Arrows Broken at Craiglockhart
There was plenty on offer at Craiglockhart on Saturday, not least South Edinburgh bragging rights. But even that paled behind the prize for the winners – top spot at the halfway point of the season.
Third placed Carlton were welcomed to the nursery pitch with the weather offering its usual potential for sunshine, showers, sunburn and frostbite. What would it do? And more importantly, what would the pitch do?
Skipper Breach won a toss that both captains wanted to lose on an unreadable pitch that made score predictions difficult. Basing the decision more on luck than judgment, the skipper decided to bat first and yet another new opening partnership was unwrapped with Keith Flannigan absent due to a sore hamstring collected during his previous week’s heroics. In form Ali Fleming was joined at the crease by the skipper himself, batting for just the second time all season.
Against the probing Steve Elder and dangerous Habib, scoring opportunities were limited and after 7 overs just one boundary and a wide were tallied. Trying to ignite the scoreboard, Breach mis-judged a drive off Elder, Spyro the grateful fielder underneath.
Enter the Fox. Ben Fox; whose growing maturity has impressed many within the club and who, in partnership with Fleming, set the foundations with some scampering singles and intelligent batsmanship. But still Carlton probed and prodded and despite being unable to garner an edge, continued to keep the runs down; the visitor’s skipper highlighting the drought of runs by bowling four maidens in his first six overs.
But Fleming remained.
The score reached a misery 54-1 after 25 overs and confidence was strong in the Carlton ranks of restricting Watsonians to a low score, especially when Fox was out with the score on 94, stumped off Whatley in the 32nd over while trying to up the tempo.
But still Fleming remained.
Towering Aussie, Rich Crosby joined Fleming and immediately got into his stride with some boundaries interlaced with some more delicate cuts and drives to keep the scoreboard ticking.
In the 37th over, Fleming reached his patient 50 and then he kicked on. While Crosby answered some delicately asked questions from the accented opposition skipper with some lusty blows, Fleming peppered the middle of his bat to quickly reach 75, then 85 then the nervous 90s.
In the 47th over, he reached the first ton of his Watsonian career. Few tons in club history can have come with so much effort and the Hampshire man fully deserved the applause that greeted his bat-raising achievement.
226 was reached by the end of the 50th over; an amazing achievement given the half way point and Fleming led the players off the pitch with an unbeaten 111 to his name. Crosby deserved equal praise, his undefeated 61 at better than run-a-ball taking the score into realms that Carlton can not have expected at 226; the pair putting on 132 for the third wicket.
Chasing a target that was perhaps 20 or 30 more than they would have welcomed, Carlton soon found themselves in trouble. Recent run machine Majumdar was safely caught by Cash at point for 1 off the excellent Sevak (8-2-19-1) and was soon followed by Swan, a victim of Routray desperate to regain his first team slot.
But Duerden remained in tact, hitting bad balls confidently for boundaries and rotating the strike with former GWC schoolboy Tom Barrett. Duerden had made the most of two dropped chances and quickly approach his half century with Carlton on top. But on 48, an inside edge onto his thigh guard from Crosby (2-36) landed on his stumps. Was the momentum of the game about to shift back to Watsonians?
His dismissal, with the score in the 90s approaching the 20th over sparked a mini collapse. Young gloveman Boyd was caught and bowled by the excellent Cash (10-2-41-3), while Barrett fell victim to Tim Boorman (2-27) who followed that with the wicket of Spry for a duck.
The 30th over and Carlton required 115 more to win. Watsonians needed 4 wickets. Young Nick Martin was seeing the ball cleanly though, and just needed a consistent partner to join him. That was provided by skipper Nathan Pietsch, who confidently drove, nurdled and spanked boundaries to ensure the visitors remained on top of the run rate and potentially take the game away from the hosts.
But this years second team are made of tougher stuff and don’t give up without a fight. As the first team trickled over to watch their compatriots, Watsonians rotated their bowling to initiate a wicket.
The wicket belonged to young Cash – ever improving and at 15 years old already a “go to” man for the skipper. Sevak, ignored an earlier drop to acrobatically catch the dangerous Martin, out for 55.
But still Pietsch remained and continued to offer Carlton hopes of a victory. However, Guppy and Habib soon fell to the spinners – Cash again, and the latter out bowled by ever-improving Nick Boorman whose introduction in the 40th over may have raised eyebrows. But sometimes the Skipper gets things right!
40 needed by the last pair, and out strode Steve Elder, one of the league’s better number 11s; surely only Watsonians in the league have an equally strong batting line up.
The 40 turned into 29 needed with both Pietsch and Elder looking confident. But one man’s confidence is sky-high at the moment and Rich Crosby ensured a Watsonian victory by taking the wicket of Pietsch for 50 with a little help from his earlier batting partner; Fleming underneath a steepling catch.
A victory for the 2s – their eighth in row following the first week loss to Holy Cross; next weeks visitors to Castle Craiglockhart.
Despite the result, both Watsonians and Carlton know that the season was not won or lost last Saturday. Instead, the next few weeks will decide the course for the title as both sides suffer from National and Representative call us which will decimate their sides.
And so, at the half way point Watsonians are top with the Academy breathing down their necks. But there is so, so much more cricket to play.
