Thrills and spills as Junior Indoor Cricket gets underway

Published on Saturday 31 January 2009 09:59

A MASSIVE win for the holders, victory for one of the summer's joint under-13 league winners and defeat for the other summarises the events of the first day of the Lothian Junior Cricket Development Group's Indoor Competition.

In the first match on the floor at Westwoods Health Club at Fettes, Carlton showed their experience of the indoor game by finding the gaps to score ones, twos and threes while losing only two wickets. Although West Lothian were joint winners of last summer's league they are newcomers to the indoor game and they paid the penalty for attempting expansive shots by losing wickets, which bring a deduction of runs from the total.

Craig Everett and Chayank Gosain had a partnership of 38 for Carlton while their most successful bowler was Rory Simpson, whose three wickets included a double-wicket maiden. West Lothian's top-scoring pair of batsmen were Michael Miller and Ruaridh Smith, and they also claimed the wickets.

In game two Watsonians, for whom Luke Gray and Mattie Henderson top-scored, posted a total of 253 batting first. Thanks to a partnership of 32 by Michael Ainslie and Edward Blissett, Penicuik, the summer's other joint winners, were in a good position when their final pair of Callum Steel and Glenn Crawford went to the wicket and put on a stand of 27 to close out the win. The leading bowler for Watsonians was Rory Evans, who claimed 3 for 14.

Indoor champions Grange swept to victory over Edinburgh reaching 319 batting first. Matthew Angellini, who hit three sixes, and Cameron Sloman topped the run spree with a stand of 43 after the opening pair of Fergus Crawley and Duncan Player had put on 35. After a steady start Edinburgh went for their shots in pursuit of the big total and lost wickets in the process.

The innovation for the 2009 Competition, which has support from Cow Corner Cricket, is a league programme for the under-11s. This starts tomorrow when East League club Murrayfield-DAFS make their indoor debut.

Results: Carlton 286, West Lothian 269; Watsonians 253, Penicuik 283; Grange 319, Edinburgh CC 201

Fixtures: Tomorrow: Watsonians v Grange (12.30pm); Carlton v Penicuik (1.30pm); Edinburgh v Murrayfield-DAFS (2.30pm).