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

Euan reports:

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

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

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

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

1s lose to Kirk Brae - 03.08.19

Ben Reports:

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

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

Cup Final Loss - 24/07/19

Ben reports:

HX's glorious cup run ended in defeat in the final against Drummond Trinity.  Batting first on a pretty flat deck, Drummond Trinity racked up 161, which looked like a good but by no means insurmountable score.  It could have been quite a bit more were it not for some tight fielding and bowling at the death, and 3 wickets for Sai in the middle overs.  In reply, HX chose to once again follow England's lead and were bundled out for 57, with only Tom and Euan House making double figures.  Ultimately a disappointing end to what has been an enjoyable and positive run to the final.  Well done to everyone who played in one of the matches.

Friendly vs Smellies - 18/07/19

Euan reports:

Last-minute cloudbursts notwithstanding, HX travelled along the Ferry Road to face old rivals Stewart Melville Trojans last night. Inserted on a greasy deck, HX did well to score 127-7, with 20-odds from Euan Hunter, Shifty, Quinny and our latest signing, Pradeep's brother-in-law Hari, who flew all the way to Scotland from Qatar just for this game.

In reply, SMT reached 87-9, their initially fairly smooth progress halted by a spectacular burst from Quinny, whose first ball was a caught-and-bowled, second ball was a caught-and-bowled, third ball was a wide and fourth ball was a dropped caught-and-bowled. He ended up with 4 wickets for 3 runs (all wides) off two devastating overs.

Holy Cross edge low-scoring semi-final! - 17/07/19

Ben reports:

With England's remarkable run-chase fresh in everyone's minds, HX travelled to the usual Campbell Park pudding to take on Scottish Widows and try to channel the spirit of Sunday.  Captain Euan won the toss and inserted the opposition on a pitch that looked, to be generous, tricky to bat on (I'd certainly like to have seen Jos Buttler try and hit a run-a-ball 60 on it).  His bowlers repaid his faith, with Ben R, Pradeep, Keith and Pete all picking up 2-fors, and Sandeep bowling exceptionally well for his 1-10.  Matt Oddy and Andy Quinn caught everything that came their way, and Euan Hunter and Ken kept scoring opportunities to a minimum with their watchful fielding.

However, some ferocious running dragged Widows up to 94, which always looked like a slightly above-par total.  Once HX had been reduced to 22-4 at the start of the ninth over, it suddenly looked quite a lot over par, and as if Widows had set a fiendish target with all the care of New Zealand.  A patient stand of 52 between Ben (contributing 24), Quinny (10) and Extras (18) dragged HX to 74 at the start of the 16th over, whereupon two quick wickets fell, Matt Oddy particularly unlucky to be run out first ball by his batting partner.  Fortunately, a bit of late hitting by Ben (finishing on 44*), coupled with whirlwind running by Sandeep ensured HX got home in the penultimate over, and made it through to the Parks Trophy Final!

Speaking of which, the final should be on Wednesday 27th of July.  Clear your schedules now and let me know if you're going to be available.  It would be great to see as many Crossers there as possible, so even if you can't play but can come and watch, please do pop along, and hopefully we can make it a proper whole-club victory.

1s lose, 2s rained off - 13/07/19

Euan reports:

The 1s fell to a 6 wkt defeat at a squelchy Inch Park yesterday.

Put in to bat on a wicket that had shades of Sabina Park circa 1998 about it - albeit it wasn't quite Walsh and Ambrose bowling - we cautiously made it to 109-8 off our 40 overs, Ben Reiss top scoring with a hard-earned 29, on what is hopefully the meanest wicket we will bat on this season.

With Edinburgh South 30-2 off 14 we looked set for a low-scoring classic, but couldn't stop their number 4 scoring as the sun dried up the strip. Wickets were shared between Ben R, Pradeep, Matt Tantum and Calum, and we gave a good account of ourselves in the field.

Crosstastic Double over Largo - Results from 06/07/19

Ben reports:

My holiday couldn't have to come to a much better conclusion than hearing we'd achieved a Crosstastic double over Largo on Saturday.  The 1s racked up a very decent 214-5 at home against Largo 1s, anchored by a superb 98* by Euan House (he claims he 'lucked out', which I refuse to believe) and 70+ for Jack Collister on debut.  They then fired Largo out for just 76 in under 20 overs, Olly picking up 3 wickets.

The 2s conceded a daunting looking 189 to Largo 2s, but unbeaten fifties for JB (57*) and Vik (68*) ensured that the total was chased down with ease in 30 overs.  A quick thank you to everyone who has made their HX debuts over the last couple of weeks - we look forward to seeing you lots more over the rest of the season.