West Under 18s Lose at Carlton in Quarter Final Tie

It made a change to see sun as I opened the curtains and I headed along the M8 to the leafy suburbs of Morningside, Edinburgh, where it HAD rained overnight and ground conditions remained wet.  However, curator Alasdair McLeod had managed to prepare a wicket, on which the West boys, captained by Chris Ross, had first bat.  It was slow going against a tight attack and West were soon 28 for 2 with the skipper bowled and Asad run out.  Andrew Umeed and Gavin Main then featured in a 3rd wicket stand of 58 before Gavin was bowled for 28 at 86 for 3 in the 18th Over. Andrew carried his bat for 41 and West finished on 90 for 4 from their 20 overs.  The general feeling was that we needed more runs and, although the West boys faced some excellent bowling , including slow left arm and leg spin, and tight fielding, there were too many singles and second runs missed.  One of the Carlton players shouted to his mates at 18 overs “Come on guys, they are 86 for 3 and they haven’t take one risk”  Food for thought.

Carlton’s reply was even slower than West’s. They were 15 for 2 in the 6th over, being restricted by good bowling from Gavin and Gurjit and superb fielding. Matthew Day’s stop at mid wicket was brilliant. Iain Wheel and Asad Atta also bowled tightly and at 10 overs Carlton were 29 for 2. Robbie McCallum was shining with his alert fielding but the Carlton pair of Kyle MacPherson and Mo Ahmed grew in confidence and scored 30 between the 11th and 14th over. Andrew Umeed tried to vary his bowling and both players continued to attack him.  Eventually Mo was bowled by the returning Gavin Main for an excellent 35. Gavin bowled Matthew Walls next ball and shortly after Fergus Whatley was run out at 87 for 5.  There was to be no happy ending for West, however, as Kyle MacPherson hit another boundary to be 41 not out taking Carlton to 93 for 5, a well deserved victory and a trip to Stirling on Sunday 28th August for the Under 18s Final Day at New Williamfield.

So a good performance from the youngsters of  both teams in not the easiest of conditions.  Good luck to Carlton in the finals.  The Glasgow Boys can hold their heads high for a close miss, a worthy fielding effort and  great team support from the youngsters in the team and the slightly older parents who so enthusiastically travelled and cajoled their offspring during the morning.

One final tale of Carlton.  Alasdair McLeod confirmed that the ball which was hit for  6  through a bus window in Grange Loan earlier in the summer was only retrieved from the bus after a Carlton member had to pay the bus driver the £1.30 fare for getting on the bus.  As they say in Edinburgh – You’ll have had your tea!!

Advertisement