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MDCC 2006 MATCH REPORTS |
MATCH 1 - Mufs Charge at Cavalry Park Halted
MATCH 2 - Mufs lose Livy Thriller
MATCH 3 - Dazza Blasts Mufs to Victory
MATCH 4 - Game v Cramond Rained Off
MATCH 5 - Heriots Hammer Mufs
MATCH 6 - Mufs Out of Sorts at Grange
MATCH 7 - Charlie Holds off Mufs
MATCH 8 - Claypole and Beasty Rally Mufs
MATCH 9 - Mufs Slump at Glenrothes
MATCH 10 - Nasty Destroys Marchmont
MATCH 11 - Ash Spins Mufs To Victory
MATCH 12 - Marauding Mufs at Myreside
MATCH 13 - Gowtham Wows 'Em Again
MATCH 14 - Record Breaking Nasty and Monty Salvage Pride and Points
MATCH 15 - Grange Gubbing
MATCH 16 - Mufs Fall Short in Arboretum Agony
MATCH 17 - Fauldhouse Game Called Off
MATCH 18 - Heroic Claypole to the Rescue
MATCH 1 - Gray leads Twos to Opening Victory
MATCH 2 - Mufs 2 defeat Largo 2
MATCH 3 - Mufs 2 lose to Watsonians 3
MATCH 4 - Mufs 2 v Boroughmuir 2 Rained Off
someone write some reports, gawdammit... at last here's one...
MATCH 13 - Father and Son Show as Mufs rediscover the winning touch
MATCH 14 - Village People Outgun Mufs
MATCH 1 - Opening defeat by Fauldhouse
MATCH 2 - Mufs 3's Fantastic on the Plastic
MATCH 3 - Points make Prizes……(but 3's lose to Livi)
MATCH 4 - Mufs 3 v West Lothian 3 Rained Off
MATCH 5 - The Battle for Roseburn Park - Part I
MATCH 6 - Coull and the Gang Romp to Victory
MATCH 7 - Mufs Meltdown in Meadows Mayhem
MATCH 8 - Ginger and the Giant make Holy Cross
MATCH 9 - Alberts Eleven
MASTERTON Rnd 1 - Peebles concede so Mufs move on in Masterton
MASTERTON Rnd 2 - Under-manned Mufs Crushed by West Lothian
PARKS Rnd 1 - Maccabi Gain Revenge on Mufs
CS TROPHY Rnd 1 - Gowtham's Sunday Best
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY 1 - Mufs University Challenge... Part 1
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY 2 - Mufs University Challenge... Part 2
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY 3 - Peebles Wobbled
SUNDAY FRIENDLY 1 - Galashiels Gubbing
SUNDAY FRIENDLY 2 - Falkland Trip Rained Off
SUNDAY FRIENDLY 3 - Gowtham Stars But Mufs Slump to Boghall Defeat
SUNDAY FRIENDLY 4 - The Young Yelly and Belly Show Secures Thrilling Berwick Tie
SUNDAY FRIENDLY 5 - Doune Trip Rained Off
SUNDAY FRIENDLY 6 - Mufs Collapso
SUNDAY FRIENDLY 7 - Rain Forces Bamburgh Abandonment
SUNDAY FRIENDLY 8 - Gowtham Supreme at Sannox
MIDWEEK FRIENDLY 1 - Widows leave Mufs in Mourning
MIDWEEK FRIENDLY 2 - Baikie Storms the Merchiston Castle
MIDWEEK FRIENDLY 3 - Mufs Defeat Morton
MIDWEEK FRIENDLY 4 - Bots Win Muirhouse Challenge Cup
MIDWEEK FRIENDLY 5 - Ash and Danny Overcome The Cross
MIDWEEK FRIENDLY 6 - Mufs Tame the Badgers
MIDWEEK FRIENDLY 7 - Magnificent Mufs Massacre Maccabi
Mufs Ones opted to bat first on a slow Cavalry Park wicket and at 82-1 off 27 overs, and with Sicknote (25) and Lacey (21) well set, we had set at platform for a good score. Even having a giant inflatable black-pudding like kite thing being flown tantalising in his line of sight behind the bowler's arm did not seemed to put off the food-loving skipper as he dug in for the long haul.
However, when Mufs press on the gas pedal sometimes the engine can fly out instead. And so it proved as we found ourselves 83-4 as Lacey, Jaya (0) and the aghast Sicknote all fell while playing forcing shots. Akshay (19) and Gowtham (15) picked it up again but some less than clever strokeplay and a double strike by Neil Granger (5-36) let Marchmont back in. Tom Wheeler batted sensibly for 18, Rich a fast 14 and Mel classily at the tail for 10 not.
172 was better than what it could have been at one point but 20-30 short of what it should have been. Lessons to learn about not gifting our wickets away - at least 4 dismissals were giveaways. Credit to Davi Sardesi for a fine spell of 10-3-2-20 who bowled an excellent length on the surface.
Our defence of this total began excellently. Mel and Rich bowled superbly in tandem and had the home team on the back-foot. Rich's straight spell of 10 overs for 1 for 19 (most of those runs snicked around the stumps too) was simply magnificent and his figures deserved better reward. We looked keen and fired up in the field - wickets for Mel, Gowtham and Atul meant Marchmont were 64 for 4 off 27 and the game was there for the winning for us. Slowly it turned - the cold seemed to quell the enthusiasm in the field and Aaron Sardesi and Bourne put on a patient but slowly accelerating 36 stand to bring the game back into balance. Still at 100-6 we were favourites. Aaaron was the key man - if he stayed Marchmont probably won - if we took his wicket then we probably would have clinched it. We didn't, Reed 18 and Mathers 13 stayed with him, some contentious decisions (one very!) did not go our way but with a fine, chanceless 66 not, Aaaron fittingly hit the winning runs to seal victory for the home team with 2 overs left. We needed one of our top 6 to have done the same as Aaron. Lessons to learn.
A fine game played in a most excellent spirit - probably the best spirited game I have played in for a long time - proving hard-fought top-level games do not need to be played with the snarling ill-tempered aggression that some other team(s) seem apt to pathetically descend to. Finally, while on the subject of the spirit of cricket and how it should be played and appreciated, sadly missing from a trip to Cavalry Park for cricket against Marchmont was of course dear Roger Sardesai.
Link to Mufs v Marchmont Scoreboard details
Back to Top of PageI'm lost for words to describe the game at Livingston where Ones bowled and fielded excellently (Stormin' Norman taking 3-21) to dismiss the home team for only 64. Then the tables were turned after a most tasty tea, when the Livy bowling was right on the spot, aided and abetted again by some criminal batting in places, as we finished 4 short on 60.
That we came that close was thanks to Mel and Tom who took us from 32-8 to within a shot of victory in a patient and well-crafted stand. But the top order simply should have done the business. Again too many wickets needlessly gifted away under pressure. We will learn (one day). Very enjoyable on and off the field spirit so thanks to home team for that.
Link to Scorecard of shame (for both sets of batters!).
Back to Top of PageAt last all parts of the Mufs machine managed to fire together at the same time as Mufs Ones defeated Watsonians Twos by 8 wickets at a sunny Muirhouse.
Mufs Ones were invited to field first by 'Sonians at Muirhouse. Good bowling and fielding managed to restrict the visitors to 134 all out off 41.2 overs with the excellent Rich 9.2-2-32-2, Stormin Norman with 10-0-27-2, Atul with 8-0-32-2, the stingy "Nasty Keith" 8-1-14-1 and The Leopard, Gowtham with 5-1-27-2.
This time we didn't stuff up the chase, as Dazza and Gowtham put 96 on for the first wicket before the tiring Kidda fell for a tremendously brutal 59 that had the Watsonian's attack reeling. Gowtham bared his claws with some classic strokeplay before falling 4 short of his 50. Andy and Jaya saw us home and hosed with 8 wickets at 24 overs to spare. An excellent performance to earn our first victory, however, can't help think it could, and perhaps should, have been played 3 won 3.
Link to MDCC1 v Watsonians2 scorecard
Back to Top of PageRained off!
Back to Top of Pageat Muirhouse Mufs were resoundingly stuffed by Heriots 2. Heriots inserted Mufs into bat in a crucial toss, and Mufs started badly with both Dazza and Gowtham back in the hut with nowtski on the board. Jaya looked in good touch before departing for 17 and despite some stolid resistance from Westy a paltry 56 was all we could manage. In reply we should have had our nemesis Davie Ross LBW for a duck off Stormin, plumb as plumb, then a ridiculously poor piece of umpiring not to give him out stumped (Dougie Hamilton hang your head, old boy) but with Davie making an aggressive 35 before being run out then Heriots coasted to victory for the loss of two wickets and to be honest the decisions that didn't go our way probably would not have mattered other than an extra precious point or two. Positives - none for batting, but we bowled and fielded well, and Westy's glove-work was fantastic.
Link to MDCC1 v Heriots 2 scorecard
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Mufs Ones were defeated by Grange 2s at Portgower Place. Grange won the toss and batted first posting 265 for 5 with Adam Scott top wicket taker with 7-1-40-2 and Mel with 9-2-29-1 plus two well executed run-outs. Pollock (50), Reimoo (48) and Purser (90 not) did the damage. Mufs reply started disastrously with a needless collapse to 18-5, Gowtham's 10 the only score out of these 5 wickets. Mr Belly, with 16, dug in to try to avoid total annihilation and found great support in a 44 run stand with Adam who scored freely in his 42 (6 fours and 3 threes). Both perished to good catches. With patient batting at the end by Tom (11), Mel (9), and some fine strokeplay by Nasty (18 not) suported by Stormin (6) then we managed to eke past another batting point to reach 132 and at least salvage in total 6 points out of the mess.
Link to MDCC1 v Grange2 scorecard
Link to more Grange Photos
Back to Top of PageWith a toss won for a change, Mufs Skipper elects to bat on a nice sunny day. But Mufs Ones start badly again, struggling on a lively Muirhouse pitch against the new ball and were floundering at three down for only seven with Gowtham with an "ambitious" shot falling for an goldie second over, Sicknote edging to slip off Two Dogs for 3, and Andy rather bizarrely walking for caught behind off his arm-guard for 2. Then a 50 stand by Dazza (31) and Westy (15) got us going thankfully before both of them somewhat carelessly gift their wickets away. The middle order all weighed in with contributions from Claypole (10), Adam (18), Tom (7), and Richie (22, including a towering 6) before Mel (4) was caught by Charlie off Two Dogs leaving Nasty (4 not) once again unbeaten (we need to shove him up the order to get this man an average!). 128 (co-incidently we also got 128 v HX at home last year!) was more than it looked likely at one point but 30-40 less than we should have posted, particularly when Dazza and Monty were going along so nicely. We also had 11.3 overs left over. For the Cross, the excellent veteran Rob "Two Dogs" Worsnop finished with 9.1-2-24-3; Millington 7-0-22-3; Charlie Ellis a steady 7-3-9-0; Malik, 3-0-16-0; Shaaaaamoooooooooo (as they call him) 7-0-28-2; and Preece with 5-0-20-2. Still it would take some graft from Cross to get if we got the ball on the right areas on the pitch. In the end they grafted but we couldn't quite locate the crazy spots on the pitch regularly enough.
After another magnificent tea spread from Big Frank (with a first, in my memory, apperance of water melon amongst the old meat and maccaroni pie favourites) we started well with the ball, with Euan Smith (3) maybe unlucky (according to Westy and Dazza anyway) to be caught behind off Nasty for 3. Charlie and Calum Smith patiently pushed the score on and kept out the Beast who was unrewarded from his fine spell but, crucially perhaps in the end, injured his groin in his final over. Mel made the next breakthrough castling Smith for 17 leaving HX at 39-2 off 16 overs. That became 58-3 off 23 as Claypole removed Millington (4) with a CnB, having appealed long and hard for an LBW Phil only just remembered to snaffle the return catch offered. Malik offered some resistance in his 13 before he fell to Tom, caught round the corner by Richie. Cross Skipper, Keith fell for a duck to his Nasty namesake with a splendid catch by Adam and now HX was starting to wobble at 77 for 5. But Mufs nemesis, Charlie was still there patiently crafting his innings and exorcising any demons the pitch spawned.
Ross Cartwright and Charlie then put Cross's noses back in front but Mufs spurned an easy catch (we won't name and shame poor Andy) before a mix-up led to Ross being run-out for 23, departing with some less than gentlemanly phrased advice to his partner on the art of running between the wicket. 107 for 6 turned to 111 for 8 as Adam and Phil struck to remove Cydzik and Preece for ducks. We were back in it big time again. But it wasn't to be as Two Dogs Worsnop took the aggressive and aerial route, two of his shots fell agonisingly close to outfielders but with 12 not and Charlie Ellis finising on 42 not out, Sicknote (with a rare outing with the ball) couldn't repeat the last gasp heroics of last Sunday and the Cross got home with 10 balls left.
A good Mufs performance with the ball (Beasty 6-0-15-0, Nasty 10-3-20-2; Hairy 10-3-20-2; Scotty 5-0-21-1; Philly 10-4-17-2; Sickie 2.2-0-9-0; and Wheelie 5-0-15-1) and generally good in the field. But again another under-par score with the bat has cost us. Still there is plenty left in this campaign for us to get it right with the bat together and like last year dig ourselves out of trouble. Keep the faith and believe.
Link to MDCC1 v Holy Cross 1 scorecard
Back to Top of PageThe Ones were invited to bat on the Muirhouse marshland by our visitors from Fauldhouse. This time we started somewhat more solidy with Gowtham and Sicknote resisting well on a tricky surface to post 24 off the first 10 before Sickie ill-advisably tries to swot Ricky McDonald through midweek and is leg-before for 6. Lacey falls for 1, then a mix-up with Dazza sees Gowtham run-out for 32 when looking really well set and in prime form. Kidda is caught for 6, then Monty falls for a duck and its starting to go horribly wrong again at 48 for 5. Mufs needed some dogged resistance. Enter Claypole. He and Adam nudge us to 74 before first ball after the drinks break Adam is castled by Alan McDonald, who now has 4 Mufs scalps. The Philly is caught at short leg for 25 off Ricky McDonald in his last over to leave Mufs rocking at 83 for 7. But with the McDonalds bowled out (Ricky 10-3-18-2 and Alan 10-3-19-4) Mufs counter-attack and Fauldhouse have their stranglehold well and truly loosened by a ferocious assault by the Beast of Sorrell (37) ably supported by Tom with 19. Nasty and Clench, despite a short stay, showed that our last pair know which of the bat to hold too, which further re-inforced the Fauldhouse fielders impression that we had reversed the batting order (some of the Fauldhouse banter was highly amusing to listen to from the umpire's perch). Keith last man out for 2 holing out in the deep with a big hit. Mufs had posted a very creditable 143 given the devils that lurk within the Muirhouse botanical garden of a wicket.
With Big Frank again providing a veritable feast of a tea again, we set out to defend our total. Straight away we got on top and with an excellent bowling and fielding performance never really let them back in the game. With early strikes from Rich (5-2-5-1) and Nasty (7-4-13-2), Fauldhouse were three down for 8 at one stage. Mildren 14 and McCafferty 15 showed some resistance in a 22 run stand before McCafferty is CnB'd by Phil, and then Mildren snaffled at silly point by Mr Belly off Tom. Mel claims David Allan with a beast of a ball and Fauldhouse are sinking at 47-6. Ricky McDonald clubs some big hits including one which landed on the boundary line ("chalk flew up!") which led to some interesting debate about 4 or 6. 6 in the book. Then one hit too many as Tom Wheeler takes an outstanding one-handed catch very much like Jayawardene had earlier on the telly to give Scotty his first wicket. Rogers claims Hussein (10) and Alan McDonald first ball, but can't force the hat-trick. Finally after a bit of comedy fielding we take the final wicket with Ronnie Currie caught by Nasty of Adam and the much needed and vital victory was nailed down. Other bowling figures (Mel a great 10 over spell of 10-4-21-1, Tom 4-1-17-1, Adam 2.1-0-5-2, and top dog, and MoM contender with Rich, Phil Rogers with 5-0-19-3. All dismissals caught - Keith 2, Dazza 2; Phil, Mel, Sickie, Tom, Gowtham and Westy with one each.
A priceless win for Mufs which keeps us alive and kicking and now level with Marchmont. Few teams will relish batting on the bog at Muirhouse, if we can set totals then it will be hard to chase them down with our attack. Fauldhouse joked that, Gowtham aside, we had reversed the batting order - sure we have batting ability all the way down but the top order needs that extra bit of consistency. However at least we didn't gift our wickets as cheaply as in previous weeks and we are showing signs of improvement. The Fauldhouse skipper kindly remarked on leaving for us to "stick in there, lads". We certainly will need to scrap for our lives - if we can reproduce the second half form of last season then we can stay in the top flight.
Link to MDCC1 v Fauldhouse 1 scorecard
An alternative karaoake style report from Nasty about this Ones victory over Fauldhouse Victoria can be accessed from this link to Nasty Fauldhouse Match Song-sheet
Back to Top of PageAfter the promising victory last week, Mufs were unable to post back to back wins, losing a tighter than expected match by 4 wickets against the League Leaders. Mufs failed to cash in on a solid start and slipped from 81-3 to 112 all out. Akshay top scorer with 33, Gowtham 17 and Sutha 21. In defence of this we battled well with Nasty taking the first 4 Glenrothes wickets before an boundary laden 40 not out from Hopcroft got the wobbling Glens home by 4 wickets. Phil and Mel the other wicket takers, Phil also with a great short-leg catch to dismiss the young Safa OA Madiseng. But just not enough runs again.
Link to MDCC1 v Glenrothes 1 scorecard
Back to Top of Page"Nasty" Keith Lawrence made Marchmont rue for their decision to bat first on a damp wicket at Muirhouse with a ruthless display of bowling and good fielding. The Big Man taking 7-3-20-5 as Marchmont were dismissed for 53. Key man, and possible key moment, Aaron Sardesai somewhat unlucky to see a fierce on-drive deflect off the shoulder of Mr Belly at Silly Point and loop back to Nasty. We haven't had much luck this year so were overdue a big slice. Mel chipped in with 7-0-19-2, The Beast of Sorrell unplayable with 4.1-3-4-1, and Tom with 4-1-9-2. Mufs lost only Dazza (8) in a dash to victory with Gowtham again in supreme touch with 28 not, and Akshay 13 not. Mufs now leap-frog Marchmont and are off the bottom as this link to an unofficial Division 1 Table will show. Onwards and upwards now lads, and some revenge to dish out to Livy next.
Link to MDCC1 v Marchmont 1 scorecard
Back to Top of PageRevenge indeed dished out as Mufs beat Livingston by 3 wickets. I have an offer of a celebrity match report writer so I won't write too much bar the scores:
Livingston 147 a.o. off 47.1 overs. (M Ahmed 30, S Lang 32; A Kulkarni 10-2-19-3)
Murrayfield-Dafs 148-7 off 44.3 overs. (G Rai 40, P Rogers 26 not; N Asghar 9-2-16-4)
Link to MDCC1 v Livy 1 scorecard
And now courtesy of Tildo (Tom) a link to a superb celebrity match report.
Back to Top of PageA report from acting skipper for the day, Beasty, of a fine away win for Mufs at this link to Watsons match report.
Link to MDCC1 v Watsons 2 scorecard
Back to Top of PageAnother win for Mufs at Fortress Muirhouse - this time against our local rivals.
Once again we were indebted to The Leopard, as Gowtham posted 61 out of a total of 149 for Mufs. Good support from mid and late order with runs from Phildo (13), Sutha (11), Wheelie (13), Beasty (15), and a sickly Burger King (19) [sorry Adam]. Vishal Shah taking 6-44 for the visitors. Cramond faced an intense Mufs bowling and fielding effort with a pumped up Akshay taking 4 for 11 off his 6 overs as our local rivals were dismissed for 71. Two victims apiece for the excellent Nasty Keith (8-3-16-2), Beast of Sorrell (7.2-3-24-2) and Claypole (6-2-19-2). With the victory we leapfrog Cramond and now sit in 6th place - (see unofficial Division 1 Table ) but still plenty of work to do chaps.
Link to MDCC1 v Cramond 1 scorecard
Back to Top of PageMufs lost the toss and faced Heriots openers Ross (74) and More (131) in aggressive mode on a pitch that gave full value to shot making and an outfield that was tricky for the Mufs fielders at the best of times - we were lucky not to have ended up at the emergency dentist! Heriots ended up with 315 for 6 (Litster 57 not) with Ash, although wicket-less, the pick of Mufs bowlers with only 30 conceded off his 10 overs. Tom top wicket taker with 8-0-57-2, Keith with 10-1-63-1 and Sutha 5-0-35-1. Other bowlers used Rich 4-0-24-0, JNB 5-0-31-0, Adam 6-0-35-0 and Gowtham 2-0-28-0 (ouch).
Mufs started aggressively with Rich partnering Gowtham and 22 were plundered off the first 2 overs before Rich fell to Wallace for 7. Scotty was run out for 0 and Sutha CnB for 3 and the wheels had started to come off. Gowtham (38) and Ash pushed the score up to 67 before Gowtham was caught at deep square leg - having unfortunantly picked out the fielder beautifully. Ash and Sicknote nudged us up to 88 before Ash (28) was caught behind and Sicknote's nightmare trot continued when bowled for 6. When OMH (10), Tom (2) and JNB (0) had departed we were on the cusp of a real twatting at 104-9. Westy had damaged a finger keeping so was batting at 11 to join Nasty but as we know by now Mufs' batting order can quite often reverse itself quite merrily at times. The mission was to salvage as many points and as much pride as possible. Mission impossible to secure maximum batting points? Who needs Tom Cruise though.
Heriots helped us with our points chase by initially setting utterly ridiculous fields to Chris to start with - e.g. 5 slips (they were quite frankly taking the piss and showing no sporting respect - ok guys you have some talent but lose the cockyness and disrepect for your opponent eh?). Nasty (52 not) and Chris (50) batted splendidly to frustrate the home side, putting away the bad ball and rotating the strike superbly in a Club record breaking 128 10th wicket stand off 17.5 overs that also featured a comical double-overthrow 7, yes SEVEN ! When Chris was finally bowled we had posted a creditable 232 (not that bad for a "shite" team - to quote R More), and 9 handy points salvaged from this defeat.
Link to MDCC1 v Heriots 2 scorecard
Picture courtesy of Adam of the scores on the doors of that Stand.
Ones hit a Grange 2s team hitting top gear in their chase of Glenrothes and the League Title. Grange batted first and posted 227-8 (we did well to restrict them to that after they had passed 100 only one down) with Bryan Robinson hitting 63 and Darryl McCoy 44. We spilled a few chances and generally Mufs fielding was not of the requisite high standard on a slighty tricky outfield. Bowling figures: Keith 8-0-33-2; Norman Allan 10-1-35-1, Adam 10-1-53-1, Akshay a fine spell again of 10-1-22-1, Tom 8-0-34-2 (struck back really well after shipping plenty in first over), Sutha 2-0-20-0 and JNB 2-0-24-1 both suffered in the final stages willow-throwing. 227 would be a challenging total- could have been worse but could have been better if chances taken.
Another fine tea from Big Frank - but the humidity saw more than the usual pile of pies and cake left over (don't worry we ate them later!!). Then down to business. After a lovely crisp cut for 4 first ball Danny's Ones debut was cut short by Sullivan for 5, and Gowtham spanked a few beautifully but pulled one straight up and was gone for 22. OMH was bowled for 5 before Sicknote, having battled away to 12 and just looking though some form might return was harshy given out caught behind off a bump ball. 46 for 4 saw the ship start to sink in the face of accurate bowling from Grange. Ash 22 with JNB steadied us before Ash departed with score on 70, off what was suspiciously looking like a no-ball for the second week running.
Now we were simply chasing priceless points but having wagged reliably many times this year the tail refused to twitch this time as Grange blew our lower order away - Tom LBW for a duck, Adam shouldered arms for 6, Sutha unwisely hit out to be caught for 1, Keith tried to repeat the glory of last week a bit too early and was bowled for 2. Norman clubbed a boundary but fell soon after to see us fall 6 short of a priceless extra point on 94. Did we not learn the lesson of last year? With Fauldhouse winning off last ball with 9 down v HX and Cramond beating Marchmont, Mufs - close to going 4th or 5th just a couple of weeks back, now find themselves only above Marchmont and in trouble again. We must win two out the next three to dig ourselves out of this hole again. We have done it once - so no reason why we can't again.
Link to MDCC1 v Grange 2 scorecard
Back to Top of PageOne's faced old chums Holy Cross at the Arboretum seeking that vital win to drag oursleves out of the drop zone again. Agonisingly it wasn't to be but we took it so close. 11 runs short chasing 222, 15 balls left. Painful. We fielded poorly overall - and the overthrow runs we gifted away with optimistic shies at stumps and the costly fumbles should haunt us with such a close margin in the end. Charlie (72) and The Beard (64 not) did the damage with the bat. Tom was top Mufs bowler with 10-0-44-2, mention also to Rich's fine spell of 10-3-23-1 and a vital scalp of Charlie for the Beast.
Now to the chase, fuelled by tea-time assortment of pizzas and strawberries. Gowtham smashed Charlie for six off his first ball but perished three balls later trying to do it again - fine running catch by Mr Hill in the deep. Sicknote dug in to see off The Beard, and with job done then agonising chipped one straight back to Shammo for 11 to continue the Skipper's season-long torture with the bat in hand. Danny, who had agressively moved onto 41, departed soon after going for his shots. Rich (17) and Ash (30) took us past the ton and things were looking good as we were ahead of the rate. But Biswas sneaked one past the Beast's defences and now the game was evenly poised at 107-4. Then another body-blow, Ash looking in fine fettle pushes one back to Hill to depart for 30 with the score on 133. Not long after we were 139-6 as Phil drags a drive back onto his stumps for 16. Enter Tom and Westy - and again we pulled ourselves back into the game to reach 171 - but again body blows to our cause as they depart on 171 and 174 to Bonfield and Ellis respectively - Tom 12 and Chris 18. Scotty gives us hope again with some fine drives but is bowled by Robertson for 12. Last wicket pair now Sutha and Nasty. 188 on the board. 35 required off 30 balls. Can we pull it off? A flurry of boundaries and suddenly we have it down to 11 of 15 balls and HX are rattled. Sadly for us one big shot too many is attempted and Sutha is caught behind and/or stumped off Charlie and we have fallen short. Credit to the boys for getting us close - just a real shame we couldn't quite make it over the line - one batsman had to go on from the starts we all had made. We would trade that crushing CS Trophy win for a League win over Cross and looking back, two League games where maybe we didn't play as good as cricket as Cross overall in them but we could have won both.
So 10 points were salvaged. Fauldhouse lost too with 9 points at Watsonians and are just marginally ahead of us on percentage. Next week's clash at Fauldhouse assumes mammothly monstrous proportions in our battle to maintain top-flight status and a chance to pit our cricketing wits against Charlie and The Beard and Co next season.
Link to MDCC1 v HX1 scorecard
Link to Unoffical ESCA League Tables for Divisions 1,4 and 7 Tables .
Back to Top of PageThe rain on Friday meant that the game was called off by our hosts - much to everyones frustration as this would have been a vital basement battle. Cramond did play and were defeated by Watsonians - taking 7 points from the game to sit 5 points above us with same number of games played. Fauldhouse are effectively 2 points above us. A defeat of Glenrothes next week will assure ourselves of Div 1 status.
Back to Top of PageAnd so it came to pass that on this day, the 26th day of August in the year 2006 of our Lord, that the First Division destiny of Mufs Ones would be decided. No weather was going to get in our way this time, nor any divine intervention. Our survival lay in the hands of men with stout hearts and unquenchable spirit. We simply could not lose - though were pitched against a strong opponent, albeit short of some key personnel, with plenty to play for themselves - a league title.
A toss in our favour and an opposition inserted - advantage Mufs perhaps.
Nasty opens up and an immediate breakthrough - the dangerous Hopcroft bowled 5th ball. The Beast bowls with great intensity at Madiseng and a maiden passes. Morrison is tempted by Nasty next over and Ash takes a sharp catch to send the Glens No.3 on his way for a duck. Glens try to dig in against this opening intense assault, only 16 off the opening 10 overs. Into the 11th over and a vital wicket for Mufs as Madiseng is lured into chipping up straight to JNB at mid on to give Nasty his 3rd wicket. Next over Sorrell strikes - having conceded only a single off his previous 5 overs, Rich bowls Lewis for 4, and a wicket maiden. Glens 17-4 off 12 overs. Mufs sensed a kill. But Muir and Skipper Donaldson dig in and begin the Fifers fight back. Tom bowls tidly for 5 overs conceding just 10. But Ash cannot spin his magic this time. Up to the 32nd over and now Glens had reached a steadier 81 for 4. But Phil Rogers has a competitive streak that is hard to match. Finally Muir is bowled for 28, then Scotty has Donaldson caught by Rich for 31. Phildo runs though the lower order as Sim (0), Neil (3) and Ross (0) fall to our Saintly one. Now Glens are 84 for 9. But we can't force the kill as M Boyd (no relation) and Morris swing the bat. We miss vital chances. This partnership is really starting to hurt us, like our "tail" has done unto others on many occasions. 39 runs have been put on by the Glens last pair before Adam returns to bowl Morris for 17, leaving his partner Boyd not out on 22, and the target now a much trickier 123.
As if sensing that we may be less inclined to feast heavily at this tea-time, the final Muirhouse tea of the season was a more spartan affair than normal, but still more than adequate - our thanks to Big Frank for his magnificent teas all summer.
A half-time phone call from Roseburn from DJ of Fauldhouse has provided us the news that it is definitely win or bust. Points will be no use as Fauldhouse have set Cramond a total of 179.
Out strode Sicknote and Gowtham. Would runs at last spring from the Skipper's bat in some form of Biblical miracle at this final, most needy hour? No. The cricketing Gods still held no favour for the Sussexman and he departed, inside edged off his thighpad to silly point for a single. Seasonus Horriblis complete. Mufs heart sank further as the talismanic Gowtham was caught behind for 9 (including one six) and now Mufs were 11 for 2. Rich smote two boundaries before fending one to slip to depart for 8; and when the fighting Monty caught again by Madiseng at slip also for 8. Glen's Neil and Lewis now with 2 wickets apiece. Mufs wobbling at 41-4. The wobble turned to tottering on the edge of the abyss as Ash is caught behind off the paceman Madiseng who then bags Baikie CnB. 56 for 7 - now that last wicket Glens partnership is really hurting us as 123 looks a long way off now. Mufs needed some heroics. Heroes they got. Claypole and Tom dig in for victory- and we really mean dig in. Over upon over passes - but Glens shall not pass. The runs dry up bar Mr Extras. 31 balls pass before Tom cuts into the deep for 3. Claypole starts finding runs at the other end - now its paddle and sweep in the quest for victory.
We have dragged ourselves to 82 before Tom is bowled by the lanky Boyd in his first ball of his second spell. Are Mufs fatally wounded? 90 would be been nicer to chase at this point. But we have quality batsman to come Adam, OMH and Nasty yet. So out strode Adam, a man that goes about his business quietly perhaps, but an aggressive stroke-maker with the bat. Target to win 42 . The Ultimate Answer to the Ultimate Question? What was our answer. Victory. The boundaries began to be found and the target dropped away until finally, with the tin-shack bursting with emotion, Adam smote the winning boundary to long-on and we were there. The umpiring Sicknote fell to his knees in joy and relief (and typically managed to injure an old wound again) . Gowtham flew out across the boundary to embrace our batting heroes. Bear-hugs were flung all around (must apologise for manically hugging Mike, Glens skipper, like a long lost brother!) and unashamedly one or two tears or relief shod. Mufs had done it. Phil Rogers a magnificent, heroic, battling 39 not from 116 deliveries and Adam Scott a priceless brisk 25 not. We were safe and proudly will return to the top flight of ESCA again. Now it was left to Cramond and Fauldhouse to cut each other's throats at Roseburn. That is was Fauldhouse who fell seemed to cheer up the Fifers. Thanks to them for the excellent spirit in the game and afterwards in the bar.
And so it ends for another year. A creditable 7th - and the first time (so I have been told) for a long time that the club (in its previous forms) has retained it's top flight status. Not bad for a "shite" team. A huge thank-you from me (and an apology for a rotten batting display this year!) to all the guys for your efforts this year. For never giving up, never giving in, and fighting for those precious points all the way, and plus the correct manner in which we play and umpire this wonderful game. Some other clubs that may have the greater "stars", but we have the greater spirit. Mufs are Staying Up.
Link to MDCC1 v Glenrothes1 scorecard
Link to Final 2006 Tables
Back to Top of PageMufs 2 take the honours with Skipper Gray leading the way with 61 with a good win at Pfeffermill. Report to follow (someone please write it!!)
Back to back victories achieved. Twos stars with the bat were Kidda (60 odd), Skipper Gray (another 60+ score for the wee man) and Sutha 40 odd as Twos post over 200 at Muirhouse. Martin Ward finished top bowler with 3 wickets as a comfortable win was earnt..
On Sunday at Muirhouse, Mufs 2s lost to Watsonians 3s. Sonians posted 180-8 with John Baikie top Mufs bowler with 4 wickets for 27 off his 10 overs. Tony, Paul, Tom and Sutha also each claimed 1 wicket apiece. In reply Mufs were never really in the hunt as only Sutha (33), an entertaining late flourish from Tony (22), and Tom Wheeler (11) made double figures, as Mufs were bowled out for 107 in 36.2 overs.
Rained off.
Stuart "Daddy" Coull writes...
Without a victory in over a month and relegation becoming a real possibility, the MUFS II's arrived at Kirkbrae knowing that nothing less than 20 points would do, as a win would see us move above Boroughmuir and edge closer to safety. The day started well with Wardy winning the toss, and choosing to put the oppo in on what looked to be a track that would offer plenty of encouragement for MUFS' battery of quicks.
The game began in usual fashion, namely Wardy having to leave the field to retrieve something he had forgotten, in this case the match ball, generally considered quite important in this funny game of ours. Once this minor detail had been addressed our opening pair of Tony and Norm once again got our fielding effort off to the best possible start. Typically miserly and testing spells from both pegged Boroughmuir back to not much more than 50 off the first 20 overs. Both bowled some unplayable deliveries, with Norm in particuar unlucky not to have added a couple of more scalps to his tally, passing the outside edge by a whisker on a number of occassions and falling victim to the only dropped catch of the innings which saw one of the better fielding efforts put in by the 2nd team this season with some very good catches by Wardy at short leg, 2 for Lindsay in the covers and and even a direct hit run out by, yup you guessed it, Ali "Uncle Albert" Amjid. Swift across the turf, one handed pick up, stady, set and threw down the stumps with unnering accuracy. Some onlookers (well, Graham) were unkind enough to suggest that the ball had hit the ground so hard that the vibrations knocked the bail off rather than the ball hitting the stumps, and while there might be some truth in that theory given the age it took for the bail to topple, Ali assures us that it was run out waiting to happen as soon as the ball left the bat.
Tony's final figures read 10-6-20-1 while Norm's analysis was 10-3-20-2. Fantastic stuff from both prompting calls for the restriction on overs per bowler to be lifted or at least put back to 15. Alas rules are rules and Stuart Coull (not Simon Mr Editor) and Nadeem Amjid were charged with continuing the good work. Well one of them did at least as Nadeem immediately settled into a good line an dlength, moving the ball away from he batsmen with a bit of zip and finishing with 2 wickets for 15 runs off 7 excellent overs, one with a superb catch by Sasid behind the stumps who put in a fine display of glovework during the afternoon finishing with 2 catches. At the other end Coullio found himself being punished for a slighty erratic line and length by a free swinging hard hitting number 7 finishing with 1 wicket for 28 off just 5 overs. But oh, what a wicket. 14 year old bowled leg stump whilst jumping out of the way. Back to the shed sonny!!!
So, 83-7 (give or take, i can't remember exactly) and time for "Golden Arm" skipper El Wardio to finish things off. A wicket in his first over removed the dangerous left arm swinger* before he took us to within one wicket of victory 2 overs later. The final wicket was to fall to Ali "Deadeye" Amjid as father replaced son at the picturesque Arthur's Seat End. Just 3 balls was all it took for "Bowling" Ali to warp up proceedings, again aidd by a fine catch being the sticks from Sasid.
110 all out Boroughmuir, an excellent performance in the field and with the ball, although we had perhaps let them get 15 or 20 runs more than they should have given the start we had.
**TEA**
"Its not time to make a change,Father and Son strode to the wicket for MUFS assault on Nelson and with the instruction to break the chase into targets of 10 was adhered to as Nadeem ot six of them and Ali got one of them to put the game out of Boroughmuir's reach in only 10 overs. Cameras were at the ready to snap the scoreboard as MUFS raced to 71-0 off 10 overs, surpassing all previous run rate records for a Murrayfield 2nd team. Ali played the anchor role for a 40 something ball 10, while junior played some wonderful crisp cricket shots racing to 50 off 32 balls and eventually reaching 60 off not any more (scorer lost count after 32 whilst fumbling for his cigarettes). By the time Ali departed the score was 79-1 after 11 overs and Chris "Bill Frindall" Watling strode out to finish things off.
Nadeem perished on exactly 60, which brought Lindsay to the crease for a quickfire 9 before he was bowled, for which this correspondent would (and quite vociferously did) blame Sasid. With the assistance of Mr X Turah our score at this stage was 100+ and VC decided it was time to remove the pads, despite the protestations of the scorer. Sure enough, no sooner had Mr Sassi's box hit the kit bag, than crash, bang, wallop, timber was sent flying and mini panc set in. Thankfully there were no more wobbles and we cruised to 114-3 with Chris finishing 10 not out and Graham Watson 4*
A well deserved and much needed win for the MUFS with the man of the match trophy going back to the Amjid household courtesy of Nadeem for a fine spell of bowling and a match winning 60 with the bat. More of the same this week lads.
*Any resemblance to any SSP politicians, alive or dead, is purely coincidental and should not be used as grounds for another long winded, farcical law suit.
Quick note from Vesty of our game that had to be switched from Muirhouse...
P.V. 271-7 50 overs
D. Russell 74, S. Ramzan (talented teenager) 52, S. Russell 34*. The Russells were previously with HC.
Lindsay 9-0-52-3MUFS2 234ao from 49.4 overs. Ali 41, Matt 30, Lindsay 29, Norm A 27*, Edwin 19. A team effort with the bat with no exceptional scores, but equally no ducks and only three men in single figures!
The arty there is reasonable offering some help for the bowlers, but little margin of error. Short boundaries and a perilous out field made scoring quick, but we were just flat when fielding, and should have restricted them to less. But 200+ in reply is very heartening, and showed great grit and character when this season we have been very ready to crumble.
A loss - match report at this link to Fauldhouse match report.
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El Presidente once again starred with the ball as his 3-15 and Nick Hill's 3-24 helped dismiss Edinburgh CC for 87. Mufs 3s win by 8 wickets with Scott Taylor on 33 not. Link to ECC3 match report
Threes were defeated at Livingston. Livy 2s posted 292-5 and Mufs 3s 152-9 with Chris Phillips making a debut half-century posting 54. Link to Livy2 match report
Rained off.
Link to Cramond 2 match report
Link to Dunbar match report
Link to Cask and Barrel match report
Link to Holy Cross 3 match report
Link to Clackmannan County match report
Peebles unfortunantly could not raise a team for tonight's Masterton game so Mufs move through to the next round.
A Mufs IX took on the National League might of West Lothian in the Masterton and instead of any giant killing, Goliath well and truly despatched David. We didn't help ourselves by playing poorly but were up against it with much of the normal 1st XI missing (though most were available for our intended preferred Tues fixture... grrrr) plus one player calling off just before the start due to a work crisis (ok -excusable perhaps) and another player (and not a newbie) apparently not even knowing where our main home ground is and being unable to come down at all. Yes it beggars belief as an excuse (we have been merged for what 6 years now??) and made us look like a bunch of fools. For the record a Mufs IX was bowled out for 29 but some pride salvaged as two scalps claimed for Nasty Keith as West Lothian quickly won by 8 wickets. Shame none of them considered staying for a post match beer given we all had some time on our hands. We had a couple nonetheless..
Mufs crashed out of the Parks Trophy after being defeated by old foe Maccabi who exacted revenege on Mufs for the Cup final defeat two years ago. Mufs posted an under-par 89, with Andy Lacey and Phil Rogers top scorers with 22 and 20 respectively and the wiley old fox, Gus McClean destroyer in chief with 5-0-14-3. Maccabi won in the final over with Adams 48 not out but should have been. Enough said.
We all said it at the end... why can't we do this on Saturdays? Hopefully an excellent victory over Holy Cross by 178 runs in the Cricket Scotland Trophy will kick start our batting in the League.
Mufs were invited to bat on a Muirouse wicket that played pretty true for a change. Mufs started solidly with Sicknote just about rediscovering the right way of holding a bat etc at last as he and Gowtham put on 43 for the first wicket before the Great Bearded One induced an edge from the skipper's bat. Then it was the Gowtham and Akshay show as they put on 95 for the second wicket before Ash fell for 47. Gowtham blazed on supported by Phil with 12, but fell tantalisingly short of his century - caught right on the boundary by Shannon on 97. A magnificent knock with 14 boundaries. Adam gave the innings a late boost with 24 not to see us to 250 off our 50 overs. Shannon and Charlie bowled well for their two wickets apiece.
We turned straight round as we were having a late tea at 5pm so we (or the English supporters at least) could add chewed fingernails to the pie, cake and sandwich spread that, while adequate, was not quite up to the heights of tea-heaven of late. By tea Holy Cross were already one down, the messiah looking Gallagher sharply caught by Gowtham at gully off Nasty. Shortly after tea, Sicknote got revenge on Bonfield (7) with a good running over the shoulder catch to give Mel his obligatory One-for. Then Old Mother takes a blinder of a twisting, diving catch to dismiss the dogged left-hander Hodgskin off Akshay for 13. Next Claypole finally gets his man as with a smart CnB he takes the prized scalp of Charlie Ellis for 8. Phil next has Keith Fraser (7) caught by OMH. Akshay weighs in with a CnB to claim Cydzik (1); Phil bowls Hill for a duck and now Holy Cross were still over 200 short with only 3 wickets left. 3 became 2 as Adam traps Pickering LBW for 6. Enter Mr McGill who strikes two fours in two balls but perishes in a run out. Finally Lawrie is dismissed for a duck, caught by Phil off Tom and Holy Cross have all fallen for 72.
Excellent bowling and fielding again by Mufs - some vital catches held. Bowling stats Mel 7-0-18-1, Nasty 5-1-10-1, Akshay 10-2-15-2, Phil 7-5-5-3, Adam 2-0-18-1, Tom 0.2-0-0-1. And like England, Mufs advance into the quarter finals. Hurrah.
Link to MDCC v Holy Cross scorecard
Please find a "must-read" alternative MDCC v Holy Cross CS Trophy match report here from Nasty - this man is a nutter...
Good work-out to shed the rust for Mufs but the students were the sharper on the day (despite their hangovers) - links to El Vestio photos and match report follow... Mufs v SUCC photos and Match Report..
A Mufs XI led by Andy Cook were defeated by 3 wickets on the artificial by Stirling University 2s. Mufs posted 126 ao with Nick Hill hitting 36 and Skipper Andy Cook 25 - top dog for the students was Craig Robson with 4-20. SUCC with a fine 35 n.o. by S Hopper held off Mufs; top Mufs bowling figures JNB with 2-24 and Martin Ward 2-20.
A Mufs XI took on a strong Galashiels team on Sunday down in the borders. An enjoyable day out was apparently had though a bit too much leather chasing in a hefty loss. El Presidente continues his purple patch of form - this time with 23 not with the bat. Details available at this link to scorecard.
Rained off - real shame as lovely ground to visit.
Mufs travelled to Boghall, Linlithgow on Sunday to take on a West Lothian XI in a Sunday friendly match. Mufs posted 121 off 38.1 overs with Gowtham Rai the mainstay of our innings with a very fine 56, P.Yelly ably supporting The Leopard with 22 and Westy 13. Our hosts, semi-cheered and semi-booed by the loyalty torn Mr Ritchie, reached their target with Edwards (28), Gurr (19) and Smith (38) seeing them homeoff 32.2 overs. Mufs bowlers used were Wardy (5-0-27-0), Brownio (8-3-20-0), Amjid (5-2-14-2), Rai (4-2-13-1), Mr Belly (4-1-10-1), Young Yelly (4-0-27-2), Not So Young Yelly (1.2-0-10-0). Smashing ground to play at and jolly nice hosts.
Well its games like these that just re-inforce one's love affair with this crazy game called cricket. A Sunday friendly at Berwick, played with enough competitiveness to make it meaningful, finished in dramatic fashion as Mufs staged a late fight back to almost snatch a win but in the end secured a tie and a fair result all round. Mufs batted first and posted 139 with Gowtham again displaying Mufs Sunday Best with 43 including a towering six, after sharing a careful opening stand with Mr Belly who scored his second 16 of the weekend. The Judge weighed in with 17 and the Donimator with a dogged 10 before some late scampering from the worse-for-wear Daybus with 15 and Vesty with 7 not gave the innings a late shot of momentum. For the opposition, slow bowling was the main threat and N.Hush silenced the Mufs middle order with a spell of 5-32.
The Berwick young openers started well and were well up with the rate as the Mufs opening attack of Lord Nelson-Broon (4-0-17-0) and Sasid (5-0-12-0) were unable to penetrate. Ali achieved a break through aided by fine low catch by Mr Belly and found new energy in his 5-0-16-1, Vesty took some caning with 32 coming off his 5 overs but he took a vital Berwick scalp - another fine low diving swoop by Belly to remove the dangerous Berwick opener. Gowtham kept his end water-tight in a six over spell that yielded one wicket for only 9 runs, but Young Yelly was not offered the protection he needed and was shedding runs alarmingly. But the game began to turn and Berwick start losing wickets with Sasi taking two stumpings off Neil. All of a sudden thanks to a Young Yelly-Belly combination to remove the Berwick skipper, they are needing 2 to win and only one wicket remains. The number 11 heaves it to midwicket at catchable height, the chance of victory is spilled unfortunantly by Ward, snr and a scampered single sees the scores level. Young Yelly now with figures of 7-0-37-4. Then in the final twisting act of drama, up trundles Mr Belly for the first ball of the next over, the ball is fended away and a leaping Westy just scoops up the chance at silly point to ensure a tie is the result. How Mufs celebrated in joy. A great game, lovely venue and great hosts. Can't wait till next year's visit.
Mufs trip to Doune was rained off.
D.C. 181-9 from 40 overs J. Davidson (13y.o.!) 59, Ahmed (pro) 42, Tom Gibson 23*
'Baywatch Belly' 3-1-6-2
'Nasty' 8-1-20-2
'Donasaurous Rex' 4-0-19-1 (but 3 dropped!)
The Real Belly 5-1-22-1 or something like that.
MUFS 137ao from 29.4 overs
Arnav 53 (first double-fig score for the Club! - 6x4s 66m 49b), Danny 32 (3x4s 44b), Gowtham 19
Ahmed 8-2-21-3Collapso cricket from us, losing 7-11 at the end, despite bring up the 50 off 11.3 overs and 100 at 19.4 overs.
Rain forced the abandonment early on of the match and visits to the pub and chippy instead.
On Sunday we made the long trek to the Isle of Arran to take on Sannox CC.
Despite some rain interuption, we managed to play the whole game. Batting first, Mufs started slowly but steadily, Ali 'Mr Miyagi' Amjid and Gowtham 'One-Eye' Rai taking 16 overs to put on 50 runs. Ali fell shortly after for 10 from 40 balls, for an opening partnership of 65 in exactly an hour. Monster then helped 'Bullseye' add a further 54 runs, before falling for 7 (30 balls) lbw to Brooks with the score on 121. Gowtham was bowled by Brooks for a magnificent 93 from just 90 balls in 93 mins featuring 11 x 4s and 4 x 6s. His 50 came up from 69 balls, so the next 43 runs were hit from just 21 deliveries!
Sasid and a very hungover ("tired" - web-ed) Shielsy made useful contributions of 13 and 19, and Phil Yelland finished on 20* hitting 2 x 4s and 1 x 6. The Mufs tail failed to get to grips with the wicket while going for quick runs, losing 4 wickets in the final 5 overs.
Mufs finished with an above-par score of 180 for 9 from their 40 overs. Top Sannox bowlers were J. May with 8-0-28-4 and A. Brooks 8-0-30-2.
Sannox's reply was hampered thanks to some tight bowling from the Mufs opening attack of Nasty and Vesty, with Vesty and Sasid combining to take the first wicket in just the 3rd over with a runout, and again to dismiss the other opener with a Sasid taking a good one-handed catch at the wicket from an edge. After 8 overs, Sannox were 10/2, and Shielsy and 'Jim Bowen' kept up the pressure with Belly getting the 3rd wicket, before the two spinners Adeel and Neil Yelland were introduced to bowl in tandem. Adeel had the most success, finishing with figures of 4-26, though Neil bowled equally well for 1-27. Ali and Monster took a wicket apiece.
A measure of the tightness of the Mufs bowling, and the aggression of our batting, is that Sannox only managed 1 maiden in 40 overs, whereas Mufs bowled 8 maidens in 31 overs. Mufs hit 18 x 4s and 5 x 6s in total, but Sannox only hit 5 boundaries.
Sannox were all out for 77 from 31.1 overs, Mufs winning by 103 runs.
Thanks to Sannox for their hospitality, and to travelling supporters Mrs Leopard and Mrs Monster.
And thanks to the chippy next to the Ferry.... as this crew would testify below...
Mufs batting
1 M. Ali Amjid ct & b 10F.O.W. - 1/65 2/121 3/122 4/155 5/155 6/158 7/164 8/165 9/171
Mufs bowling
K. Lawrence 4 3 3 0
M. Ward 4 1 7 1
I. Shiels 4 2 4 1
G. Rai 2 0 4 0
Adeel Raza 8 0 26 4
N. Yelland 8 1 27 1
M. Ali Amjid 2 1 1 1
A. Cook 0.1 0 0 1
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Another good work out to shed the rust and get some practice on grass as a Mufs Midweek XI took on Scottish Widows at Inch Park. Mufs posted 117 off 16 overs with Jaya 42 (retired to let others have a bash) and JNB 21 unbeaten, starring. Ash looked good for his 18 too.
Widows played their midweek cricket with a little more cut-throat competitiveness than we were displaying. With an aggressive 72 from R Hannan (out, not retired!) Widows just inched (sorry) past our score in the last over. Some dubious ball-counting (three 7 ball overs!) did not help our cause. Mel Clench bowled exceeding well, Kanwar took 3 wickets but was expensive, the rest of the bowling just wasn't that clever on the day. Not helped by skipper (with mind elsewhere really -sorry chaps) dropping a sitter too.
Wednesday saw a welcome return to action after all this rain as Mufs, lead by ruthless new midweek skipper, Nasty Keith, laid seige to Merchiston Castle. In a stroke of captaincy genius, Nasty elects to bat first, and Mufs post 113-4 off 20 overs with chief battering rams being: JNB retired on 29, Bicycle Towns retired on 26 (three sixes), Adam Scott n.o. 23, and Westy a patient 10.
With the Merchiston Castle ramparts now softened up, Nasty unleashes the Highlander fury of JNB and Stormin Norman to breach the outer defences - JNB roars to 4-0-11-3 and Stormin 4-0-19-1. However, the Merchiston defenders counter-charge as Ali "The Judge" is put to the sword but still claims a victim in his two overs for 18. Resplendent in his chain-mail vest, El Ward reaps 2-0-7-1; Adam wayward at first with his opening shots, tightens up to bowl 3-0-16-0.
In a tactical masterstroke the Mufs Chieftain decides that the best bet to end the spirited Merchiston resistence is to starve out the defenders. So Nasty deprives the Castle of runs in a stingy 3-1-6-0 spell before unleashing Mr Belly to batter another hole in the defences as El 'Note claims 1-0-5-1. Finally the Donimator is thrown into the mix, cruelly deprived of a wicket, but a final over tally of 12 runs is 11 short of victory for the Castle staff and students. After the contest, Mufs indulged in the traditional feasting on sarnies and beer laid on by our hosts in the Staff Room for which many thanks to Stephen and his crew.
Mufs defeated Morton at the Meadows by 20 odd runs - that's all the details I have! Report anyone? Those (nine!) of us getting mashed at Muirhouse v West Lothian in the Cup probably wished we were in the Meadows instead that night.
The Botanicals emerged triumphant from the Wednesday night titanic clash with Mufs and win the Muirhouse Challenge Cup (also known as the Chastity Belt challenge). Still waiting on a report from winning skipper Dr Watson.
Mufs emerged victorious from the friendly clash with local rivals Holy Cross at the Arboretum. HX batted first and posted 125 from 20 overs with Sutha and Kanwar bowling well on a skiddy surface to put the halts on the Cross. In reply Mufs started strongly with both openers Danny Abraham and Akshay Kulkarni (inspired perhaps by his watching Mother) retiring on 33, Danny blazing to retirement in fine style with 2 sixes. Mufs cruised to victory with 2 overs spare and then retired to the other Berts for post match refreshment with McGill and Co. A fine night and a fine game of friendly midweek cricket.
Mufs travelled across town to play Kirkbrae in a midweek friendly at Double Hedges, Liberton on an interesting wicket and lightning quick outfield. The hosts, a little short staffed, came out blazing with the bat at over a run a ball, but Tom with 4 wickets for 7 off 2.5 overs halts the charge and a rapid 62 all out off 10 overs is what The Badgers of Kirkbrae set Mufs (set? geddit??? oh dear). Danny had earlier taken 2 wickets in 2 balls to finish with 3-1-2-8, and Sutha also was amongst the wickets with 3-0-23-1 and Shazad 2-1-7-0 the only other bowler used. The Mufs reply evens up the match as they slump to 8-4 (shades of a Livy chase here) with Graham Watson 6, Anderson Jeremiah 1, Adam Scott 0, Neil Yelland 0 departing in a flurry; then we lose Skipper Nasty (5) and Adam Lacey 9. But Mr Belly with 27 not grinds us home with some late support from Tom Wheeler (9 not) with 5.2 overs and 4 wickets to spare in the end.
A report from Nasty.... Tuesday saw another crushing victory for the Most Successful Team in the Club (TM). Special mention goes to Gowtham "The Talisman" Rai and Danny "The Champion of the World" Abraham for their splendid unbeaten 50s. Nadeem (16*) and Scott Taylor (15*) then picked up the baton to carry us to an imposing total of 160-2 from 20 overs. Which in truth, could have been 200, if anyone could have been bothered to do any running between the wickets! Even Maccabi’s famously stingy Mr Gus could only manage 0-29 from his 4 overs.
Our boys showed him how it should be done, with 7 different bowlers taking wickets, including a scalp for Dominic Curran with his debut delivery (following in the footsteps of Shane Warne there, Dom) and a blistering opening spell of pace from The Doninator. There were also rare bowling outings for Scott "a wicket every 3 balls" Taylor and a new spin option provided by The Talisman, plus the rather more debateable spinning talents of yours truly. Chuck in 2 memorable caught & bowled chances taken by Gowth & Lardo, some fine wicket-keeping from Andy Lacey and some less impressive ground fielding by some of us who will remain nameless , and it all added up to a big, shiny saucepan full of sporting talent that Maccabi simply had no answer to, as they melted into a steaming 101 run defeat.
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