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

Ludicrous weather (part 3 of a continuing series)

surely we're not considering cricket in this....





Grange Loan earlier this evening




Breaking news: 2nds match vs Largo is OFF

Also the 1st's match vs Carlton is OFF
no news yet re the thirds, though I doubt that the Meadows will be in a playable condition (unless someone's pinched a tent from a festival venue and put it over the square...)

Cross on Facebook

Some young Crossers log on.









For those who are into social networking etc, Scott R has set up a HCACC Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=84791618174

League Weekend 16 and the Week Ahead - updated

A full Saturday League programme:

• 1sts away to Carlton 2nds, Grange Loan
• 2nds home to Largo 2nds, Arbo
• 3rds away to Morton 2nds, Meadows

On Sunday, we are in the final of the Presidents Trophy for the second time this season, this time vs Musselburgh. A 1pm start at Myreside.

Wednesday sees the last Newfield net session of the season. Thursday may see a surprise additional midweek friendly against Scott's new friends from Edinburgh Rugby - will update on Monday once we hear whether Arbo is available.

And Monty Python Comes in to Bowl .....

Last night I arrived home to find a bulky envelope on the floor just inside the front door. It turned out to contain roughly a hundred flyers for a show called My Dear Old Thing ! The Loves and Laughs of Henry Blofeld, starring the pigeon-fancying, bus-obsessive TMS commentator himself. Apparently there are "two shows only!" in Edinburgh, both at the EICC.

"But when?", I hear you ask. Well, when would you schedule a cricket-themed entertainment if you were a showbiz entrepreneur ? Precisely. This Saturday and Sunday at 1.30, the very time when the most devoted cricket fans in Edinburgh, your potential audience, are ...... playing cricket.

Unless, of course, the Met Office are finally right and what the President would call "ludicrous weather" is on the way in spades. From the photo, it looks like that's what Blowers is banking on.

(Just in case we do actually get rained off, more information about the show can apparently be found at http://www.festivalhighlights.com/).

KF on the Ashes (Part 4).

All I’m saying is Stiffies & Tossers. All will become clear.

Strewth, where did that England performance come from? In these times of professional sport a big problem with the amount of coaching and preparation is that sometimes, for no obvious reason, no amount of vitamin pills, bowling strategies, hypnosis, video studies of the opposition, ice baths, sex bans etc can make the athlete turn up and perform. As these factors are very difficult to study to definitively establish effectiveness, I often wonder just how effective many of them actually are. They sound intuitively correct, but you surely don’t need examples of how wrong human intuition can be.

There are countless anecdotes you could use whichever side of the argument you wish to take. Harold Larwood’s ‘Tea’ is a case in point. I understand he used to take 3 pints, 2 ciggies and a ham sandwich, then return to the field to bowl exceptionally enough to still be talked about today. I bet there isn’t a coaching manual anywhere that would recommend this to an aspiring cricketer. Whyever not? It worked for an all time great. The differences between the styles of Gower and Gooch are equally famous examples. Gower wouldn’t even go for a jog whilst Gooch espoused what we now recognise to be a much more professional approach. Could Gower have been even better if he jogged more? Would Gooch have been worse if he jogged less? Impossible to say. They did what they thought was best for themselves and it seemed to work just fine.

At Holy Cross (CA Smith & Astley aside), we take great delight in pillorying ‘warm-ups’. There are few things greater in cricket than watching the opposition blur around pre-game from a position of horizontal rest, to then take the field, fashionably late if possible and beat them. I’ve never noticed a correlation between the opposition warm-up and a Holy Cross defeat. I doubt it exists. Though I did see Astley injure himself first ball of the game once while the ten other stiffies soldiered on to victory!!!!!

We now have a situation where in the last two Ashes Test matches two wicket keepers have been injured in what is called the warm-up. Why not call it the ‘final injury chance’ or something that bit more truthful. Remember McGrath in 2005? What a great, series defining warm-up that was!!! Behind the (arguably avoidable*) injuries to Pietersen and Flintoff, the Prior back spasm seems to have played the major role in the turmoil leading up to the start of the 4th Test and the bad start from which England never recovered. So are warm-up’s worth it? Would more players get injured in a game if they didn’t warm up? Are there any stats on this? Or is it the type of warm-up? Should Gower and Gooch do a warm up that suits themselves, then go out and play to the best of their ability? I think so. I would contend that at most, a few small stretches or loosening of the joints would do for most people. Maybe a ‘loosen-off’ instead of a ‘warm-up’ would adequately suffice. If I was losing a wicket keeper every other match due to the warm-up, I’d be banning the stupid things immediately!!! But that might just be a stupid human with stupid human intuition talking.

So before the Match has even begun, teams are shooting themselves in the finger (Haddin), back (Prior) or ankle (McGrath)? If both teams are doing this, at least no disadvantage is gained.

My next point seems even crazier to me. Remember, we haven’t even started playing yet. What else could go wrong? How about the toss? At Headingley, England won the toss and chose to bat. Ponting said he’d have batted given the chance as well. What followed showed that both camps were absolutely wrong. How on earth can teams, in such supposedly enlightened times, have absolutely no clue how to read conditions? I plead now for any qualified academic’s out there to get a PhD arranged to look into this. It might even be as simple as just procuring a barometer.

At international level now (again, Trinidad aside, though I think it was the outfield that caused problems), pitches are pretty much immaculate and this is increasingly the case the higher you travel up through our club game. I suppose that the reason Strauss and Ponting were inclined to bat first at Headingley was because the pitch looked good. The factor of swing appears not to have been a worthwhile consideration. Having been a tosser myself for a few seasons, I feel I have some useful input here. I very recently heard the saying “look up, not down” when deciding what to do. As I became more experienced as a tosser, this is effectively how I came to decide what to do (I just hadn’t defined it so goodly). As a batsman, I think that standing in the middle, just ask, would I like to bat just now? How is the light, how windy is it, will there be much swing? If it doesn’t feel too good, best bet is to have a bowl. Not at all scientific, but summed up by ‘looking up, not down’. Whether I’m right or wrong, I’m amazed that there aren’t better ways of reading the conditions when it can have an overwhelming say in the result.

So, if I’d been in charge at Headingley, I’d have led my fully-fit, suitably loose XI onto the field to bowl. Ponting did this and despite a warm-up and losing the toss, his side triumphed. Strauss marched out, bat in hand already a man down (spasming) and lost. And the selectors get the blame?!?!?! It’s a funny old game!!!

*Pietersen has played injured for some time, including in the IPL without having the problem addressed and I’ve said enough about the madness of the Flintoff situation in previous writings.

Tonkers Wanted

Further to Jon's post (below), can I ask anyone who has won the 'Butchie' award for most entertaining run-maker to make themselves known here-or via email to me-and the year they won it (if they can remember).
I'm sure Mr Admin has won it at least once.
I'm presuming that the man pictured on the right has also won it several times

I think that past winners have included:

2003? 2004-F. Buchanan (???)
2005-L. Burgess
2006-S. Robertson (??)
2007-C. Mackay
2008-?? J. Bates?

15th Annual Awards Night - from an original idea by Scott Russell

After almost as much dithering as is usually involved in a 2nd XI single, I've finally decided that Awards Night will take place on the evening of Saturday 29th August.

This is usually the social highlight of the season. (To be fair, pre-Bainbro's extraordinary stint as social convenor, it's usually been the only "formal" social event of the season). So do come along. If you haven't been before, you can expect the evening to feature the following:

• a very garish Hawaiian shirt, in nylon;
• several quaichs, at least one of which will be filled with port - this should be avoided by anyone sensible and all those playing in the 3rds' game at Carlton the next day;
• a bearded compere and a "glamorous assistant" (see photo);
• a rubber duck;
• the James Bradley Memorial Princess Hissy Fit trophy;
• CoCo having a gentle snooze;
• much hilarity.

I'll send out the ballot papers by e-mail later this week. In the meantime if there are any special awards you'd like to add to the usual line-up please let me know, also by e-mail so as not to spoil the surprise.

Div 8 League table I think!

1 Broomhall 88.33%
2 Edin South 83.21%
3 Holy X 78.57%
4 Peebles 75.38%
5 Dunfermline 72.86%
6 MUFS 69.29%
7 Kismet 68.64%
8 Carlton 68.46%
9 Drummond T 52.27%
10 Kirk Brae 52.14%
11 Morton 50.31%
12 Largo 50.00%
13 Leith 48.46%
14 Preston V 47.73%

Urgent Appeal

Recently lost at Arboretum.

If found please return to the club Secretary, as it remains unclear which Crosser it belongs to (the youngest members of the Robertson, Fraser, Worsnop and Russell families have denied that it belongs to them).

perhaps it belongs to this man:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrp53wKHgb0

...2nds start delayed

2nds begin their match vs Accies 2nds at 2.30pm today (Sunday)
all supporters will be welcomed.

.....Breaking News....

2nds lose but gain 10 points:

Accies 2nds: 260 off 40 (!)
HX 2nds: 200ish for 8.

Coastal spots a slight glimmer from the south

Woe Woe and Thrice Woe! but wait a minute!

Still looking for other results for the ones and two's but here's the latest for the 3's Although we lost valiantly to the full K Test side!
Edin and Drummond won BUT Peebles County lost to 2nd bottom Drummond Trinity so I think we are still 3rd by 3-4% guys from them and neither Mufs or Dunf can catch us this week! Still all to play for!

Come on the Crocks!!!!!!!!!!!!

....Cross Dossier to be revealed...maybe

Justin Langer's analysis of the England Side has been leaked.

Apparently a very similar document (prepared by a committee of senior ESCA players*)
analysing our 3 teams was discovered alongside Langer's dossier.

the 50 page document apparently contains:

[sorry, an injunction has been been granted preventing publication-
so please NO speculation as to what it might contain-though the summary I was shown but then had to destroy contained the intriguing comment; that whereas (according to Langer) England players 'love being comfortable', Crossers instead 'love being safe'....]

*Sources used by the committee include; notes taken on our net practices by spies posted behind the hedge at Newfield, testament from various East League skippers, the contents of emails sent to the internal Cross list (evidently forwarded to the authorities-possibly by a mole) and pirated copies of pvb's DVDs.

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...)

League Weekend 15 and the Week Ahead

Weekend league fixtures -

• 1sts, home vs Edinburgh Accies, Arbo, Saturday
• 2nds, away vs Carlton 3rds, Inverleith Park artificial, Saturday
• 3rds, home vs Kismet 2nds, Campbell Park, Saturday
• 2nds, home vs Edinburgh Accies 2nds, Arbo, Sunday

No more midweek friendlies now, but there are nets as usual at Newfield on Wednesday evening starting around 6.30pm.

Next weekend sees a full Saturday League programme and the Presidents Trophy final vs Musselburgh at Myreside on the Sunday.

KF on the Ashes (Part 3).

From KF (written before this morning's collapse/ strange selections):

A rain reduced analysis from your humble scribe today to match the 3rd Test itself? Not likely!!! A feeling of what if and what might have been for an improving England against the increasingly perplexing tourists. But, as I said at the conclusion of my 1st Test blurb, all that surely matters is the score and its still looking excellent for England. They would take this score after the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th Tests and it’s probably a pretty fair reflection of the series so far.

During the 'greatest sporting event' ever in 2005 I felt the Aussies failed to pick their strongest eleven leaving out the likes of Symonds and Hussey when injuries occurred and form declined through the series, especially with their bowlers. Replacements seemed to be hopeful gambles as opposed to bringing in a tried and trusted deputy. I get that same feeling with these tourists. The selection of Watson to open in this match drew comment from our friends in the potting shed. Although performing well enough at Edgbaston, Watson’s technique isn’t what would traditionally be preferred for a Test opener. As most of us are aware, the game has moved on since the days of Boycott so if Watson can average 55 or so at the top of the order like he did at Edgbaston, it doesn’t really matter that his bat comes down squint rather too often. It still leaves a strong whiff of desperation lingering in the air. Is there really not a ready made option for replacement Test opener in the whole of Australia? Phil Jaques springs immediately to mind, though I don’t know that he is yet fully fit. It is similar in the bowling department. The closest bowler to McGrath that Australia have is Stuart Clark. His ability to keep putting the ball in the same, correct place is reminiscent of old pidge. I was surprised during the 3rd Test to find out that Clark was fit, just not selected. It appears that Ponting is a good captain when it’s going his way, but he often gives off bad vibes and seems more desperate when they are not. Then again, it may simply be that the Aussies have set such a high standard in recent years that we expect too much.

I’ve been asked to make more predictions for this series, rather than putting my thoughts into print after the event. I would have thought that my derision of predictions by the likes of Sir Ian Botham would have made it clear that predictions are a mostly a mug's game. If Botham can’t tell what is going to happen, how am I going to do any better? I’ve said before, all I want from commentary is “a fair and unbiased assessment of the game … commented upon where necessary, with some tactical and technical insights by an eloquent commentator”. Where it gets annoying is when these gentlemen start making fanciful predictions (these are predictions too influenced by bias and hope). To predict an exact score or result or whatever edges too close to dumb conceit. I can’t tell the future and haven’t met anyone else who can. Before anyone throws a previous quote about predictions at me, I’ll emphasise I said “If I had to bet” with the emphasis on ‘had’. I don’t have to, and therefore don’t. I see nothing wrong with watching events unfold and enjoying them for what they are. Isn’t that the greatest attraction of sport for the observer?

Saturday Blues (not Ziggy's)

Gents.

After many months it would seem that Gerry's band are playing a night that coincides with cricket, Saturday 22nd August.

Looks like it could be a late one but with no Sunday game I propose we take the bull by the horns, have a few after the game and shoot up to The Ark to see Mr Lohan do his thing (not medium paced swing more uptempo blues/rock)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR_UXa8cLi8

Who's with me......and the Pres?

Vital reading for all Cross bowlers

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article6740828.ece

No excuses for not bowling stump shattering reverse swinging yorkers this weekend.

Bit of Motivation for the 2s Courtesy of Largo

Mate of James' plays for Accies 2's. They were over at (and beating) Largo on saturday. After the match the Largo guys made an official request for accies to 'thump us' this weekend! - Not surprising really, but let's put a nail in Largo's ambitions to stay up at our expense!

Twittering?

It's encouraging to see more and more Crossers using our blog.

Some other clubs have gone further/ too far and have followed Phillip Hughes and others and begun Twittering.

Our good friends/ foes MDAFS are one club to do so. So if you want to hear about their latest disastrous batting collapse or dark mutterings about strengthened sides you can do so here:

http://twitter.com/MDAFS

Perhaps we may do so in the future but I suspect Mr Admin won't be the only Crosser to share the views of David Cameron or Rod Liddle on this form of communication.

So, for the time being at least Crossers will have to do with McGill's somewhat unimaginative postings:

http://twitter.com/frjack

Midweek Crossers Bitten by Pirani in (Yet Another) Last Ball Thriller

Coco signals to BAF that there's one to come in
the over.

In an entertaining and good-natured friendly (the last of the season) at Arbo:

Edinburgh South 120ao (19.3 overs)
A.Lal 24, P. Reddish 26
R. Bainbridge 3/9 (2 overs)
C. Ellis 3/20 (4 overs)

Holy Cross 117/7
R. Bainbridge 16
C. Ellis 64*

After the early bowlers struggled to control one of Coco's special swinging balls, we kept them to a par score. After an early collapse (44/5 off 10), we recovered and eventually required 10 off the the last over to win. However, talented all rounder Amin Pirani bowled it well and we were unable to get him away (needing 4 from the last ball, we could only scramble a single).

Highlights of the game include Michael's first ever run (punched through straight midwicket) before being welcomed to the Cross ranks in the traditional manner (getting run out by a member of the Ellis family), and Calum's lofted drive (though he forgot that he needed to run for balls that only look like they're going to the boundary).

Lowlight was - after being controversially given out stumped by the keeper standing back - McGill's 'foul mouthed tirade' (in which none of the main swear words were overlooked) directed at the umpire (BAF).

Thanks to ES for an enjoyable game and for providing sub fielders for those who didn't turn up...
(come on chaps; these games are an excellent way of finding form before league games).

Roly Away

Roland's fine performance on Saturday showed how much we'll miss him (he's moving to London, to work at the University of Westminster) and his 'magic extending arm'.


Roland was (fairly) recently the subject of an Evening News profile:

http://living.scotsman.com/features/Behind-the-Iron-Curtain-as.3283561.jp

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.

KF on Scottish Cricket (part 1 of a continuing series)

From KF [please note that the views expressed in this post are those of the author and not necessarily those of Holy Cross ACC]

In recognition of the thousands of responses I've had from fans to my Ashes comments, I've decided to spout forth with my incredible views on other subjects. First in the firing line is something closer to home after the 1st XI game against Heriots on Saturday. The issue of 'paid' players in Scottish Cricket.

Steve Knox has played minor counties, opened the batting for Scotland, been a pro at a couple of Scottish clubs and is statistically 2nd top amateur in the SNCL as well as being in the overall top 10 batsmen, averaging over 50. I think its fair to say he is as good a batsman as there is in Scotland and for the purposes of this spiel can be ranked at 'professional' level.

On Saturday he batted no differently than I remember. Solid technique, concentration and dedication. Nothing too eye-catching, flamboyant or 'different class'. Our bowling attack kept him well on his toes and could have had him out a few times before he succumbed to Braveheart Russell. He was of course hampered by injury (though he fielded well at cover). My point is that his performance against us gave a pretty fair reflection of how good we'd be against a pro. With Knox, Heriots 2's can compete with 2nd/3rd place, without, they are rock bottom of the league and we'd have surely rolled them over with ease!!!

In my previous life at Penicuik CC, I came up against pros all the time, as well as always playing alongside one. I feel this allows me to reasonably compare us with teams who include pros. In these types of games, it is usually pro v pro and the top scoring pro is usually on the winning side. It would be interesting to see some stats on this (we of course proved the exception on Saturday). I'm sure the top 12 or so sides in the SNCL do have a bit more depth than just their pros, but below that level, the reliance on pros give many teams a very false league position. Often players are attracted from a good side with no pro, to a similar local rival who do have a pro. i.e. since Penicuik joined the National League, they have been able to get quality youngsters from the likes of Hawick and St Boswells who want to play National League that otherwise wouldn't have transferred. Before Penicuik, when Kelso joined the National League, a similar transferring of players occurred, weakening the Border League in the process. This weakens local rivals and arguably falsely inflates the club with a financial advantage or to put it another way, the club who have won their league by being able to afford a better pro than their rivals.

When I say pros I roughly mean a pro and an overseas 'amateur'. I believe you are classed a pro if you are given any financial inducement even down to the likes of travel costs, i.e. many amateurs arrive here and live with the official pro, how can there be an absolute separation? If nobody had pros we'd compete with many sides. If we had pros and SNCL teams played us without their pros (effectively if our position and that of a team with pro's was reversed) we'd win many more than we'd lose. But it would be because of the pro rather than Pickering, Bonfield, Ellis or anyone else for that matter (sorry chaps).

I'm not against pros at all. They are a massive help to the development of players, I watched this first hand at Penicuik where with little or no SCU/cricketscotland assistance, they/we produced 3 Scotland cricketers (including 1 county player) with a lot of help from the pro they/we paid for them/ourselves (sorry for this dualism, I was there when it went on, but am not now, so am not sure how to refer to us/them). There is no reason pros couldn't do this at every club as far as I can see thereby undoubtedly raising the standard of the indigenous player. So please don't get rid of pros.

Knox made a fantastic difference in the field for Heriots, both with his own fielding, but also with his field placings. Pro standard players quite obviously raise general standards. More than anyone else on Saturday, Knox ensured the game went to the last ball when we were surely a far superior team to Heriots 2nds. Personally speaking any skills I have as captain did not come from locals at Penicuik, only from the hired guns they/we employed. Actually, on re-reading this, any good skills I had/have as captain came from pros, I learned loads of what not to do from locals. Read what you like into the statement that only an idiot couldn't learn from a good pro!!!!

However, if pros are such a major influence on the results of a team and put teams in false positions, what good is that for league cricket? It is the equivalent of us picking a 1st XI for Division 8 which I think would be a waste of time. Top of the batting and bowling stats in Division 1 is the Edin Accies pro. This puts Accies in a totally false position. They win the league, go up to the National League, keep a pro and are somehow better than half the teams in East League Division 1 whom they can't beat without a pro!!! Seems absurd to me. We need people to be playing at 'their' level. If it is the case that it is the richest clubs that rise to the top, why restrict it to one officially paid player per team, forcing clubs to bend rules to 'pay' more players?

Solution; stop limiting pros per team. It is obvious that some teams 'pay' more than 1 player and it is equally obvious that it is next to impossible to prove this. So if a team wants to or is able to pay folk to play, let them. I think this is an almost inevitable next step from the current fudged position. And if teams don't want to or can't pay pro's, it shouldn't adversely affect them, I believe they'd still find their level just below the paid ranks, exactly where our 1st XI find themselves just now.

The main benefit would be more even games and more honesty between clubs and administrators. Fortunately, in the East League, very few teams have a pro and we therefore play at a pretty 'fair' level so it isn't too much of an issue for us. But we are in the 4th-5th level of Scottish cricket (if you amalgamated the top regional divisions). Above our level it is too often pro v pro. Is 1 pro and 10 fielders v 2 pro's and 9 fielders more sensible than 11 pros v 11 pros? While this may mean top clubs playing fewer homegrown youths behind better imports, these youths would get more cricket at 2nd team level, say East League Div 1 (instead of a promising young spinner being destroyed by a Regan West type) before progressing up to a professional standard. Why should one player get £5k, a house, Sky TV and a car to play on a Saturday, while the rest pay subs and match fees and petrol costs for the privilege of standing at the non-strikers end?

Suppose Corstorphine, Cricketscotland or a sponsor were paying Ozzy Malik by the run, wicket, run out or catch, would that be something that discouraged his enthusiasm or dedication? Would it not allow him to devote more time to completely fulfilling his potential? Would it not be better for him, the league's he plays in and ultimately the National side? Am I RIGHT???????

I'm off to lie down again. Gracious and agreeable comments only please. So nothing from Smudger.

Evidently Sandy Strang reads our blog:
http://sport.scotsman.com/cricket/Scottish-cricket-Overseas-pros-still.5519649.jp