U11 Game – Friday 18th

U13 Game – Friday 18th

Womens Training – Craiglockhart – Friday 18th

3rd XI v Holy Cross – Craiglockhart – Saturday 19th

More news on 1st XI fixture after 4pm.

In the UK May is supposed to be the time of year when trees begin to blossom and the warmer weather hits these shores and a time when the sound of leather on willow echos from cricket grounds around the land.

May is not supposed to see floods of rain pouring over the deep green fields of Scotland, puddles gathering on the cricket squares and dozens of men leaving their white in the drawer for another week while they head of to the pub. Unfortunately May has been miserable and May has been wet.

This prelude to the article would suggest that no cricket was played what so ever last week when in fact the weather did relent for a few hours and the sun shone through to allow the 3rd XI to take on Musselburgh 2nd XI on the artificial wicket at Lewisvale. Unfortunately the persistent heavy rain on Thursday and Friday had accounted for the 1st XI’s league season opener and the 2nd XI’s trip to the picturesque Largo.

So over to some cricket.

3rd XI Skipper Geoff Harding lost the toss and was sent in to bat at Lewisvale against a confident and loud Musselburgh team. Things did not start too well with the bat when with the first ball of the second over of the match the Musselburgh opening left armer produced his best ball of the day swinging the ball viciously back in to remove Hardings leg stump (I say removed but as the stumps were on springs it came back pretty quickly).

The wicket brought Mike Cousin to the crease who tentatively began to play out the following few overs along with stalwart partner Alan Borthwick. Unfortunately the consequence of ‘playing out’ a fair few overs is that the runs not coming start to build the pressure and the tight lines being bowled by the Musselburgh batsman began to exert the pressure on the ‘Sonian batsmen. Cousin departed, followed by Borthwick and with new batsman Simon Counsell at the crease it was hoped that someone had the ability to stick in to support him but unfortnately the wickets kept tumbling and ‘Sonians were starring down the barrel at 38-5.

Vipin Tanna added some excitement, with a quick fire 8, to proceedings with a brief cameo along side Counsell but too came and went in a hurry and it was left to a couple of mature contributions from WCC Colts Jamie Cousin and Andrew Cockburn to support Counsell as his one man vigil went on. After a solid and crucial 40 runs Counsell finally departed and it was left to Cockburn, Brooks & MacFarlane to add the final few runs as ’Sonians were dismissed for a well below par 99.

An initially fairly somber changing room pre-tea was transformed with words of encourage and instruction from the skipper and senior players, it’s fair to say the’Sonians players knew what they had to do and didn’t want to go down without a fight.

Vipin Tanna (Roll VT) & MacFarlane (Scazna) opened the bowling with big Scazna striking the early blow following a bit of athleticism from Counsell at cover and VT produced some pace and bounce to bring a flying skipper in to play at first slip before grabbing his second with a caught and bowled. At the other end Brooks had replaced Scazna and struck a couple of blows putting a real dent in Musselburgh batting line up and ‘Sonians sense victory could be achieved. No one had counted on Musselburgh no.6 batsman Katyal though who confidently started his innings with a powerful hit for 6 off Mark Little with the second ball he faced. Not content with this boundary Katyal then launched Brooks over his head for 6 and followed up by dispatching a rank slower ball over square leg for a maximum next up. While the odd wicket was still falling at the other end ‘Sonians needed to find a way of taking Katyal’s key wicket and as he lauched Little for another 6 and then hit Brooks for what given the distance it travelled should have been worth about 8 runs things started to swing back in the East Lothian side favour. Clearly the time taken to fetch the ball from about 4 and a half miles away got to the batsman though and Brooks sprung back his stumps the very next ball.

It all came down to the last pair and the home sides No.10 Robertson maintained the strike well and found the gaps to edge Musselburgh closer, some of the ‘Sonians side thought they had the win in the bag when Mike Cousin had a direct hit, in fact at least one guilty ‘Sonian got particularly upset at what most others believed was a correct not out decision but the very next ball the man who kicked off with the first wicket Chris MacFarlane was driven by Robertson to the left of Mike Cousin who flung himself across the square to pouch an excellent match winning left handed catch to dismiss Musselburgh for 86 and to seal a remarkable fightback.

The 3rd XI therefore continue there unbeaten start to the season and sit on top of the pile for now with a 100% record.

Scorecard

With this match report written late in the week it has already given us the chance to provide a foot note to say the 3rd XI home fixture v Holy Cross 2s this weekend has been cancelled due to the severe weather and flooding.

The 1st XI are due to travel to Raeburn Place to take on Grange (this is subject to a pitch inspection at 3.30pm on Friday).

The 2nd XI are due to host Carlton 2nd XI at Myreside on Sunday.

With the points in the bag on Friday lunchtime due to the conceding of the Scottish Cup fixture by Weirs due to ground availability issues it was left to the 2nd and 3rd XI’s to represent the club at the weekend.

Unfortunately Weirs without a ground fit for play at the start of season experienced issues in securing 2 other grounds late in the week meaning the Scottish Cup fixture was won by walkover before a ball was bowled.

The 2nd XI, many of whom were playing their first cricket of the season travelled to Holy Cross and the rustiness of the 11 ‘Sonians was apparent through the batting performance after they were put in.

With only Yellowlees, Fleming and Sevak showing any real resistance the 2s were skittled for a lowly 83 not long after drinks

In reply despite an early blow by a confident looking Mike Legget the score proved well below par and Holy Cross ran out convincing winners by 9 wickets.

Scorecard

Over at Craiglockhart the 3rd XI got their season up and running with a decent enough performance to see off the challenge of Penicuik 2s.

Mark Naysmith mixed his length in 2 spells to record figures of 4-19 but the star of the show was WCC U15 player Andrew Cockburn (3-41) who bowled 2 middle over spells to snare 3 wickets, bowling in tandem with fellow 15s squad member Rory Evans both demonstrated great control with the ball.

The innings was finished with a fine grab from ‘Sonians U13 player Tom Counsell as the ‘Cuik were dismissed for 116.

In response despite losing Skipper Harding in the opening over Simon Counsell (35*) and Mike Cousin steadied the ship and when Cousin departed the returning Ali MacDonnel powered his way to 51* finishing the game and securing his comeback half century with a boundary to see the hosts to an 8 wicket win.

SCORECARD

This weekend the 1st XI kick off their league campaign hosting Forfarshire at Myreside while the 2nd XI and 3rd XI travel to Largo and Musselburgh.

All at WCC send their congratulations to the ‘Sonians U13s who have been called up to represent the Pentland Under 12 Squad.

Four ‘Sonians, Rory Aitchison, Matthew Brian, Callum McLeod & Louis Miller have been named in the first squad of the summer who take on Cargilfield School,　on Wednesday 9th May (2.15pm) followed by a match against Forth Valley Under 12s on Sunday 13th May.

We look forward to following the progress of the young ‘Sonians during the summer.

See the full story for all the details

Kwick Cricket Camps (Soft Ball)

Who is it for?

All children in P3 – S1

When is it?

(Camp 1) 2 July – 6 July, 13:00 – 17:00  @ Watsonian Cricket Club, Myreside

(Camp 2) 9 July – 13 July, 13:00 – 17:00  @ Watsonian Cricket Club, Myreside

(Camp 3) 16 July – 20 July, 13:00 – 17:00  @ Watsinoan Cricket Club, Myreside

(Camp 5) 30 July – 3 Aug, 13:00 – :17:00  @ Watsonian Cricket Club, Myreside

(Camp 6) 6 Aug – 10 Aug, 13:00 – 17:00  @ Watsonian Cricket Club, Myreside

(Camp 7) 13 Aug – 17 Aug, 13:00 – 17:00  @ Watsonian Cricket Club, Myreside

T20 Cricket Camps (Hard Ball)

Who is it for?

All children in P6 – S3

When is it?

(Camp 4) 23 July – 27 July, 13:00 – 17:00  @ Watsonian Cricket Club, Myreside

How much does it cost?

All the camps are £100 p/child.

     * a £10 discount will be given to each additional sibling

Please contact:

WCC Head of Youth Coaching

Dewald Nel

619 Coaching

07774535378 / dewaldnel@me.com / @dewaldnel619

Due to ground issues Weirs Cricket Club have had to concede tomorrows planned Scottish Cup Fixture meaning XI ‘Sonians will be sitting out of action tomorrow.

Remember that the Second & Third XI’s will be in action though with the 2s travelling to Arboretum to take on Holy Cross and the 3s also starting their season at home to Penicuik 2s.

‘Sonians 1st XI got the 2012 season up and running on Saturday with a Scottish Cup victory away at Dumfries.

Following the 1st round washout at Kirkhill and on a day that the 2s and 3s opening fixtures succumbed to the wet weather experienced during the week the 1st XI were in action on Saturday versus Dumfries who racked up in excess of 300 runs in their opening day victory over Weirs the previous weekend.

Losing the toss and being put in to bat ‘Sonians handed debuts to Andy Hislop, Sean Wilkie and Jean Symes who had touched down in Scotland late on Friday afternoon. A late bout of injury and illness meant that Dewald Nel & James Easton sat out the fixture.

With the seaming wicket doing a bit early doors ‘Sonians found themselves in trouble at 30 odd for 3 before Ewan Chalmers (90) and Craig Wright (40) riding his luck early on came together and a competitive if not below par score of 217-9 was posted at the half way stage.

With opening bowler Wilkie finding the pink ball hard to control U19 cap Pete Legget bowled a miserly spell picking up 3-26 off 10 overs. A recovery from the Dumfries batters looked to have them moving towards the target until a vital CMW (2-42) wicket and a tidy spell from Symes (2-22) helped ‘Sonians dismiss Dumfries for 161.

After picking up a point for the abandoned opener v Penicuik, ‘Sonians took the 2 points to top the group at an early stage and next week travel west to take on Weirs who bounced back from their loss to Dumfries by defeating the ‘Cuik.

Also on the road next weekend are the 2nd XI who travel across town to play President Trophy winners Holy Cross in a fixture that is always closely contested. Meanwhile the 3rd XI will also be hoping to get their season started in style when they host Penicuik 2s at Craiglockhart.

To view Scottish Cup Group A and the scorecard please follow this link – http://www.cricketscotland.com/scottishcup2012/groupA

Whether you have playing experience or not, women of all ages are invited to join Watsonian Cricket Club at our weekly sessions.

Cricket is a fantastic team sport for women as it’s a great way to keep fit, learn a new sport and meet new friends. The launch of the women’s squad is welcomed addition for Watsonians, which run a highly successful junior cricket programme for boys and girls in addition to our 3 Senior mens XI’s.

Commenting on the launch Head of Girls’and Women’s Cricket, Lea Tsui said, “I couldn’t be more excited to bring women’s cricket to Watsonians. I came into the sport as a beginner 5 years ago and have been hooked ever since!!  We have some great coaches at Watsonians and they are looking forward to working with the women’s team and getting them hooked on cricket too!”

President Ross Brooks added “This is an important step in the development of our club and I am looking forward to seeing the new members enjoying playing cricket while developing their skills, learning the game and most importantly having fun doing so.”

For more information, please contact Lea on lea5220@hotmail.co.uk or 07923 393 886.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The South African replaces George Worker following his NZ emerging players call up last month.

Symes (25) is a genuine all-rounder who plays in South Africa’s domestic competition for both the Highveld Lions and Gauteng. Symes has played well over 100 matches in both first-class and list-A formats, excelling in both with almost 5,000 runs and 100 plus wickets to date.

Jean made his first-class debut in 2005 the year before representing South Africa at the 2006 Under-19 World Cup where he was man of the match in the match against a Scotland 19s side that featured current and former ‘Sonians and some of the current Scotland side.

Symes has previous experience of playing in the UK turning out for Norden CC in the Central Lancashire League for 2 seasons. His first stint as a 21 year old was in 2008, when he was the leagues leading all-rounder hitting 1,114 runs at 54.95 and taking 42 wickets 19.02. A shorter stay the following season resulted in 26 wickets but a significant amount of runs with the bat with 1,332 runs at 83.25 including a memorable innings of 268* in 49 overs (162 balls – 28x4s, 15x6s).

In the past few weeks a number of high profile candidates have expressed an interest in coming to Myreside and following a series of conversations and interviews with a number of these people ‘Sonians have identified Jean as the right individual to help us push forward on and off the field.

Jean will also represent the Saltires in their 12 CB40 matches in what is a fabulous opportunity for him to shine on the county stage whilst he will also perform a crucial role coaching young Watsonian cricketers at the club as a level 2 coach.

We look forward to welcoming Symesie to Myreside next month and wish him every success on and off the field while he is in Scotland pulling on the ‘Sonian and Saltires shirts.

For a full profile on Jean visit http://www.espncricinfo.com/southafrica/content/player/222159.html

Watsonians are grateful to Steven Hirst of CricX Agency for adding Jean to our shortlist of candidates and assisting us in securing his services – www.cricx.com