First XI Match Reports

MDCC ONES TOO HOT FOR CARLTON

Saturday 26 April. MDCC v Carlton 2 at Grange Loan

The new skipper writes....

In the vast majority of occasions, cricket within Scotland is a team game which is won by 1 or 2 and rarely by 3 quality individual performances, with the rest of the team backing up these individuals by fielding well, "bowling tight" or "holding up an end". Over the course of a season individuals contribute in different matches and therefore over a season it is the best team of individuals who tend to finish highest in the league. Murrayfield Dafs Versus Carlton 2's on Saturday was the exception to this and a fine demonstration of how cricket is played by top quality teams. Yes, there was individual performances of note but the victory by Mufs relied on every single member of the team having a good game. Take out any one player from the team on Saturday and the result could have been totally different. All the batsmen played crucial roles, the fielding was excellent, especially behind the wicket, and the variety of bowlers used, all bowled intelligently, aggressively and got their just rewards. The opposition may have been able to account for one two or three fine performances from Mufs individuals but found a teamfull of Mufs too hot too handle. The Carlton captain, if I may paraphrase his comments, commented that Mufs as a team were willing to battle just a little harder than his own team.

Mufs invited to bat first on a typical hard Carlton wicket started in fine style. Ian Shiels announced his intentions by caressing an on drive for four in the very first over. This shot was one of many attractive shots that Sicknote played on the way to a glorious 49, the top score of the day. Perhaps over confidence (or being completed knackered) accounted for the missed 1/2 century, either way this performance suggests a highly profitable season for the Mufs opener. Whilst a couple of early wickets were captured by the enigmatic opening pair of Carlton bowlers, Mufs were clearly on top. Over confidence and a desire to get on with it clearly got the better of a couple of Mufs players, lessons to be learned for another day. Graham Watson and Shiels put together a very profitable stand which formed the basis of an assault by the Mufs lower order. In typically exciting and well measured one day style, the middle/ middle lower order scored bountifully from the final 18 overs. Norman Baikie stormed to 42 at well over a run a ball with what can only be described as typical Baikie power, finesse and impudence, while Duncan Peake gave us a glimpse of his potential with some sumptuous on drives on his way to 24. 185 was the satisfactory Mufs total, about par for the ground. The value of the upper order providing a base for the middle lower order to take advantage of the 2nd and 3rd string bowlers cannot be under estimated

Peake and Sorrell opened the bowling to some determined Carlton openers. (or was it Mitre we were playing) Duncan made the early breakthrough and bowled a fantastically consistent line which caused all batsmen problems all day, pretty quick too!

The big guns of Carlton were soon attempting to hit their way out of trouble, however the virus ridden Norman Allan, clearly suffering and operating slightly below his usual extremely high standards was still way too good for them. 4 wickets for Norman A was a fair haul and he was the benchmark bowler for the rest of the team to emulate. Norm Baikie whilst not enjoying his usual prodigious swing still managed an absolute corker to castle the Carlton Captain who was looking in great nick at the time. Jaye bowled a very tidy spell and will definitely be a deadly bowling force on the slower Muirhouse wicket, whilst our student in residence Darryn Kidd bowled a ferocious spell, giving very little away and picking up a couple of brilliant wickets, including a cracker which was well held by Graham in the gully. Best spell of bowling from Dazza for a while and hopefully a sign of a great season to come from the big man. Sorrell came back to mop up the tail and Carlton were all out but still 50 runs short of the Mufs total.

25 points to Mufs 2nd in the league on alphabetical basis only and a great start to the season. Continuation of "total cricket" will ensure many more victories this season from the men from Muirhouse. Web-ed writes.... and well skippered Mr Sorrell

Richard Sorrell

Scoreboard extracts:

MDCC Batting

MDCC Bowling - Carlton 2 134 all out 45.1 overs

Super Sorrell Whacks Watsons'

Saturday 3 May. MDCC v Watsonians 3 at Craiglockhart

Not a game of 2 halves but more a game of 3 stanzas. Weather looked the likely winner even before a ball was bowled, but a King Kanoute (up the hammers) style plea resulted in the rain almost staying away for the day. The game started on time with Mufs again batting first on a wicket that looked fine, but felt a bit squishy. Skipper predicted 150 would be a good score (shows what he knows about batting).

Shiels and Knight opening the batting against some steady Watsonian bowling, the odd loose delivery being smote to the boundary whilst anything remotely near the stumps was given due care and attention as the pitch gave almighty assistance to the bowlers. Calamity came upon the good ship Mufs opening pair when a shot into midwicket from Knight and a call for a single received little response from his fishing partner. Knight kept coming and the response turned into a Mayday, still Knight ran and finally, oil tanker like, Shiels set off. Sicknote was run out, not by much but Mufs were one down and Knight was distraught.

Jay came in and showed similar exacting consideration to the conditions, until he decided that the pitch had dried up sufficiently (now only soggy) to go on the offensive. A couple of glorious strokes, including a monstrous six propelled Jay onto 31, the same score Andy Knight scored before he too went back to the hutch. So a couple of quick wickets had moved Mufs to 80 for 3 from 30 overs, a platform ideal for the Mufs middle and lower order to display their shot making abilities and post a score close to 200.

The 2nd stanza of the game performed by Mufs final 7 wickets and Watsonians 1st 7 wickets was a procession of hapless batting. 60 runs were scored, shared equally between Mufs and Watsonians. Mufs fell to a succession of lazy shots caught in the outfield, whilst the Watsonian batting was blown away by the opening salvo from the Mufs battery of pacemen. 5 wickets from Sorrell earning him "hero" status from the Evening times, (little did they know about the strange umpiring and hesitant number 3.)

Ironically there was a glimmer of hope for Watsonians, at 27 for 7 chasing 118, their glimmer was grey and wet, so really more of a shadow. The rain which washed out most of the Scottish cricket programme fast approached Myreside. The impeding precipitation also seemed to galvanise the Watsoninan lower order who started to show some fight and no little degree of skill with some lusty blows.

Some quick bowling changes brought on Jay and Darryn, however resistance from Watsonians remained defiant. With 2 wickets still required, the pacemen running into a brick wall and the prospect of heavy rain being only doubted by the Iraqi information minister, a messiah was needed. Attempting to buy a wicket (St) Shiels was brought into the attack and fielders were sent out into the deep.

Shiels baffling the batsmen (and the captain) then proceeded to bowl a tidy over. Not content with tidy, Shiels bowls a corker which the batsmen can only edge to the keeper, 9 down Mufs are in with a chance of beating the weather. Replacing the immaculate Shiels, Duncan comes back for his 3rd spell and induces a low snick from the batsman for his 3rd wicket. Darryn swoops like a thin fit thing and pouches a fabulous catch. Mufs win, 10 minutes later with the captain in the changing room and no longer chanting mysterious ancient Chinese poems the heavens open.

Mufs batting will have to improve if they want to maintain the 100% start to the season.

Scoreboard extracts:

MDCC Batting

MDCC Bowling - Watsons 3 54 all out 31.5 overs

Baikie Blasts Belvoir

Saturday 10 May. MDCC v Belvoir Corstorphine 2 at Muirhouse

Another win for Mufs despite another batting debacle clearly shows where Mufs strengths and weaknesses lie this season. Despite a steady start from Messers Knight and Shiels, who successfully negotiated a tough first 10 overs, Mufs subsided to 116 all out from little more than 40 overs. Graeme Milne on debut showed some fine skill and bludgeoning power with 38 with Chris West the only other batsman offering any meaningful support with 22. Phil Rogers did suggest he was capable of scoring heavily until forced to slog with the tail at the other end. (quite how he differentiated I am not sure)

Belvoir Corstorphine's bowling did not pose the biggest threat we will with their bowling which could be described as energetic, willing and persevering, Chapman getting 4 wickets for his reliable medium pace. If Mufs are to mount a credible promotion threat, scores of 200 have to be reached with regularity at this level.

On the bowling front, again Mufs received pass marks. Simpson opening the bowling, snared the opener whilst the other opener went following a nightmare run out. Corstorphine found scoring runs against the Mufs opening attack very difficult, however when John Norman Baikie came into the attack with his straight swingers, wickets started to tumble. With 2nd best career figures of 4-13 Norm crushed the BC middle order, Darryn offering support at the other end with 2 wickets.

Tony offered one of the highlights of the game, when completely out of character, he came alive when BC attempted a quick single. swooping like an osprey and throwing like a Fijian blow dart, the batsman was out by miles when the stumps were broken by Tony's direct throw, fantastic, a fine example to set.

So BC all out for 56, could have, should have, been less but still a fine bowling performance, 25 points to Mufs and still 100% and top of the league. It was however Mufs worst performance of the season rescued only by a couple of excellent performances, well done Norm and Graeme. Cricket is a game of skill, but is far more a game played in the head, the players and teams employing the greatest concentration always win. Too many wickets being recklessly thrown away and runs being leaked to the opposition through poor full toss or 1/2 volley bowling is not good enough for a team which has the skill to be playing in division 1. The current division 3 mental attitude must improve or Mufs performances will remain poor.

Rich

Game Rained Off

Saturday 17 May. MDCC v Townhill at Dunfermline

Game rained off

Game Rained Off Again

Saturday 24 May. MDCC v Freuchie 2 at Muirhouse

Game torrentially rained off. Excuse for early beers....

Mufs Power On and On (just)

Saturday 31 May. MDCC v West Lothian 2 at Boghall, Linlithgow

The old cricket cliché catches win matches was emphatically disproved by the Mufs on Saturday as the winning streak continued with a fine win against West Lothian.

Chasing 160 West Lothian were down and out with 3 wickets remaining and 80 still required. Some hard hitting by the remaining recognised batsman brought the expected chances, all of which (6, 7, 8 or was it 9) were spurned. However Mufs eventually won by 20 runs in a contest they had dominated for 85% of the match.

Batting first on what looked like a belter of a pitch, the Muffs opening duo of Knight and Shiels started confidently. The first 10 overs were countered easily with the WL opening pair slingy and slingyier not able to find a breakthrough.

The serene batting progress wasn't to last all day. Despite a brief but glorious cameo from Jay, Mufs were 4 down with only 80 on the board. The scoring flatlined as meessers Milne and Park departed without troubling the sunbathing scorers. (Ridiculous phrase "not troubling the scorers", as in fact getting out for a quick duck causes all sorts of troubles; tables and columns are filled in, birds are drawn in the score book, endless time checks are taken, balls counted, batting orders are rearranged etc etc. No trouble indeed! far easier for the scorers to record a ton!)

Baikie and Knight attempt to rebuild, which quietly and slowly they do. Liberty (no highlights) Knight falls for a patient 33 in 90 minutes, enabling Chris West to come in for a quick blaze including one fine 6 over square leg. The young slow no spinner from West Lothian is having a fine match causing problem for all the Mufs batsmen who collectively fail to read the continual straight ones.

Batsmen are getting out without producing a big score and Mufs are in trouble with 7 down and only 125 on the board. Dazza Kidd and Duncan put on valuable runs in quick time with some measured hitting. Mufs eventually all out for 159 in the 48th Over. Under par given the good start, the good pitch, the good weather, the variable bowling, the short boundaries etc etc. It is a competitive total however and WL will have to score more than any other opposition team this season if they are to win.

Tea in the sun enabled the Mufs 7 bowlers of the apocalypse to recharge the batteries. Early breakthroughs into the WL upper order by Sorrell and Peake have WL on the run and the early than usual introduction of Baikie's full toss swingers causes mayhem in the WL middle order.

Baikie picks up 3 wickets including the major WL batsman. With no other player reaching double figures Johnson's 84 is the only highlight for the Boghall team. Duncan Peake has the pick of the bowling figures with 4 wickets which could easily have been 5,6 or even 7 if he was given better support by the fielders. (Note to skipper, hungover and 1st slip are not happy bedfellows)

The winning run continues for Mufs with a good team performance, Many batsmen getting in but no one going onto produce the big score. Batsmen doing the hard work and getting to 20's and 30's need to buckle down and make sure they take responsibility for getting the big scores of 60 and 70 which will put the opposition out of the game. The bowling continues to excel, 7 bowlers being used on Saturday shows the healthy competition for the ball. Keep the run going Mufs

Rich

Knight slays the Fifers ...Norman claims a Pfeiffer

The skipper has obviously been brushing up with his Classics while stuck on planes...

Just as King Midas asked the Greek god Dionysus for more gold even when he was doing very nicely thankyou, so Captain Sorrell has been asking for more runs from his batsman during the 1sts fine start to the season. And Just Like Midas, Sorrell's wish came true during the game against Dunfermline Carnegie. However the greedy captain did not befall the fate of Midas and the Murrayfield / DAFS bandwagon rolls on after an impressive win over our fine guests from Fife.

Imperious

Winning the toss, Mufs decided to bat first, continuing the same tactic used in all the games this season. A glorious day, a tightly cut outfield and a straw coloured pitched looked perfect for a day of batting, but this was Mufs, so nothing was certain.

The usual opening pair of Knights and Shiels started confidently and reached their first 50 partnership of the season in the 11th over, a great effort but merely an appetiser in the context of their opening destruction of the Carnegie attack. 50 turned to 100 by the 21st over with Knight reaching his 50 with some imperious shots all round the wicket and Shiels although becalmed in the teens starting to punish the Carnegie attack for every error in line or length. The Shiels 50 quickly came up soon after and the 60 soon after that. Then after overtaking Liberty Knights score, and fast approaching 70, the first wicket fell with him on 69 (lucky for some). A scorching straight drive was brilliantly caught by the bowler and the record Mufs opening stand was finally broken. 161 for the first wicket, a mighty fine score.

Jedi Powers

Murdo McLeod deputising for Jaye after a late call off (he will be kicking himself after missing out on the run feast), couldn't keep the momentum going and fell for 3 attempting (and failing) to use Jedi powers to manoeuvre the ball away from his pad. This brought Graeme "Legs Midwife" Milne into the batting paradise where he did not disappoint his fans watching from the bus shelter sun trap. Some excellent shots square of the wicket in a very entertaining 26 pushed Mufs over the 200. Andy meanwhile was obviously feeling the pace and struggling through the 90's, apparently he had been knackered since being on 40. Eventually he reached his ton and went on to a league career best of 104, Andy's knock featured many fine shots and not a chance.

Lollies

After putting on 52 for the 3rd wicket, Carnegie picked up Milne's and Knights wickets with some very good catches but this brought in Lindsay and Dickie Park to push the Mufs score up to a record 262. Dickie scoring an excellent 22 and Lindsay running an awful lot for his 9. Thanks to Mrs El Capitano for a most welcome delivery of Ice Lollies.

Dickie gives it some!

Bicycle Towns goes through the gears

Ice Lollies in the Tin Shack.

Din-dins at Muirhouse

Tea was had with the team in good spirits, however the realisation that the pitch and outfield was still full of runs and it was still mighty hot.

Wilting

The Carnegie reply started very well. Duncan bowling rather dizzily in his opening few overs and the Openers enjoying the fast outfield, playing some exquisite shots.. Carnegie raced on to 41 without loss in the 9th over and looked good. Sorrell yorked the secure looking Carnegie opener and Allan brought into the attack, started to reel in the wickets. Slowly but surely Carnegie resistance was wilting, Dickie Park bowling a great spell (although perhaps too long given the subsequent difficulties in fielding) finishing with figures of 1 for 21 off 6 overs.

Fiery

On 97 for 6 after 30 overs the game looked up for Carnegie, however some stubborn resistance and perhaps a loss of intensity by the Mufs bowlers enabled the score to go on to 142 for 6 in the 40th Over. Problems a foot for Mufs searching for their 5th win in a row. 4 wickets needed 10 overs left. Sorrell managed to bag another wicket during a very brief 2nd spell and Duncan found the golf course end much more to his liking during a fiery 2nd spell. Duncan eventually finishing with 1 for 42 off 11, which could have been much more for much less.

A Fifer Michelle

Mufs were still in need of a breakthrough with Carnegie closing up shop and hoping for a draw. Enter Lindsay Towns for his first bowl of the year. An excellent over bringing its reward with help from a fine catch from Midwife in the covers. However star of the bowling show was Norman Allan who returned figures of 5 for 36 off 12.2 on a very flat wicket. Norman's 2nd spell being decisive as his cajoled, prodded and willed his way through the Carnegie lower order. Mufs eventually bowled Carnegie out in the 45th over for 166 in a very entertaining game, dominated by batsman but played in an appropriately competitive spirit.Great credit to the Carnegie boys for the non stop fielding performance, including some amazing catching. Highlight was of course Andy's ton, he also took two catches, one off the skipper at slip, so definitely the man of the match.

Eleusinian rituals

Mufs promotion charge continues, maximum points and now runs too, our cup overfloweth. Next week at Stirling, hopefully the sun god Apollo will smile on us once more as we go into battle on Ares chariot attempting to taste the sweet nectar of victory. Would batsmen please continue with the Eleusinian rituals necessary to produce the run feat enjoyed against Carnegie. Townhill remain our nearest challengers also on 100% although played less games. It is all shaping up for a real Zeus versus Cronus battle on July 26th.

When I grow up Daddy, can I bat like you?

Sun Gods still shine on the Mufs

Competition Time ... best captions for the following piccies wins an Ashes Tour prize souvenir... send your entries to ian_shiels@hotmail.com

Caption 1

Caption 2

Knighty crashes another Ton

Report to follow soon of another immense display of Total cricket from Mufs Ones as we go 6-in-a-row....and in best Medieval fashion this week here it comes from Rich...

Winning the toss, Sorrell the Mufs skipper completely ignores the suggestions of many of his team mates by electing to bat first under grey skys. Fresh from record breaking form from the previous week, Andy Knight and Ian Shiels start cautiously against the might of the Stirling attack. The run rate barely rises above 2 an over for the first 10 overs as the 2 sides joust for supremacy in the early stages. Knight retaining trust in his 20 year old lance begins to exert his influence with some fine cross batted shots against the change bowlers and gallops ahead to reach his 2nd consecutive 50 with a glorious swipe to mid wicket. 90 off 30 overs is reached, a solid, nay castle like base, from which a big score should be reached. Our opening pair of gladiators do not disappoint. First a 2nd consecutive century opening stand, then a 2nd consecutive Shiels 50 then a 2nd consecutive 150 opening stand. Stirling try everything, they try all their bowlers and then they try the chucking the kitchen sink effort, but to no avail. Shiels is in full flow with glorious cricket shots being played all over the park, the opposition captain cannot set a field for a talent such as this! The opening bowler returns, but with 24 taken off 2 overs soon leaves again, less Shiel(d)s more like sabre!

Last weeks record opening partnership of 161 is beaten, hurrah, and at last Shiels overtakes Knight in the ongoing race to 100. Disaster strikes however, when, on 80, an quick single is erroneously called by Ian and he is run out by Ms Anderson for a seasons (career best?) score. A new club opening partnership of 172, great show chaps.

Enter Murdo Macleod for a dazzling but brutal innings. 30 runs coming in what seemed a blink of an eye. Certainly the only response the Stirling fielders had to the Macleod broadsword was to watch the ball be bludgeoned to all parts of the ground. A very fine effort to raise the scoring rate by the new batsman.

Andy was obviously missing his opening partner and was crawling through the 90's, weighed down by the heavy armour of potential consecutive centuries brings. Graeme Milne enters the fray and eschews all out attack in favour of nursing an ailing Knight to the century finishing post. A run, a run, my kingdom for a run is the weak cry from Knight as his tiredness brings his scoring rate to an almost standstill.

The 50th Over brings Andy 3 runs short of the milestone and some tired swishing eventually brings his reward off the last ball. 101 not out, 2 centuries in 2 weeks - a real Knight in shining armour, Long live the King. An intelligent 10 not out is Midwife Milnes reward for his nursing performance.

So 234 for 2 from 50 overs a good score, but given the short boundaries, the quick outfield and a confident batting line up, would it be enough to secure Mufs another victory? You Betcha.

Peake opened the bowling and found the Stirling batsmen to be in stubborn mood, no takers for his slightly off stump line and unfortunately Duncan returned wicketless from his 7 overs but only 14 runs being lost to the cause.

Sorrell from the other end was having a bit more luck. 2 early breakthroughs bringing the comment by the non-facing bats(wo)man that he fastish but not doing much. Next over the new batsmen is given the full repertoire of outswingers and incutters before a beautiful Yorker makes a right mess of the stumps. The next incoming batsmen was given a slightly different critique of the bowling he was about to face. A couple of very close LBW shouts did little to dampen the spirits of the Mufs captain who continued his siege against the Stirling upper order claiming the first 5 wickets to fall, all castled. Norman Allan and Dickie Park were brought on to continue the Mufs seam only battering ram assault on the Stirling Ramparts. However the Stirling middle and lower order was made of sterner stuff. Dickie unluckily managed to pick up only 1 wicket from his 7 overs (32 runs), but Stormin Norman bowled cannily and picked up a tasty 3 wickets for only 18 runs in his 8 overs. A professional job by the supporting bowlers.

Wanting the coup de grace (or smelling rabbit pie) Sorrell came back to take the last wicket and finish with 6 wickets for 10 runs in 10 overs. Stirling all out for 74.

Mufs remain 100%, 6 wins out of 6. With Townhill losing to Freuchie, Mufs are now the only blemish free side in the league at the half way stage. Hurrah

Scoreboard extracts:

MDCC Batting

MDCC Bowling - Stirling County 2 76 all out 29 overs

No Game

Saturday 28 June.

No game due to Mitre now plying their trade at Div 6....

Magnificent 7-Up for Mufs

Saturday 5 July - Mufs v Carlton 2 at Muirhouse.

Even without the combined might of Liberty Knight and the Beast of Sorrell, Mufs Ones continued their steamrollering of Division 3 with a 137 run victory over Carlton 2s. Main stars Parky with an excellant 49 to dig us out of a bit of trouble and Stormin Norman with a masterclass of bowling to match the Beast's figures v Stirling of 6-10. Mufs 197 a.o. - Carlton 2 60 a.o. Full report soon from acting skipper, JNB.... actually JNB has declined the offer so its a report from little ol me.

The Art of Captaincy was one of the books in the Baikie holiday suitcase (I'd love to see how huge this case must be given the size of his cricket bag... does he check-in a mobile home at the airport?) and with they way the team has been performing only a few light touches on the tiller were needed to sail the good ship Mufs through some choppy seas, sink the marauding Carlton pirate ship and return to the Harbour of Victory for the seventh time.

A grey heavy atmosphere and bit of damp had the Captain considering his options for the toss... a clearly bleary Sicknote not helping his decision process. The flip was guessed correctly by Lockie so the debate was academic. In we went. The start was ok enough, Sickie relishing crossing swords with the buccaneering Fortune and driving him for 4... however...perhaps over-confidence or a pang of fatigue intervened next over and he edged another drive to be caught smartly at gully. He trudges back to face the Lash. "Geoff" sails out to join the Ship's Chaplain, Murdo, at the helm. The ship is sailing along nicely until Murdo gets a faint edge and is caught behind for 18. Bicycle Towns is next in action, but hastily submerges in the same fashion as the sea-sick Sicknote for an aquatic beastie. Mufs are beginning to take on water now at 33-3... is the ship beginning to list?

Fear thee not land-lubbers - the Parkie has sailed from port. The pocket Ceylon battleship, "Geoff", is also sailing along serenly it seems, firing the occasional big salvo from his guns, including a huge 6. However out of nowhere he strikes a mine and is scuppered for 23 - a fine catch in the deep (didn't they catch well, the Carlton boys?). Tom Wheeler joins the Parkie and holds his end up in a solid stand as the Parkie now opens up with a hefty barrage and now its Carlton turn to sink. Full-steam ahead .... then, when on 49, a tremendous broadside salvo from Dickie- the shell is whistling on a flat trajectory towards the boundary- a glorious 6 surely for a majestic 50? Shiver me timbers... a young Carltonian is right in the path- surely this shell too hot to handle. But alas no... somehow he clings on to ball via his midriff... and like HMS Hood, out of nowhere the battlecruiser M.U.F.S Park is blown out of the water!

Now its the turn of the lower middle order to bring their guns to bear onto the Carlton fleet- Duncan and Captain Baikie notch 25 and 17 respectively...Westy is capsized immediately before it is time to hoist the Jolly Roger...Phil strikes a fine unbetaten 23 and Norman Allan belies his no.11 position with some crashing blows. 200 is in reach before another mighty fine Carlton catch ends Stormin Norman's stay and the good ship is beached at 197. Still given the top order had been scattered early on, we would have taken that on the choppy seas that was the Muirhouse wicket.

A fine tea is delivered, the usual mince pies supplemented by macaroni pies, and an excellant selection of sandwiches. All hail the ships Cook. No weevil infested biscuits here.

Now its the turn of Carlton... morale is not seemingly high and interesting both the prime Carlton battlecruisers, Lockie and Malik, have been put to sea. A sign that the rest of the Carlton fleet is not the strongest. There is a whiff of blood on the salty air for Mufs. Can they strike early to claim supremacy from the air or will Malik and Lockie blast them from the sky? The battle was protracted but one-sided. Carlton had no answer in the conditions to an awesome barrage from Stormin Norman, ably supported up first by Dizzy Peake. Malik is done for LBW by Dizzy and the prime target, Lockie, is undone by Norman... thanks to a Festival-in-mind juggling display from Murdo to Sickie in the slips. As Lockie sunk, so perhaps was Carlton fatally holed under the waterline. No mercy was spared as Stormin' Norm torpedoed much of the remaining shipping to finish with 6 for 10. A masterclass in the art of bowling. Some stiff resistance still from the listing Carlton ship... Rogers keeps the enemy pinned down under fire, Parkie removes some stubborn resistance... then fittingly Captain Baikie ensures Carlton finally slips under the Muirhouse waters with a final double-strike bombing raid. Sink the Bismark? With this attack we probably could. Mission achieved and 7-Up. Over and Out.

Scoreboard extracts:

MDCC Batting

MDCC Bowling - Carlton 2 60 all out 37.2 overs

Eight in a Row as Watsons Scratch

Saturday 12 July - Mufs v Watsons 3 at Muirhouse (supposedly).

Watsons scratched so Mufs record now goes to 8 wins in a row. Would rather had been playing on a sunny day though.

Corstophine Crunched

Saturday 19 July - Mufs v Belvoir Corstorphine 2 at Barnton

Mufs Ones make it a convincing nine in a row with a crushing and quickfire defeat of Belvoir Corstorphine.

A tactical shift by the Skipper saw the opposition inserted and quickly routed by the superb Norman Allan and Duncan Peake, Corstorphine finding themselves 7 for 5 at one point. Only a fighting knock by Brian Potter got them any sort of total (54)- JNB used the heavy atmosphere to swing it through the rest of the batting - both Normans with 4 wicket hauls to add to Duncan's two victims. With panther-like stealth at silly-point, Phil Rogers snapped up 3 catches. Jaya (4) was our only loss chasing... Graham Milne making short work of the total with a swashbuckling 42 not with sedate support from Sicknote (10 not).

Sickie

Ten out of Ten for Mufs in Townhill Nailbiter

Saturday 26 July - Mufs v Townhill at Muirhouse

Ones took a huge stride towards promotion after gunning down their closest rivals, Townhill on a spicy wicket at Muirhouse and extend their magnificent run to 10 victories out of 10. It was a close run thing with Mufs players pacing around like expectant fathers as we inched our way to victory from the edge of the abyss.

Townhill were inserted on a damp wicket but Mufs could not make their usual early in-roads, not helped by some indifferent fielding and several missed chances (mea culpa for one!). Once the breakthrough was made Townhill rapidly lost wickets with in particuler JNB bowling a splendid full spell to take 4 wickets; Lindsay put in a contender for catch of the season. Townhill routed for 111.

Mufs reply started disastrously as a bit of tea-time rain had seemingly spiced up the wicket even more. We lost both Monty West and Jaya in the first over, slumped to 26 for 5 at one point and then when muggins 'ere went for 18 we had hit 46 for 6 off 20 overs. Tom Wheeler joins Lindsay Town who hits several fine shots in his 27 before getting himself run-out. Tom is the immovable rock upon which the recovery is based as then Phil Rogers also hits 27 to take us close before being stumped. Nails were getting chewed at the end as we crept closer but the Skipper (11 not) and Tom (7 not in a tremendous 30 overs stay) see us home with 4 balls and 2 wickets to spare. Phew!!

Sickie

The Great Run......Ends at Freuchie

Saturday 2 August - Mufs v Freuchie 2 at Freuchie

A wet week in the build up to another top of the table clash for Mufs who were away to Freuchie attempting to go legs 11 in a row. A team shorn of many of the seasons leading lights in the batting department were invited to bat first on a wicket, which having been covered looked ok. A short boundary on one side and some Kent like trees invading the field made for the usually unique Freuchie setting.

Deadly Dunc invited to open the innings got things off well with some booming drives to ensure Mufs run rate ticked along nicely in the early stages. Murdo returning to the 1sts breach was confused by the speed of the opening bowler and chipped to point early in his innings to bring the explosive Jeyakanth to the crease. A spiralling 6 over long off displayed the intent from the Mufs number 3 who looked very secure against the tidy Freuchie opening bowlers. Duncan smashed one too many drives to end his great knock of 28 but his good start ensured Mufs were looking good to post a total near the 200 mark.

Enter Lindsay to partner Jey in the middle. Two of Mufs most explosive batsmen together at the crease on a small field with a steady if not penetrative bowling attack. Cue fireworks, runs galore and a barrage of big hitting and run scoring....? errr no. A unique (for these guys) display of crease occupation that Tavere and Boycott would have been proud of crept in a teutonic plate manner ( webed- a what?) the score up to 80 at barely over 2 an over! Finally wickets started to fall. Jey caught via his head bringing in Dickie who attempting to raise the run rate was caught attempting a sweep. Phil Rogers the man in form continued his fine batting exploits with fantastic innings of 41 including memorable 4's all around the ground. 3 4's in a row preceded an attempted 4th which ended a fine knock and solid partnership with the durable Wheeler. Tail wagging distinctly unimpressive with Baikie, Sorrell and Allan failing, leaving Chris W high and dry. So 125 all out, 2 batting points but well short of a competitive total.

Chasing a lot of cheap wickets, the 2 Normans opened the bowling. With near 50 wickets between this season surely they would make significant inroads into the Freuchie top order. errr no. Not a great day at the races for either opening bowler who were both punished for anything mildly short with some fine strokes to the short boundary from the Freuchie openers. Freuchie brought up the 50 without loss in 14 overs before Duncan was brought into the attack. Downhill our new opening batsmen, obviously full of energy after a jam sconed laden tea, steamed in. Delivering quick accurate deliveries to cause a few scares in the Freuchie upper order. Duncan worthily picked up 3 wickets as Freuchie were put under a degree of pressure from one end. The other end however was slightly less tight, with Phil and Tom struggling to reign in the Freuchie openers and middle order.

Freuchie finally passed the required score for the loss of 3 wickets in only 27 overs helped by our worse ground fielding performance of the year. A bad defeat against a well organised side who comfortably beat us in 3 three B's; batting bowling, bridgefielding.

Rich

Mufs Return to Winning Ways

Saturday 9 August - Mufs v West Lothian 2 at Muirhouse

Mufs returned to winning ways against West Lothian with a comprehensive victory achieved with nearly 10 over to spare.

Batting first, the Shiels-Knight partnership dipped below its usual high standards with Liberty departing for around 90 less than he usually does. Legs Milne promoted up the batting order, looking in the mood for luvin if his pre match warm up was anything to go by, found the WL bowling pretty lovely. He and Shiels put on a great partnership for the 2nd wicket with Webby falling just short of his 50 and Midwife falling (almost predictably) for 69 - great knock fellas.

With a solid base it was left to the Mufs middle order to swing the willow in exuberant fashion, with none doing better than JN Baikie with 32 Not out. Jay, Dickie, Lindsay and Duncan all upped the run rate to leave Mufs on a more than reasonable 234 for 6.

West Lothian did not start well, first ball, skipper Sorrell, returning from injury enticed a nick behind to put WL on the back foot. Star of the bowling show was Duncan Peake. A lively first spell was followed by a quicker 2nd spell (after the skipper graciously allowed him to bowl at his preferred end). 3 wickets was barely just reward for Dunc, who seems to have cottoned on to the "bowling at the stumps" tactic so favoured by the successful Norm Allan. Following up the opening salvo and after a very tidy spell from Richard Park, the 2 Norms were back to their best. The marvellous Baikie boy bowling classic away swing to snare 2 wickets and Stormin Norman Allan as usual just too good for the opposition who struggle to score off him or keep their wickets intact.

The one stand of note from WL was brought to a end with a fine piece of fielding with Dunc proving a dab hand in the jonty department to complete the coup de grace on a batting mix up.

So one more win and the title will be going to Muirhouse, roll on Dunfermline.

Rich

Champions !

Saturday 16 August - Mufs v Dunfermline Carnegie at Pitreavie

Murrayfield Dafs travelled to hot and sunny Dunfermline knowing only a win would be good enough to seal promotion and clinch the Division 4 championship.

Vice Skipper took over tossing duties and what a fine job he did too, out psyching the opposition captain into letting us bowl first.

Duncan Peake and Norman Allan opened on a pitch offering a little up and down movement but almost nothing side to side and a little slow. That didn't stop Fiery Peake (sounds like a volcano) from hassling, harassing, and hustling the batsmen with a quite marvellous display of fast bowling. Couple of overs getting the batsmen to play off the back foot then switching to fuller length to cause the batsmen no end of bother. Unfortunately for Mufs, Dunfermline were in no mood to surrender lightly. The opening pair putting on 30 from the first 12 overs.

Skipper Sorrell replaced Duncan and immediately reaped reward, opener lbw for 23. The batsmen departed none too happily and a little bit of helmet football was seen. Umpire off the Christmas card list I think, although nothing a nice Chardonnay from the South of France couldn't fix.

Honeyford coming in at 3 steadied the ship with "Lucky Pants" Mitchell for Dunfermline. Top scoring with 29 his innings did not pass quietly and without incident. He did however play a decent knock and displayed useful courage after ducking into a delivery just a little fuller than he expected .

Dunfermline seemed anxious not to lose further wickets and seemed content to play out the overs. Dickie Park replacing the unusually wicketless Norman Baikie had other ideas. His best bowling performance of the year brought rewards of 4 wickets for 27 off his 9 overs. A really quite marvellous display.

Duncan came back for a couple of wickets near the end as Dunfermline attempted to increase their tempo.

The Fifers finished on 132 for 7, a below par score, however they seemed to think the pitch would cause problems for the Murrayfield- Dafs men.

Little alarm then as Knight and Shiels serenely put on 35 for the 1st wicket although Ian did "wear" a couple of deliveries as the Fifers 3 pronged attack gave little away.

Andy was first to depart with a patient 15 and worse was to follow for Mufs when Graeme Milne, the top scorer the week before was out for a very shiny duck. Obviously not enough pre match action for the Mufs number 3.

Enter Jeyakanth who hit some smashing fours, right out of the mee.... vegetable of the bat. He didn't last though, Mufs 3 down with 65 on the board. Richard Park played a couple of great shots before being out for 10. Duncan followed up his good bowling with a seasons best performance with the bat to post a 30. He really found the meat spot on a couple of occasions, quite marvellous batting from a thoroughly decent individual, almost Victorian standard all-round skills from the hairless Merv a like.

5 down and only 32 needed for victory, surely its in the bag? With Shielsy departing for an extremely patient 31, and Towns and Baikie managed only 2 between them, Mufs were 8 down for 124 and deep in tail territory (deep in other stuff too) according to one wise spectator.

Knighty couldn't watch, Stormin Norman had his pads on ready for action, Lindsay had put his lucky shorts on Duncan had gone to the bar and Sorrell went to the wicket protecting an average countable on one hand.

However luck was with the Mufs side as Dunfermline bowled in the right place, and with a couple of cover drives and a squirt through point, victory and the championship was won with 6 overs to spare.

Marvellous marvellous display, roll on Stirling County for the final league game of the season. Richie

Some photos of our triumphant chaps can be found here.

Fortress Muirhouse

Saturday 23 August - Mufs v Stirling County 2 at Muirhouse

Ones finished off their champion season with the best of the draw against a dogged Stirling County in a game with a touch of end-of-season party in mind. Mufs batting first saw the Sickie v Knighty run-chase finish well in the favour of the Sussexman, though the Baggie finishes with the better average. Knighty perished on 17 and Shiels going on to 41. But star batsmen on the day were Graham Watson with a well crafted 51 not and JNB with a blistering 44 who came together with Mufs in some trouble and added 80 for the 7th wicket to help us up to 198 for 7.

Graeme Milne was giving the honour of opening the bowling in what may be his final appearance in a Mufs shirt. The G-Man it said on the back of his, G for generousity towards batsmen perhaps as the Midwife delivered a bit of a wild one going all out for pace. Stirling off to a bit of a flyer despite the usual nagging accuracy from Norm A. Martin Ward bowled a tidy spell but the charge of the County Dogs was ended with Norm A taking a sharp c&b to remove the dangerous Cilliers and then The Beast of Sorrell took over. Wicket with his first ball and a fine spell of fast bowling netted him 4 wickets. Sickie given a rare outing with the ball took one and JNB took two. However the young Stirling tail hung-on at the death finishing with 125 for 8 so Mufs were denied a 100% season winning record at Muirhouse but remain unbeaten there since June 2002..

Champion Feast (Mitre Non-Game)

Saturday 30 August - Mufs v Bellies at Buffalo Grill, Stockbridge

With a free final Saturday due to Mitre's pre-season withdrawal, the Ones could gorge and water themselves at a Champions Lunch with a satisfied feeling of a job well done. Mufs opened up with a variety of starters - corn-on-cob, tomato soup, garlic breads, salsa chilli dips... a middle order of steak and more steak... tailing off with coffee and mints. A liberal dashing of beer through-out to set ourselves up for supporting the Twos in their final game. Great stuff.

P.S. Twos and Threes reports are a bit thin on the ground... c'mon chaps!!

Second XI Match Reports

Seconds Beaten in Season Opener

A loss by 9 wickets v Preston Village ... most excellant report by Iain Martin available from following this link to the report

Loss v Heriots

Saturday 3 May. MDCC2 v Heriots at Muirhouse

Report to follow

Scott 79 in vain as 2s crash

Saturday 10 May. MDCC2 v Trinity Acads at Trinity

Report to follow

Game Rained Off

Saturday 17 May. MDCC2 v Edin Univ at Muirhouse

Game rained off

Game Rained Off

Saturday 24 May. MDCC2 v Drummond at Inverleith

Game rained off again.

Vinnie Mugs Mufs

A narrow loss by 3 wickets v Holy Cross, perpetrated by an old friend... most excellant report by Dino de Rogers available from following this link to the report(me too lazy to code it up in html...)

Scott Left High and Dry as Twos Lose

Report to follow but another crushing defeat for Mufs2s again.

It's always hard to write about a heavy and frustrating defeat; that’s my excuse for a delayed match report anyway. Fair to say that - despite the glorious sunshine and winning the toss - the game at Westquarter was not high on enjoyment.

One or two incidents changed the course of their innings. One opener’s second ball was skied wide of point, with Graham Watson giving chase. He made a fine effort but just failed to hold on and the batsman went on to get 61. Then his fellow opener looked run out by a direct hit (not given...) and went on to reach his fifty. Tony (2 wickets), Jacques (1), newcomer Ali Amjed, the Acting Skip (1) and Jacques’ brother Charl (1) kept to the task, but the runs were flowing steadily and a few massive hits late on took them to 209-5 dec off 48 overs. There were a few edges and some slips in the field, but they batted positively overall.

We agreed it was a getable score on a good wicket, a fast outfield and with us fielding a strong, on paper at least, batting line-up. Shame paper doesn’t always translate to grass. Chris Watling set the tone by giving third slip some catching practice similar to our own pre-match routine. Honest as ever, Chris can’t explain his run of form, but with the Hairy Monster you know he will knuckle down and get it right. Still, another first-over wicket and a mountain to climb.

Graham opened with Chris and was positive from the start, but after reaching a solid 13 he was caught going for a straight drive. Martin Ward also looked confident before falling too cheaply. However, he was back out soon after Richard Scott pulled his second muscle of the afternoon. Martin’s backing up soon annoyed the wily old WQ bowler, but it didn’t stop him bowling tightly. Jacques’ dismissal then summed our day up. After playing well for 12, he tried to pull a short one from their accurate opener - it then bounced over him as he twisted his ankle and the ball landed on the stumps.

After Rob went quickly, Jacques’ twin brother Charl hit his first two balls for the club for glorious boundaries. Unfortunately he went for the hat-trick and was bowled next ball by the aforementioned wily old bowler. Rogers edged WOB to first slip for the second of our four ducks, but then Ali, together with Richard, gave us hope of a draw and some batting points. He departed going for a bit hit after a useful 13, but Tony and then Frank just failed to help Richard get us to the 100 and add to our three bowling points. Richard has now top scored in both his MUFS games, his 31 not out giving him a handy 110 average. Martin deserves a mention for his considerable efforts as runner, showing his usual commitment to the cause.

We quickly scurried back to Edinburgh to lick our wounds and moan about one or two decisions, but frankly we were beaten by a good side. Things could only get better - read on...

PHIL ROGERS

OMH Leads Twos to First Victory

Report to follow soon of a first victory for Mufs2s. Hurrah. And at here it is at last...

Happy days. A win after five miserable defeats and a vital morale boost. It didn’t start too well, however - a lost toss and the customary early wicket had suggested another long, hard day.

Graham Watson was the unlucky victim as the first of three lbw decisions went against the doubtful batsman. Martin Ward came in to join 2s debutant Tom Wheeler and made a confident start, but as in the previous game this did not translate into much-needed runs.

Frank’s Boyd brother Matt, making his debut for the club after being released by Holy Cross, showed real promise with a solid 35. He did survive a couple of skied chances - one of which put an unfortunate opponent out of the match with a dislocated/broken finger - but played some powerful shots. His luck ran out when he, along with some Accies fielders, thought he’d hit one that was given leg before. This was compounded when Chris Watling’s own luck worsened further with another disputed lbw in the same over.

Paul Hubbard, whose email on Friday announcing his return from the Gulf could not have been better timed, joined Tom and they went on to post an excellent match-winning partnership of ???. Tom played the anchor role, while Paul fully exploited a weakened Accies attack with some blistering boundaries. Tom was finally out for a very assured 56, while Old Mother, looking odds on for a tonne, went for one too many and was caught for 76.

In the meantime Tony Simpson had been prompted to push the score on but was run out. The Acting Skip and young David Aitken then played a few good shots in the final overs to bring us past the double hundred to reach 206-7 off our 50 overs.

We enjoyed tea with the knowledge of a job half done and with the confidence that we’d bowl them out. What we actually did was catch them out (save for a clean-bowled each for Simpson and Rogers), as a fine all-round fielding performance supported our bowling from the start. Tony Simpson was the star bowler, narrowly missing a personal best with 6-53, while an under-par Acting Skip managed to get two - both when he was about to remove himself from the attack. At one point the two openers threatened to do it all themselves, as the first three dismissals came from sharp catches by their partner.

Rogers went on to pouch a career best four catches (a club record for a non-keeper, perhaps - over to Andy Piggott), and my celebrations were getting so wild as the win approached that fielders were nursing injuries from over-vigorous high-fives and clenched fists in the ribs. Old Mother celebrated his return further with the best catch of the day - a blinder at silly mid off - while Tom got in the act and capped his fine performance with a catch and then a wicket.

So a fine all-round performance by the team and a deservedly happy dressing room. A couple of swift halves with the Accies skipper - who kindly complemented the good spirit the game was played in - set up a night of celebration in Bert’s. With the 1s also winning, there was a festive mood and a good turn-out at the home of our sponsor. The shirts bearing the famous Bert’s name had had their first outing that day and clearly inspired the teams. The traditional closing time move across the road was followed by a ‘welcome home Hubbard’ sing-song in his conveniently placed bachelor pad. Marvellous.

PHIL ROGERS

Rained Off

Rainy nite on Fri in Stenny put paid to play at the Tryst.

Village People too hot for Mufs

Saturday 5 July. Mufs 2 v Preston Village at Prestonpans

Twos slumped again to defeat against Preston Village, some self-inflicted wounds with 3 run outs not helping our cause (OMH not even facing a ball!) in chasing 160 or so. We finished 100 odd short!

Mufs buried at Goldenacre

Saturday 12 July. Mufs 2 v Heriots 3 at Goldenacre

Despite a OMH half-century Mufs lost by 8 wickets... report to follow

Jacques the Lad Leads Twos to Victory

Saturday 19 July. Mufs 2 v Trinity Academicals at Muirhouse

A vital win for the Twos as they chase a total of 149 against Trinity. Chief amongst the wickets had been Iain Martin with 4 scalps. Tom Wheeler and the Hairy Monster, Watling depart cheaply but OMH and Jacques steady the innings with a fine partnership before Hubbard is caught for 28. The middle order cannot stay with Jacques for long enough until the arrival of the Night Bus. Perhaps a knock to the head keeps Tony's head down as he and Jacques take us to victory. Jacques' unbeaten 62 a most splendid effort. Full Report to follow...
Back to Top of Page

Simpson Teaches Uni Staff a Masterclass of Bowling

Saturday 26 July. Mufs 2 v Edinburgh University Staff at Peffermill

Twos made it back to back wins in a vital relegation clash versus Edinburgh University Staff. Like the Ones they had made a terrible start but the tail wagged big-time to post 128 with Chris Wigan with 28 and Tony, 19, the stars. Tony then bowled an excellent spell of 15 overs taking 3 for 8 to lead us to victory by some 38 runs. Full Report to follow...

A Drummond Drubbing

Saturday 2 August. Mufs 2 v Drummond at Muirhouse

Twos ran Drummond close before losing by 19 runs at Muirhouse. The main bright note was another half century for OMH. Full Report to follow...

Holy Cross Humbled by the Hairy Monster

Saturday 9 August. Mufs 2 v Holy Cross 2 at The Arboretum

Chasing 208 at the Aboretum our Twos upset Holy Cross (not hard) with a 3 wicket victory. Chris "Hairy Monster" Watling chose an opportune moment to return to form with a patient 55 well supported by Murdo's 35, but it was Boris Hothersall's quickfire 35 that tipped the scales for Mufs. Dazza (18 not) returning from injury saw us home against Holy Cross who had bizarrely declared earlier on 49 overs. A chicken-counting lesson inflicted. Mufs old-boy "No Two" Praveen again did us some damage with a knock of 40. Full Report to follow...

Third XI Match Reports

Thirds Also Beat by PV

Mufs3 v Preston Village II - Sunday 27th April

Report by El Capitano, Breck.....

The day dawned bright and sunny, I had 10 definite players and hopes of an eleventh. Unfortunately our erstwhile 2 XI captain could not be dragged from his bed and various other possibilities gave notice of their retirements from the fray. But Chris Brown had a pal who could field. So we set off for Prestonpans for Murrayfield 5 minutes after the meet time (other teams take note!) and arrived in good time. Somewhat nervous after the 2nds being cuffed on Saturday, but encouraged when they could only field 7. Wicket hard but bounce questionable. Great toss to win, so I lost. Opened batting with myself and Richard Scott, plucked from midweek obscurity. Put on 46 for the first wicket in about 14 overs, Richard scoring the bulk. However the first (and only) change bowler took charge and scuppered us with straight shooters, taking 8 for 13, and twice going for a hattrick. David Aitken batted well for a while, but things were looking grim as Chris's friend Mark Humble came to the wicket at No. 11, with Iain Oliphant at the other end. Mark smacked the first ball for 4, and 10 runs from the last pair put on enough for the batting point. 73 in total scored.

So to tea, and the rain came down seriously. Covers kept the wicket sound, and we went out. The rain, with strong gusts and some wind chill, kept coming on and off, but we stuck to our task and few runs were coming. First Change Colin took a wicket third ball, and soon after Henry took one with another shooter. Dropped catches cost us dear, as the best batsman lived on and only finally went when they were level.

Good points - Richard batted very well, and others played their part in difficult circumstances. Bowling was sound all round, with Henry and Colin the pick on the day. Fielding generally good and keen, though the purchase of boots would improve things a lot. Catches almost all difficult, but we need to get some to stick. And lastly thanks to Iain for umpiring throughout.

Game Scratched

Saturday 10 May. MDCC3 v Carlton 3 at Roseburn

Game scratched as we could not raise a team... with shattering consequences later on... see News!

Rained Off

Saturday 17 May. MDCC3 v Dunbar at Dunbar

Game rained off

Rained Off

Saturday 24 May. MDCC3 v Holy Cross 3

Game rained off

Debutant Wheeler Stars But Mufs Still Crash

Saturday 31 May. MDCC3 v Melrose 2

Match report by stand-in skipper Don "King" Wilkie (and Iain Martinoo)available from following this link to the report

Starman Piggott, but Threes fall to earth

Saturday 14 June. MDCC3 v Edinburgh 4

Another loss with only real bright spot being Andy Piggotts four wickets.Report to follow

Holy Cow! Jacques takes 3s close to victory

Sunday 22 June. MDCC3 v Holy Cross 3

Mufs put in a much improved performance at last but can't quite force a victory against Holy Cross. Another report to follow.

Wheeler's Fife Pfeiffer but 3s Swept away by Broomhall

Saturday 28 June. MDCC3 v Broomhall

Tom Wheeler takes his first five wicket haul for the club but after a controversal no-ball incident the wheels fall off and our batting is swept aside by Broomhall. Report now received from Iain Martin....(photos to follow....)

A PDF version with photos now attached too... click on this link to access. If you don't have PDF go get it from www.adobe.com

With the two’s game at Stenhousemuir called off, it was left to the threes to carry the hopes of the club. The prospect of a large travelling support fell by the wayside with those without a game preferring to watch Heriot’s rather than support their own. Understandable, as we all need some humour, but their loss given the excellent hospitality on offer from Broomhall (and afterwards at the waterfront Ship Inn) on a "Scorchio" day in Fife.

The afternoon started well with the Yelland-mobile selling our new shirts from the back of his car- stewards were getting suspicious that he was selling dodgy fake Robbie Williams gear! All Yelly needed was the sheepskin coat, cap and a Cigar and he would be Del boy! Soon we were on our way complete with a travelling support of two- the ever welcome Chris Broon (looking much better, well for Chris that is) and Boyd Junior who seemed to enjoy himself smashing cricket balls at the Broomhal Pavillion. Perhaps he should have played? Needs to change his football shirt though. Black ‘n’ white stripes much better than red!.

The compact and bijou away dressing room was full and only Rob F and Frank had entered! Rob was in a good mood. For the first time ever he had the full kit, whites and a cricket shirt! Of course, new shirts equals team photo.

The newly nicknamed "sexed-up" thirds were really up for it as the skip won the toss, was it cos the skip was in Fife that the tossing went well??? Anyway moving on swiftly we elected to field. What a start- the Broomhall top order seemed to be mesmorised by the Tom Wheeler dodgy balls and promptly hit the ball to a Mufs fielder who rather oddly caught it (1 for Hugh Craig, 1 for Lawrence, 1 for keeper, Frank and 1 for Graeme Tait - also with new whites).Over 8 and Broomhall were 5 down as Lorenzo pockets another catch off another Wheeler full-toss. Much celebration began when suddenly the umpire called "No-ball" for an above waist full toss. Despite explaining to the Umpire the rule about this only being applicable for fast bowlers the Umpire was not for changing his mind. As it turned out Broomhall (new to the East League) play in the Forth Union and in that competition any full-toss over waist height is deemed a no-ball so I believe this was a genuine mistake which they wont make again.

However, this was a turning point in the game as the Broomhall batsmen G Holmes and Mike Warren used the short boundaries to good effect to take the score to 58 before Andy tempted Holmes to hole out to Hugh Craig for 26. Our support bowling though generally failed to threaten the capture of any further wickets and even the visibly wilting skip failed to break Warren and M Goodchild racking up a partnership of 82 before Tom bowled a great ball caught by Frank to dismiss Warren and Lorenzo’s 6th catch of the season ensured Wheeler was getting the jugs in with 5-39 off 12 overs. Skip ended up with 1-30 off 10 and the Butcher only slaughtered the one victim for 35.

Tea was a good effort by the Broomhall guys with plenty of sarnies and cakes and tea with saucers achieved a 7.5 on the Co-op sponsored Andy Piggott tea-rating scale.

With the Fife sunshine baking the arena the Mufs batsmen, inspired by the pictures of Liberty and Webman in the Pink section of the Evening news (didn’t they look "Pretty in Pink"? 1 movie title ha ha!) set off to a make a name for themselves. Our sexed-up image soon drooped however, as the "Don" was clean bowled for 5. Skip, obviously suffering from sunstroke promoted himself to number 3. First ball slammed into my big toe and I could feel the blood filling my socks - this must be a good sign for a big innings. Remember Clive Lloyd bat when he was "injured"? Two runs were gained by skilfully directing the ball through the slips (or edged for short) and then I played all round an inswinging full toss to ensure my day was done. Taity was run out and Tom was out caught soon after. (Tom’s day = 5 wickets, 5 runs - perfect symmetry.) Hugh followed and 28-5 was the sorry tale on the scoreboard.

The young guns, however, showed the droopers how it should be done. Lawrence top scored with 16 including 2 fours (his highest score for the threes) and Colin batted bravely for 7. Rob suffered our 2nd run-out of the day (disappointing to give away 2 wickets like that guys) and our only target was a batting point and a draw. Sadly we fell 3 runs and 15 balls short of these targets.

However, no-one realised what was to follow after a pleasant couple of cans from the "bar" (fridge) at the club the Ship Inn was the venue of an event surely comparable to the birth of Jesus in the Inn stable all those years ago!!. Andy Piggott got the beers in- was it sunstroke? was it the shock of batting for 10 overs? anyway, pretty soon outside news broadcast cameras from Sky, BBC News 24, and CNN descended on the homely Ship Inn and even MDCC’s very own webmeister was on the blower seeking clarification of this momentous occasion. Unfortunately, given this level of publicity the remaining 3 Mufs had to move on for food and Franky and Jerry’s (?) at South Queensferry supplied the goods. Although the waitress didn’t seem to be swayed by our new sexed-up image the food was good and shock horror the Butcher paid for this too!

Our entertainment for the night was not over as we drove back to the Alien centre of Broxburn to witness the remnants of "Orange" day.. the scantily clad young Broxburn beauty (sic) waving the hand of Ulster flag in the middle of the road deserved a second viewing so we turned round for another look while Broon commentated on the sights to his "Mrs" although he was to get an ear-bashing for leaving her on speaker so the car could hear about her day!

Into town for a nightcap turned into a slow affair as we hit the Robbie Williams traffic although a game of "Yes" and "No" helped the time go by, before a verse or two of "Get yer ***s out for the lads" reaped rewards from the occupants of a blue minibus- cheers girls!

Footnote: I umpired the Sunday Forth Union Broomhall - Dunikier game and a very similar Broomhall team bowled out East League Divion 2 Dunikier out for 50 on their way to a 97 run victory. Excellent hospitality from the guys of Limkilns once again and the pub was still buzzing at the Andy Piggott buying the beers story.

Iain Martin

Walkover Victory as Carnegie scratch

Saturday 12 July. MDCC3 v Dunfermline Carnegie 2

Carnegie call off (on the Monday) to hand victory to Mufs3.

Rolled Over by the 'Barrel

Saturday 19 July. MDCC3 v Cask and Barrel

While Ones and Twos triumphed, the Threes were licking their wounds after a calamitous defeat- being rolled over by the Cask and Barrel for just 28. C&B lose two wickets to Tom Hothersall on their way to victory. A further 20 over match is played - this time we score 76 - but still lose!

More Calamity for Threes Batting

Saturday 26 July. MDCC3 v Prestige Livingston

If I were to say to you that after Graeme Tait's 9, Andy Piggott was next top scorer (excluding Mr Extras) for the Threes with 6 then you might be able to conclude that they did not post a competitive total. So it proved as they only reached 42. A defeat by 8 wickets unfortunantly.

Threes Thrash Mitre Select

Saturday 2 August. MDCC3 v Mitre

The bright sparks in a weekend of gloom for Mufs were Don's Destroyers with a thrashing of a Mitre Select XI. Report to follow one day.

Threes Denied by Honest Toon Last Wicket Stand

Saturday 9 August. MDCC3 v Musselburgh at M'burgh

A last wicket stand of 40 proved the undoing of the Threes as they lost by one wicket against Musselburgh. Earlier Mufs posted 120 with Cliff Graham (21) and Rob Fotherington (20 not) top scores other than Mr Extras with an incredible 51 ! With Ali taking 5 wickets and Henry Collin 4, Mufs looked set for victory but alas chances were missed to wrap things up and the Honest Toon's last wicket pair made us suffer.

Midweek Match Reports

Mufs so close to Cup Giant-Killing

Wednesday 14 May. Masterton Cup MDCC v Dunfermline at Muirhouse

Rich Sorrell reports...

A good allround performance from Mufs was not enough to prevent a Dunfermline victory in the Masterton Trophy.

Invited to bowl by the National division 1 team, Mufs bowling attack learnt the hard way not to bowl full tosses at good batsmen. A succession of boundaries flowed from the opposition overseas amateur on his way to 38, giving 3 chances on the way.

Mufs fielders took a while to get the hang of fielding in a 20 over game but inspired by the immaculate Andy Knight and Jay in the outfield, the fielding became sharper the longer the innings went on.

After the initial frenzy from Dunfermline, Mufs tightened up in the 2nd half of the innings restricting Dunfermline to under 4 an over with Sorrell picking up 4 wickets and Ward bowling cunningly to pick up a couple. Dunfermline finished on 95 after their 16 overs, about par, and it was game on.

The usual opening Mufs partnership of Shiels and Knight opened confidently and the initial salvos resulted in honours even for the first couple of overs. Shiels then got out attempting a cheeky whip through the leg side which brought Jay to the crease.

Playing with freedom, skill and power the ball being lost twice and the boundary being peppered like an Uzi, Jay scored 41 glorious runs before being undone by the Dunfermline slow bowler working in cahoots with the now umpiring Andy Knight.

The familiar Mufs collapse was now in full flight. With 25 needed with 4 overs to play and 4 wickets in hand Muffs lower order was unable to keep up the run rate, Dunfermline eventually winning by 12 runs.

It was only a cup game so it doesn't matter, league game on Saturday the main event.

Rich

MUFS v Shepherd + Wedderburn - 20 May

Norman Allan reports...

This welcome addition to MUFS fixture list came about due to Chris West`s endeavours to get a team out of his office personnel. An initial likely strong line up - Chris`s claim - was diluted by a string of call offs/unavailabilities (where have I heard this before ???).

A showery, overcast day but we`re on the artificial at Muirhouse, so we`re playing.

Chris and I agreed between us that MUFS should bat first and as we had 12 and they had ten, Ian Shiels offered to play for the opposition. Arfan + Rafiq turned up to watch, were enticed to play and so it was a 12 a side match (22 overs each team).

A belligerent Dazza (45) and a cultured Graham Milne (19) - aided by some wayward bowling (20 runs in extras) - allowed us to post a total of 117 - 7 after 22 overs.

Shepherd + Wedderburn, after a bright start from their left-handed opening bat, lost wickets regularly against a varied bowling attack (Toonie Broonie, Nightbus Simpson, Railtrack Ward, etc. including a cameo from Lindsay T. who bowled a maiden to Webmaster Shielsy, much to MUFS delight).

The aforementioned Webmaster (20), along with 12 byes - Beast Sorrell and Nightbus shared the keeping duties - gave S+W final total of 72 - 8 a degree of respectability.

Thursday 22 May - MUFS v Peebles - Parks Trophy 2nd Round

Norman Allan reports...

Much more serious affair and a stronger team (plus we only have 11 players). Good to see Dickie Park and Murdo McLeod back in harness.

A showery, overcast day but we`re on the grass at Muirhouse, so we`re playing !!!

Peebles captain - a lady and a Scottish international to boot - wins the toss and they`re batting.

Beast + John Norm open and despite some dubious umpiring decisions - well there was one definite dubious off of the Beast and Monty West alone saw some others - mostly saw off our opening pair (Murdo caught one - John-Norm bowling - just as a shaft of light shone through the gathered cloud).

Enter Dazza (3 wickets) and some eccentric Peebles running between the wickets (3 run-outs, one a delightful pick-up and direct hit by Webbie) and Peebles limped to 79 - 7 after 20 overs.

A shaky start to MUFS innings saw Murdo giving the female internationalist some catching practice in the first over but thereafter Webmaster (yes, after seeing him bat on Tuesday against us, I thought it best to let him play on our side) and Graham Milne (suggestions for nickname gratefully accepted) showed everyone else how batting should be. Graham even managed to convince us he was injured and needed a runner (Murdo volunteering with relish which was appreciated by everyone else).

Graham (39) saw threes where Webbie (37 not out) and Murdo struggled to see singles and - despite Graham`s best efforts at run-outs - we reached the required total in the 16th over. Graham fell over a fairly straight one (I was umpiring and it didn`t swing, seam or cut) from that female internationalist right at the death and allowed Lindsay T. a swish or two.

We now visit the winners of Cramond v Kirk Brae in the Parks Trophy quarter-finals.

All the Fun of the Fair?

Well, not really. On a day when double-bookings were all the rage, some interlopers had added to the difficulties of playing two friendlies on the same night by reserving Muirhouse. After some hasty work from the Normans - Allan and Maccabi's Berger (spelling???) - we pitched up at Meadows in the shadow of the fun fair.

With the noise of the fairground attractions ringing in their ears, Shiels and Kidd opened up, with Sicknote quickly notching a dozen. As all attempts to call out the bowlers names were made comically impossible by the din, MUFS wickets steadily fell before the arrival of Knightie. The only one who hadn’t got the message, he nearly got changed with a team of strangers at Muirhouse, then legged it to the Meadows to come in at seven.

With partners tumbling on a shocker of a wicket that wasn’t even straight, he showed his good form to make 26. This should have been 32 not out at least, but for the eagle-eyed umpire judging that the fielder didn’t take a catch with one foot over the boundary. That brought the innings to an end on 87.

Some accomplished Maccabi batsmen played their shots and made the total easily, helped considerably by the Beast and Richard Park’s sensible decision not to risk causing injuries on this nightmare of a wicket. Rogers, Nightbus and Kidd got a wicket each and even Knightie had a bowl. Matt Boyd was the pick with 2-15, but we were soon put out of our misery in a five-wicket defeat.

We met up in Clositers for the highlight of the evening - a beer. The other MUFS team, captained by Norman ‘John’ Baikie, met us after their win against Scottish Widows. Despite the fixture clash, we managed to get out arguably a better, overall pool of players than we have been doing on a Saturday. Respect to the Normans.

MDCC 87ao (McLean 3-7, Junior 2-22, Raj2-10. Shiels 12, Knight 26)

Maccabi 90-5 (Raj 29, Junior 14. Simpson 1-20, Rogers 1-19, Kidd 1-18, Boyd 2-15)

Phil Rogers