The 1st XI travelled to meet Grange in the first of the return league games of the season. On winning the toss, skipper Gareth Weatherall invited the home side to bat first on a good wicket, with a very fast outfield. Wickets proved hard to come by as the Grange openers scored at will and there were visions of a repeat of the massive 381 racked up in the first game at Myreside. A first wicket partnership of 170 was brought to an end by Oli Hairs, who then accounted for the other opener a mere 14 runs later with Parker Neame taking the first of his three good catches. Thereafter, our bowlers were able to claw back the run rate, with Ruk Holey particularly effective in taking a first five-wicket haul for the club and Tom Pratt picking up two wickets to close out the Grange innings at 293. Accounting for all 10 Grange wickets for 123 was a notable effort, given their opening partnership.
Between innings, the ground was subjected to a torrential deluge which left standing water on the outfield and the bowlers’ run-ups unsafe. The match was eventually abandoned almost three hours after the bulk of the rain fell and so there was no opportunity for our batsmen to attempt to follow up last week’s comprehensive victory over Carlton with another.

Anticipating the rain forecast for later in the day, at Myreside the teams agreed on a reduced-overs game of 30 overs a side. The 2nd XI lost the toss and was invited to bat first by Tranent and Preston Village. After a steady start, impetus was provided by Dan Kirk and George Baltzer who added 82 for the third wicket. Following George’s departure for 51 in 42 balls, a couple of wickets fell quickly before Dan (45 not out) and Rob Loomes (23 not out) added 38 and the innings closed at competitive 175 for 5.
This was a testing target and wickets fell at regular intervals in the face of disciplined bowling. Once again, Ollie Robertson was our leading performer with another 3 wickets later in the innings to add to his already impressive tally for the season, with skipper Rory High taking 2 and, together with Will Ellison, restricting the run-scoring in the middle of the opposition innings. The turning point was, arguably, the dismissal of the Tranent and Preston Village opening bat shortly after reaching his half-century, thanks to what has been described as “the best catch seen at WCC” and “catch of the century!” by Dan Kirk. Hyperbole clearly flourishes in the 2nd XI but, nevertheless, it was reportedly an outstanding effort. Thereafter, the opposition was unable to make significant inroads towards the target and ended 34 short, providing the side with a fifth league victory and avenging an earlier defeat at the hands of Tranent and Preston Village.

At Craiglockhart the 3rd XI met Carlton 4th XI and, losing the toss, was sent in to bat. While a number of our batsmen got a start, progress was slow and the only partnership of real note (35) was between Jaideep Singh (23) and Jamie Stevenson (10). A rearguard ninth-wicket partnership of 27 between Ben Hogg and John Dew enabled the side to complete it’s full 40 overs, the innings closing on 118 for 9.
In response, the Carlton openers made significant progress towards their target with a stand of 60 and, when both were dismissed within 4 runs of each other, another 44 runs were added for the next wicket before the opposition closed the game out with 6 wickets and more than 9 overs to spare. Our wicket-takers were John Dew, Salaar Ali and Daniel Bryen. This was the 3rd XI’s third successive disappointing defeat by the same margin - 6 wickets – following a run of three successive victories.

Following two comfortable victories, the 4th XI travelled to Roseburn Park seeking to reverse a defeat earlier in the season to Murrayfield DAFS 5th XI. The opposition was invited to bat first after losing the toss. An early run out was followed shortly afterwards by a wicket from Aryaman Apte with the total on 25. Another 49 runs were added before Alan Borthwick chipped in with the only other wicket to fall. From that point on, an unbroken partnership of 106 took the Murrayfield DAFS total to 180 by the end of their allotted 40 overs. There were some expensive bowling figures, assisted by 44 extras, which were offset to notable effect by Kevin Weavers’ figures of 8 overs for 10 runs – which included 4 extras!
The 4th XI’s reply began inauspiciously with a wicket falling in the first over. Run-scoring thereafter was slow and another two wickets fell before weather intervened and the match was abandoned after only 11 overs with our total on 48 – a total boosted considerably by Murrayfield DAFS’ contribution of 18 extras!

After a run of five successive victories in the Women’s Premier League, our combined Watsonian/Dumfries side took on East Kilbride – who had already been overcome in a league match – in the first round, actually the quarter-final, of the Beyond Boundaries Women’s Scottish T20 Cup at Myreside on Sunday in what ultimately turned out to produce a nail-biting finish. Batting first - after losing the toss - Watsonians/Dumfries lost their first wicket at the end of the second over with the score on 21. Naimh Muir (who top-scored with 28) and skipper Emily Tucker (24) took the score on to 64 in 9.2 overs when Naihm was dismissed. At 89, Emily was unfortunately run out going for a second run - after hesitation between the batters - with 12.5 overs gone. With her dismissal, the run rate slowed and 35 runs came from the last 7.1 overs to produce a final total of 124 (for 6) after 20 overs, a total which included 28 extras!
Seven Watsonian/Dumfries bowlers were tried before an East Kilbride opening partnership was broken by Erin Leslie with the score on 94 after 14.1 overs. By the end of the 17th over the score had become 98 for 1, at which point the East Kilbride number 3 batter was retired (not out!) having contributed only a solitary single from 13 balls. The 18th over then went for 18 runs, leaving 8 runs required by the opposition from the final two overs with 9 wickets in hand. Over 19 then went for 8 runs, but the East Kilbride opener Nayma Sheikh was caught behind off Erin Leslie from the last ball of the over having reached her half-century with a boundary off the previous ball. So, the scores were level with one over left. All the drama was left for the final over to be bowled by Naimh Muir. Her first ball resulted in a catch by Kirsty McColl, followed by three “dot” balls. With the scores still level, Naimh and Emily Tucker combined to achieve a run out from the fifth ball before a scrambled single, which almost produced another run out, from the last ball of the over - and the match - gave East Kilbride victory. Having reached the final of the cup competition last year, the outcome of this match came as a considerable disappointment.