-up.

Clubman of the Year - Andy Graham, for his willingness to play for any team and for his three match-winning innings, but mostly for volunteering as match secretary and for doing such an excellent job of it. Runners-up Colin and Charlie.

Most League Runs - Charlie, with Scott and Euan runners-up.

Most League Wickets - Richard, with Shannon and Colin runners-up.

2nds Player of the Year - Jon, with Gerry runner-up.

3rds Players of the Year - Richard and Scott.

The Buchie Award (fastest run scorer) - Roland, who scored his League runs at a strike rate of 98.

Coastal Erosion (slowest run scorer) - Ken, who scored his at a strike rate of 25.

Quack Quack Oops (most League ducks) - A three-way tie between Mahmood, Smudger and Keith F with four each. As the only nominee brave enough to attend Awards Night, Keith is the holder of the rubber duck for the next twelve months.

The Wolrige Tankard for the player with the best spirit - Bainbro, with Dave, Scott, Smudger and Calum as runners-up. In all there were nominations for 14 different players, including one for the President "post match, but GRUMPY DURING THE GAME."

Most Improved Player - Nipun, with Bainbro and Usama runners-up.

Most Disappointing Season - A tie between Keith F and the 2nd XI.

Most Memorable Team Performance - A tie between winning the Presidents Trophy and the 2nds' game away at Heriots, recovering from 99-9 to score a winning 140-odd and which was described by Ziggy as "the most memorable half-team performance - bowlers only". In joint third came the 3rds' win away at Carlton the first time; the 2nds' vital win away at Falkland in the last game of the season; and the 1sts' home win against Murrayfield DAFS.

The WG Grace Award for the Best Older Player - Richard, with Paul and Gerry as runners-up.

Best Younger Player - A tie between Usama and Nipun, with Nawaz as runner-up.

The Most Entertaining Moment of the Season - A "senior moment" from the 3rds' first trip to Carlton this year when Ken told both Keith and Colin that they were batting at seven. With Coco, starting from the pavilion, delayed by the need to finish a fag and regale evryone who'd listen with tales of his batting prowess, Keith narrowly won the race to the wicket by approaching surreptitiously from the square leg boundary. Two balls later Colin finally got his chance. Incident now available, appropriately enough, on You Tube(s).

The Flintoff Award for the Most Heroic Individual Performance - Obviously this award should go to Dougie "Six Million Dollar Man" Russell every year for managing to play at all, let alone well, given the number of injuries he's carrying. However, this year's award went to Gerry and Zeeshan for the match-winning 10th wicket stand against Heriots for the 2nds. Runners-up, the Andies, Q and G, for their heroics at Falkland as the 2nds recovered from 15-5 to score 140-odd for 6 and avoid relegation.

Catch of the Year - Runners-up were Roland's "magic extending arm" catch vs Fauldhouse and Andy Quinn's Evening News-worthy effort vs Morton. But the run-away winner was Andy Graham for his remarkable, one-handed, full-length, diving snaffle on the boundary at Falkland to dismiss the man who was hitting us out of the game - especially as Andy seemed to be asleep when the ball was hit.

The James Bradley Memorial Princess Hissy Fit Trophy - In 2nd place, for his consistent excellence in minor on-field tantrum- and huff-throwing, involving some impressive bat-tossing and the occasional walk to Inverleith Park to calm down, the man who has described Dr Bradley as his mentor more than once - Charlie. But Ellis Jnr, who off the field is the nicest chap you're ever likely to meet (with the possible exception of Ellis Snr), is pipped by a man who, as Captain of the "most disappointing" 2nds, might have been expected to win this award by ranting and raging on the field. Instead, with the partial exception of the now infamous "effing, effing, effing" motivational speech against Carlton, he has shown the patience of a saint while in whites. Give him a Blackberry after a game, however, and, even when clearly entirely "sobber", he's the very devil. For those e-mails, the winner of the Golden Dummy is Ziggy.

Distinguished Hawaiian Shirt Wearer of the Year Award - It's that man again - Andy Graham.

Coastal has some bad news!

Hi Guys

Due to an unfortunate Administrative error (missing match return for the Kirkbrae match, not Peebles fault) Peebles are actually third and we are not promoted! We needed 12 points to be promoted not 7!

OK Guys we'll do it next year!!!!!!!!!!!!

Match report to follow!!!

Coastal

Caption Required (No.2)

keep it clean.. (photo-J. Pope).

Awards Safely Distributed

President Shifty presided over this year's HX awards ceremony, including the now traditional 'reading of Ziggy's rant'. I can't remember the recipients of all the awards.

But here one of the recipients practices his technique ahead of his first night of business (Photo-J. Pope).

Gloomy Finish for 1sts

In a game which finished in near darkness at Myreside, the 1sts ended their Division 1 campaign with a heavy loss vs Watsonians 2.

Watsonians 227-9
4 wickets for Bonfield

Holy Cross about 155-9
Ellis 35, Pickering 32.

After a good start with the ball, our bowling and fielding dropped off badly against some good batting from Learmonth and Fox. At about 80-2 we were in a the game before a fine spell of quick outswingers by Learmonth (3/13) helped settle the game. Combined with Carlton 2's comprehensive win over Glenrothes, the 1sts will (I think) finish in 4th place-equal to our perfomance in 2005.

Identity of Heriots' 'Mystery Cricketer' revealed

From today's Scotsman:
'HERIOT'S are hoping to field a mystery cricketer when they bid to ensure survival in Division One [sic] of the Lloyd's TSB Scottish cricket premiership tomorrow'.
http://sport.scotsman.com/cricket/Cricket-Heriot39s-hope-to-field.5597725.jp

I can exclusively reveal his identity. The 'mystery player' was seen in earnest discussion with two Heriots men (Colin & Dave Thompson) at the Baillie Bar last night..

Scotland Lose but Crossers amongst the Winners

result of the 'guess how many the Aussies will score' competition:
1. The Dr: 345
2. Ziggy: 350

result of the 'most pissed at the cricket competition':
1. Ziggy's flatmate.
2. Smudger's new lady friend.
3. Smudger (extra marks for embarrassing his son later on)
4. The Pres (special commendation for drinking more than Smudger and being about half as half-cut).

result of 'the person looking most like a pimp at the cricket' award:
1. Andy G.

result of the 'Crosser most often mistaken for an Aussie' competition:
1. Smudger

result of 'the Aussie most often barracked by Crossers':
1. Mitchell Johnson.
2. Peter Steindl (who apparently wasn't a happy 'bunny' following Scotland's performance).
3. Ozzie Malik

result of the 'most comical injury sustained whilst watching the the cricket'
1. Coco-thigh injury sustained whilst...er... sitting down.
2. The Pres-strained groin whilst 'getting his leg over'.

Result of the 'most unusual food stuff supplied by Ziggy at the cricket':
1. Angel Cake
2. Jelly Beans
3. Pakora
4. Samosa
5. Strawberries (or was that Coco?)

Result of 'the person who looks most like Scotland's reserve scrum half Chris Cusiter at the cricket'.
1. Ziggy's flatmate-photo evidence here


btw the first part of the match can be watched at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00mg54n/Cricket_Scotland_v_Australia_Part_1/

I think that Dr Astley appears at 35.46
anyone else spotted?

League Weekend 18

Friday sees Anzelm's tour party make the Cross's only visit of the year to the Grange for the Scotland-Australia match. The weather forecast is currently surprisingly good, so look out for them on the BBC2 Scotland coverage.

On Saturday the 1sts have their final League game, away against Watsonians 2nds. A win will see them finish third in Division 1.

Saturday evening is Awards Night at Arbo. The bar will be open from 7.30 and we'll get started as soon as the 1sts arrive back from Myreside. One of our newer members has asked about the dress code for the evening, with particular reference to something called a mankini. There is no general dress code, but the President reserves the right to fine the following Crossers for failing to wear their signature items of clothing: Ziggy (HX cap), Gerry (cravat/neckerchief), Dougie (panama hat) and the match secretary (tight-fitting pink jumper). Some of us would also quite enjoy seeing Si's remarkable shredded jacket come out of retirement.

On Sunday, the 3rds travel to Grange Loan for the second time this season to take on Carlton 4ths, hoping to secure promotion to Division 7. All support welcome.

Vote Now

The deadline is approaching for Crossers to get their votes in for Saturday's Awards Night. Get your completed forms to Mr Admin asap.

Apparently there's an additional 'special' award to be voted for. The previous winners include many distinguished (up until that point at least) Crossers and Bainbro (left-photo by J. Pope).

I've no idea how the 'winner' is determined
(the method supposedly
combines the procedures for electing a new Pope [no, not that one] and the Speaker of the House of Commons, though can be settled by Presidential decree).

The New Flintoff?

Just as England's leading bowling all-rounder retires, it's gratifying to see his natural successor emerge.

Tall, blonde, well-spoken and with a past as an opening batsman, he has recently emerged as a bowler of genuine high class.

Despite initial reticence about bowling he now appears ON TOP of the 2nd team end of season bowling averages with 14 wickets at 13.57 (that's above proven performers such as Lohan, Biswas, Smith and er..Pope).

The end of the tale (for this year) – 2s win and stay up

Sorry for the delay in posting this but I was that hammered in the wee hours of Sunday morning that I couldn’t see my Blackberry screen, let alone the buttons on the key pad, to actually send out an e-mail when I got home and Sunday itself was spent feeling very sorry for oneself whilst being engrossed in what transpired to be the final day of a successful Ashes series (sorry Shannon).

The 2s travelled to Falkland on the Saturday knowing that a win would mean that Largo needed to win their last two fixtures against the two top teams in the league to avoid relegation at the 2s' expense.

The day started well with Brian Fraser arriving on time at Arbo courtesy of PVB and his leash and we experienced no traffic difficulties in our journey bar getting lost in the grounds of the Falkland estate which resulted in Smudger clearing an area of shrub which can now be used for planting next year’s harvest. We lost the toss and were asked to field first on the genuine field that is the outfield surrounding the artificial strip at Falkland. Thankfully the skipper didn’t need to ask the bowlers the end they would prefer bowling from because, unlike the Falkland 1st XI square which only has a slope at one end, we were playing on an upturned bowl with several players lost in action during the course of the game at both ends at once.

Andy G and Smudger opened the bowling but were unable to get a breakthrough. Shammoooooooooooooooooooooooooo then came on and produced his best bowling spell of the season taking four for 25 in his 9 overs. This was aided by some good sharp catches leaving Falkland on about 60 for five. During the course of Shammooooooooooooo's spell, skip decided to revert to type and make a game of it (well, we had travelled a very long way to get a game) by dropping their no5 whilst on about 15. He promptly took a liking to Gerry and raced on to 49. He also took a liking to JB’s bowling, but thankfully eventually holed out to what was by all accounts a fantastic left handed diving catch at deep backward square about 6 inches off the ground by Andy G. I say by all accounts as I couldn’t actually see the final moments due to fielding 20 feet beneath the playing surface at long off. The rest of the innings plodded on with wickets falling regularly to our excellent bowling attack that included a very gifted 16 year old, Usama.

Falkland finished on 138 for 9 with Smudger bowling slow finger spin after taking pity on the young tail – he’d never have done this when he was skip! Bowling figures as follows:
A.Graham 8-1-16-1
C.Smith 8-1-17-0
Shammoooooooooooooo 9-2-25-4
G.Lohan 9-3-23-1
J.Bates 6-0-33-2
U.Shazad 5-0-12-1

Having enjoyed tea whilst watching a batting collapse on the main square we managed to replicate the performance ourselves as we slumped to 15 for 5 off the first 10 overs. Cometh the hour, cometh the men. Andy Quinn and Brian Fraser then put on north of 50 to keep us in the game (the 3rd 50 partnership that Brian has been involved in in the last 3 games). It wasn’t flash, just sensible straight batting by both. When Brian fell with the score on 72 we were still way short but had plenty of overs and a long batting line up. (I have come to the conclusion that we don’t have a tail in the 2s. We merely have several top order batsmen that have fallen under a collective curse whilst the lower order players bat as if they deserve to be playing for the 1s. Shammooooooo opened on Saturday and soon fell under this spell). Andy Graham strode to the crease with a purpose and was soon smiting any delivery in his arc. The run rate never got above four for any length of time and soon fell to below 3. The Falkland team began to look bemused and soon discovered the joy of having 4 skippers in the field at once. With Andy Q progressing smoothly and largely untroubled, we passed 100 and were soon in touching distance of the required total. Andy Q deservedly becoming just the third HX 2s player this year to pass 50! (52no). Andy G hit the winning runs (a 4 with the scores tied) with an over and a half to spare ending his inning on 36no. Job done. 15 for 5, followed by 127 for 1. Tis a strange but glorious game. Many thanks to all the midges that came out to support us.

We retired to the bar at Falkland to learn that Largo had tied their match. With the rumour spreading that we were safe we hurried back to Arbo to confirm the news, hear that the 1s and 3s had won too, and then get plastered before heading on to listen to Gerry and his band, go to a club, then McDonalds, then that magic tardis which gets you home to your bed and awake the next morning without a scooby of what happened in between.

Well, that is it for the 2s for another year. Thankfully this season’s roller coaster ride has ended on an upslope and relegation has been avoided. Many thanks to all those that have contributed to the 2s' cause this year and helped us in fulfilling fixtures, gaining valuable points in games we have lost, and getting us across the finishing line in games that we have won. In addition, many thanks for all your patience with the 2s' skipper and his various rants (overt tolerance rather than covert as I can’t believe that there would not have been any mutterings in the background about madness and loosing the plot). Finally, a word of thanks to those that keep the club going and to you all for making this club what it is.

Although the season is over for the 2s, the 1s and 3s are yet to finish their season. 1s play at Watsonians next Saturday. 3s play on the Sunday and will hopefully confirm promotion from division 8. If successful, this will prove to have been a good year for the club with the 1s near the top of division 1 for most of the year, 2s not getting relegated, 3s going up and the small matter of the President’s Trophy being won. I hope that as many of you as possible make it to Awards Night next Saturday to take a look at this magnificent trophy and to discover just how heavy it is when trying to drink port out of it!

C'mon the Cross!

Watching the Future and Listening to the Past

A couple of cricketing items on the the BBC.

i. Friday. BBC TV coverage of the ODI between Scotland and Australia-hopefully not featuring any drunken Crossers:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00mg54n

ii. Crossers may also find this interesting:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00m5rrz/The_Reunion_23_08_2009/

Sue Macgregor reunites some of those involved in the great cricket split caused by the launch of World Series Cricket by Australian business tycoon Kerry Packer in 1977. She is joined by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, Australian fast bowler Jeff Thomson, Tony Greig, who was England captain at the time, Mike Denness, team manager for Packer's World Series, and the commentator and writer Christopher Martin-Jenkins, who reported the story as it broke.

Caption Required

Zen and the Art of Cricket - The Coastal View

Auuum Auuuum. after the by now normal 3rd XI cross legged navel introspection and mantra session prior to play (read gossip, fags, deep heat, strapping, wrapping and other bionic aids so common to the youth team of HX) We wandered down to the idyllic Inch field of play "Do we know what we're doing yet" that perennial question to which the answer is "42".

A quick trip to the middle only for coastal's pet theory on risk and chance to be found wanting (lost the toss) my existential "42" changed unsurprisingly to "we're batting" -

Round 1 to Edinburgh!

Coastal and Nipun opened! well Nipun did, Coastal tried to play "his new stroke" (see last week's blog) and promptly edged to the keeper!

Round 2 to Edinburgh!

Nipun was joined by Shifty (the man on a secret mission to discover he 3rd's 'mojo') wham bam Nipun and Shifty started to do this strange thing called score runs! however wickets did fall and they edged, caressed, bludgeoned and smote their way to 40 ish for 4. However this did no more than signal the entrance of The Ellis (the sun shone a bit brighter and the angels did sing) who joined the redoubtable Scott and the score mounted inexorably towards 100. Scott fell to a good one for 37, bringing Mahmood to the crease who was undone by the mysteries of left arm slow, high for a few more (who I believe was heard to say it hit my pads -it was an LBW shout).

On trudges the archangel Coco, fag in mouth and the ultimate youth policy then took the score on to 164 for 6. Highlights - Richard 67 not out magnificat! Coco after the second all run 2 in an over pleaded with The Ellis "please hit a boundary, I'm totally fcucked" The Ellis duly obliged by striking an awsome 6 to the longest reaches of the ground!

Round 3 to HX

Tea was served 'al fresco' and stock was taken (as well as a fair few fags)!

Onto the fielding - The redoubtable Shifty was pressed into service to keep for us. Now the real captaincy started, Scott, Mahmood (and the rest of the captaincy committee) kept Coastal right (a nudge here a comment the field would be sensibly set and the bowling changes organised).

On to the fielding - well what can I say Keith (KG as he has now been christened byPopey) bowled beautifully carrying on from last week with an incisive spell of hostile bowling taking one wicket could have been more, Coco taking 2 of his 8, James Burgess taking 2 ofhis spell, The Ellis taking 2 in his 8 bowling so mesmerisingly that batsmen occasionally just watched the ball without moving! Popey taking 2 in his spell all conceding only ca 15 to18 runs. LAt wicket to go was a runout engineerd by Scott and executed by Shifty - Now for the fielding - a real team effort catches 2 in gully to Coastal, 2 crackers to Shifty standing up to the Harmiston like pace of Burgess! Nipun taking a superb running over the shoulder one! One high slipper to Coco. Everyone carried on from last week chasing, covering encouraging, great throwing in esp from Coco, Nipun (hit the stumps from 20 yards with only one to aim at!) and Popey! Calumn ran all over the shop and saved us a lot of runs!

The decisive round 4 to HX

Thanks to Edinburgh who played a great game of cricket with us, fair and hard, good spirit and good banter - good luck next week guys!

Well done guys another cracking performance - one more week, one more game. We're provisionally second by 1 point I think. Won 10 lost 5 what a season so far!

Coastal signing off Auuum Auuuuum man padme ummm (group hug! group hug! Feeeeel the lurv) Seems to work guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thirds Morale Touches Sky As Pope Tunes In

In the process of defeating Edinburgh South at the Inch yesterday, Holy Cross third eleven became the happiest team in the history of sport. As the middle order flayed the opposition bowling around a pastoral outfield, pulsating waves of satisfaction emanated from every team member like the delicious smell from warm cookies. Later, as opposition wickets began to fall and the game headed ineluctably towards a Cross victory, the players could be seen to be floating a few centimetres above the surface of the grass and emitting a shimmering light from their heads.

Ethereal opener Keith Geddes started the rout with a ball which turned into a dove before careening into the base of off stump. Later in the game outfielder Nipun Mehta was borne a full twenty yards by tiny insects to take a catch over his shoulder using only his sense of smell, and Colin McGill at first slip was seen to levitate to a height of twelve feet to take a catch off Pope. Most amazing was when token youngster James Pope began unvoluntarily transmitting Radio 4 Long Wave. "238 for 6, Trott's on 72, a lead of 440. And at tea Aggers will be interviewing Ozzie Osborne."

Primus inter pares Ken Lawrie expained the team's acquisition of sporting nirvana. "Ah, you sense it, don't you? We have a simple philosophy here, win or lose we just share the love. But the more we win the more love we have to share. That's the beauty of Division 8, you see. Not like the seconds, you know. I've seen what it's like in the seconds and it's a dark, dark place. They eat babies for tea in Division 5, you know, and mark the crease out in blood. No love. No love, you see. Would you like some chewing gum?"

Man of the match Richard Ellis added "This is just utterly, totally brilliant. I used to have to take three grams of charlie to get this high, but I'm buzzing like a light bulb."

A clearly ecstatic Pope summed up the day's events "And now, the shipping forecast."

...3 wins...yes, even the 2nds

a great day for Ziggy and Coastal

1sts beat Largo (keeping them 3rd)

Holy Cross 184/7
E. Smith 72, S. Bonfield 60*
C. Barclay 3/29

Largo 117ao (6 points)
S. Bonfield 3/14, C. Ellis 4/ 24.

A solid victory built upon a partnership of 103 between Euan 'one shot'**
Smith and Shannon 'back playing like the pro' Bonfield which helped give
us an above-par score on a soft track.
Our strong bowling unit then squeezed their batting line-up (Shannon
taking the key wicket of Stinson) and forcing into them into some
over-ambitious shots on this type of surface.

2nds beat Falkland 2's (which may well have secured their Div 5 status)

Holy Cross 2nd XI beat Falkland 3rd XI by 6 wickets
Falkland 138-9 :(Biswas 4/24)
Holy Cross 2nd XI 142-6 ( A Quinn 50odd*, A Graham 36*) (having been 15-5, all to Alistair Melville whose 1st spell was 5-5)

3rds beat Edin South 2's (putting them 2nd)
Holy Cross 3rd XI beat Edinburgh South 2nd XI by about 65 runs scores- HX3 about 164-6 (R Ellis 67*, S. Russell 38) ; Edin South 2 about 99.

**most unfair- he only scored 87.5 % of his runs with a pull.

further details to follow

Aussies point the finger

Amid accusations that the pitch at the Oval has been doctored,
Australian journalists and conspiracy theorists have pointed the finger at the man pictured left.

He was apparently seen at the Oval earlier this week-having (it is alleged) been asked by the ECB to employ his infamous 'remove all the grass' method of pitch preparation (last used in preparing the notorious 'black pitch' for the 2nds match vs EU Staff in August 2008).



Update....
It is now suggested that the man accused
lacked the technical knowledge to doctor the pitch alone. Hence suspicion has now shifted to
the bearded trainee Horticulturalist pictured here. Intriguingly, the man he's pictured with has recently served on the Lords groundstaff. The plot thickens.

Void match

Last Saturday's 3rd XI match with Morton has been declared void by ESCA - so we remain on 75.8% - whether the runs or wickets taken count for the final tally is anyone's guess.

League Weekend 17 and the Week Ahead

Saturday's games -

• 1sts, home vs Largo.
• 2nds, away vs Falkland 3rds.
• 3rds, away vs Edinburgh South 2nds at the Inch.

Good luck to all and don't forget that Saturday night is Gerry's Doc Rodent charity gig. Nets are now finished for the season, so don't turn up at Newfield on Wednesday night.

Pope Idol

Broonster's appearance on the TV highlights programme during the Twenty:20 World Cup (see Face in the Crowd, Monday 8th June) prompted James Pope to ask us all to watch out for him on the coverage of a later game. Sadly, it was not to be.

His second attempt at media stardom failed when England collapsed pathetically at Headingley and so his tickets were useless.

But JP is a persevering sort and so we were not surprised to spot the following on the BBC text coverage of today's play -

"My masters dissertation deadline is tomorrow at 4pm, I aim to finish it as soon as possible so i can concentrate on the most important thing this week!!!" James, Edinburgh (working furiously) in the TMS inbox.

2nds' survival ? Gerry's gig on saturday night ? Answers on a postcard, please.

KF on the Cross - Cup Final report.

Bimbo fires one down.

After much pleading, KF has contributed this report on Sunday's cup final.

A lengthy warm-up, a huddle and even a pre-match sing song couldn’t give Musselburgh the impetus required to defeat Holy Cross who were having their second crack of the year at the Presidents Trophy. Winning the toss, Holy Cross opted to bat first on a cup final standard Myreside pitch (with just a few low spots). A pity the groundsman couldn’t do anything about the strong wind but this just made it feel a bit more like Arbo.

Ellis (4) was out lb to the 4th ball of the game, so Bonfield arrived to play the anchor role while Pickering flashily set about the bowling at the other end; their partnership was worth 48. When Bonfire (6) was bowled, CA Smith (39) joined the free hitting Spickering taking the score to 131 before the fall of the 3rd wicket. At one point Calum was dropped by the keeper before smacking the next ball for our only 6 of the innings. Si also cashed in on his luck, dropped 3 times and bowled off a no ball but posting what was effectively a match winning score of 73. The Musselburgh fielding had begun poorly and hardly improved, with countless dropped catches as well as a few extra runs from overthrows. I think this was the difference between two evenly matched batting and bowling sides. There certainly isn’t a two division gulf between the clubs, illustrated by Musselburgh’s previous defeats of Division 1 pace-setters Fauldhouse & trophy holders Watsonians 2’s. With such a good platform (131-2 off 30), the Cross hoped to post 200+, this was then revised to 180, but some good spin bowling by Bhardwaj (5-32) and a trademark collapse by Cross batsmen (E Smith 4, J Bates 13, K Fraser 6, R Bainbridge 0, V Gaware 0) kept the Division 1 side to 172, Astley (4) being run out on the very last ball leaving Nawaz on 5 not out. I refuse to have a go at neutral umpires so shall not make any mention of my own (ct behind, lbw/ stumped) dismissal.

Like HX, Musselburgh lost their top league run scorer in the 1st over: an over ambitious pull against Bonfield (1-29). Musselburgh then set about the opening quicks. The left-handed Tucker (30) in particular caught the eye but he chipped one up in Charlie’s first over and was well held by the skipper. Despite a solid and impressive 49 by A Tufail, the Cross bowlers, particularly with a great spell -though hampered by his now traditional hand injury-either side of drinks by Ellis (2-16) & Gaware (0-30) reined in the run rate and with some uncharacteristically good fielding, the pressure began to mount on the seasiders. From 113-4, they tumbled to 126-9 as veteran Astley (2-30) joined in the fun. Bainbro (4-36) also found his form with 2 lbs in two balls (including the key wicket of Tufail-a tight decision-the 2nd totally plum) and the dismissal of the 7-foot tall opening bowler (Collins) who was bowled by a slower full toss and felt the ball had passed him above waist height causing much mirth (very, very unlikely). The final wicket, after a very decent last wicket stand of 19, came via a run-out-mix-up and the Cup was finally in green and gold ribbons.

Video (courtesy A. Graham) depicts: Dilly ct E. C. Smith bowled Astley 17 (Musselburgh 126-9)

A Belated Coastal View

Hi folks - once again the 3's play in any and all conditions!

I'm going to start with the end to get the disappointments out of the way!

Mike and I opened against some very stuffy (left hand over by Farrell) and quick (right hand over by Bala 16 overs 13 runs and 2 wickets!!! (moan over buuuut)

Mea Culpa I was rather toooooo coastal and this inevitably put too much pressure on the rest.

"Note to myself "I must learn another stroke to go with my forward defensive!!!

So we failed to get the runs we needed! No-ones fault except perhaps mine - I left too much to do in too few overs for it to be the "walk in the park/meadows" that it should have been for us!

The good! Scott top score with 18 Coastal a very scratchy 15 (mind you 6 off 2 noballs in one over!) Richard, Usama and Keith all provided hope but it was not to be! Never mind - Now for the positive!!!!!!!

Catches!!!! the 3's took 8! yes EIGHT! (that is 2 less than 10) catches and we dropped only 3 (2 sharp and one back pedaler, never easy those)

Of the 8 taken -

Coco - sharp and high to his right at slip
Andy Quinn (2) very sharp (inspector Gadget arms stuff)
Mike Nevin (2) both very good catches (one exceptional one a real rocket)
James Pope - slip and high
Usama - high spinning top edge
Coastal - low left at gully

2 maybe 3 worth of a mention for the COTS award

We fielded well bowled well, changed it about well! Everyone backing up and everyone giving 110%. Well done lads another great performance, sorry about the result!

A wee note here!!! This season we have fielded like demons against most sides (taken 127 wickets and lost 98)! and we have batted really well for the most part too (so far we've scored 2065 runs and conceded 2218 runs, defecit mainly courtesy of Broomhall!! and Kirkbrae!!) ----Soooo much better than last season!!!

When we bring this together just a teeny wee bit more consistently which I'm confident we will we'll be a real force to contend with in whatever division we end up in next season

A very proud Coastal!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scotland Have Their Fingers Burnt by an Old Friend

Regan West's 7/88 for Ireland vs Scotland will re-awaken some painful memories for some Crossers. (see also Mr Admin's previous post). For Ireland he bats at 10/11 and bowls left arm orthodox (I seem to recall that he bowled spin after an accident whilst working at McDonalds).

I would post the scorecard depicting a certain innings he played at Arboretum in July 2001 but a virus (possibly the work of G. Wheatley) seems to have corrupted HJK's HX statistics programme which prevents that match being accessed.

Late Addition to Midweek Schedule

Scott has arranged a game (of cricket, thankfully) against Edinburgh Rugby this Thursday night at Arbo. There are still a few slots in the team left, so let the Secretary or Captain McGill know if you'd like to play. This will definitely be the last midweek game of the season.

Spickers and Bainbro the Key Men in Final Victory

The winning team.

Back row: Michael (12th Man), N. Shazad, S. Bonfield, C. A. Smith, J. Bates, R. Bainbridge, C. Ellis, C. McGill (Scorer).
Seated on Bench: K. Fraser (Vice-Captain), S. Pickering (Wkt), E. C. Smith (Captain), I. Astley.
Seated on Grass: V. Gaware.

Presidents Trophy Final at Myreside
Holy Cross won the toss and elected to bat

Holy Cross 172-10 from 40 overs
Pickering 73, C Smith 39, J. Bates 13,
Bhardwaj 5 for 32, Anderson 2 for 15.

defeated

Musselburgh 145-10 from 38.1 overs
A Tufail 49, Tucker 30, Anderson 19*,
Bonfield, 7 overs, 1/29
Bainbridge, 8 overs, 4/36
Ellis, 8 overs, 2/16
Gaware, 8 overs, 0/30
Astley, 7.2 overs, 2/30

2 catches for E. C. Smith, 1 for V. Gaware.

Champagne moment: Bainbro's slower ball to dismiss their hard-hitting No. 9.

More details to follow but it was an excellent game against a good Musselburgh side in a superb setting. Many thanks to the many Crossers (past and present) and our lucky mascot (Michael) who came along to support.

Press report here:
http://sport.scotsman.com/cricket/Cricket-Holy-Cross-in-.5559513.jp

Final Preview

Presidents Trophy Final-Today 1pm start at Myreside (Myreside Road, Edinburgh, EH10 5DB)

Evening News preview-with both skippers sounding upbeat:

http://sport.scotsman.com/cricket/Cricket-Musselburgh-aim-to-take.5557749.jp

1sts win in (golfing) battle of skippers

With the 1sts and 2nds both unable to play, the action moved to the golf course as current and ex 2nd team skippers (Ziggy and Smudger) took on current and former 1st team skippers (E.C. and CJE). The morning rain had turned to a strong breeze and strong sunshine as play began at 4pm.

With the Z & S receiving 12 strokes, it took some good golf (mainly by EC) to keep them at bay. Despite being two up at once stage (and very nearly 3 up), the 2nd teamers faltered towards the end and the 1st teamers took an entertaining game 2 & 1. An enjoyable way to prepare for Sunday's cup final at Myreside.

3rd XI v Morton 2nd XI

Bathed in bright sunlight and surrounded by a noisy funfair, HX 3rd XI got under way a little late after the rain left some damp patches.

At about 3.30 Morton 2nd XI were about 98-8 after 33 overs which may not sound a lot, but on a wet Meadows with relatively long grass, I would think it is worth 130-140. Only one four has been scored.

Dave took 3-33, and Keith, coming on quite late has taken 3 wickets in 3 overs. The catching has been very impressive with Mike taking two, and Andy Quinn probably two - Morton were singing his praises for the 1st catch (if it was him) which they said was wonderful. Dave Sharpe got a catch off a no-ball.

9 lbws

An interesting scorecard from last week in SNCL Div 2

This is Weirs v Edinburgh, a game with 9 lbws in it.

1	* R Murray	lbw	b A Hussain	25
2	C Smith	lbw	b K Pervez	7
3	S.R Butt	lbw	b M Saeed	76
4	I Shah	-	b K Pervez	6
5	A Skelton	lbw	b K Pervez	2
6	S Hmad	-	b Y Ali	3
7	* M Sweeny	c and b	b M Saeed	12
8	R.S Young	lbw	b M Saeed	2
9	F Shah	lbw	b Y Ali	16
10	D McIntyre	not out	-	7
11	A Duffy	c U Farooq	b R Javed	2

Extras:

	byes	leg byes	wides	no balls	pen	total

	byes	leg byes	wides	no balls	pen	total
extras	1	6	17	-	-	24

Total:

	Wickets	Runs

	Wickets	Runs
Total	10	182