1st XI v Grange for last match of the season

Cricket:    Grange  344 for four (50 overs);  Stewart’s Melville CC   154 for nine (50 Overs).   Lost by 180 runs.

The 2018 cricket season drew to a close for the club with a final league match against Grange, the new league champions, at Raeburn Place.   With ninth place secured a fortnight earlier the club had already retained their place in the Premier League for 2019.   In the event as anticipated Grange’s batting proved too strong for a Stew Mel bowling attack missing professional Shaylen Pillay who returned to South Africa earlier in the week, with Nick Farrar a very accomplished opening bat compiling a score of 120 for the home side supported by Tom Foulds (52) and Neil McCallum, a former Scottish international bat playing his last league match before retirement with 46.    Facing an unlikely target to win the Stew Mel batsmen were faced with aggressive seam bowling on a pitch that suited them from Graham Goudie and Stuart Davidson, another two former capped players.   20-4 suggested another early finish but Hayden Sweet dug in against the rest of the Grange attack to achieve a personal best for the season of 75 (from 86 balls)supported by Sam Tait who resolutely blocked out 117 balls in 98 minutes to finish with 13 not out and leave Grange still looking for the 10th wicket when play finished with the score on 154.   Although well beaten the lasting thought was that with the same approach to batting shown by Hayden and Sam in earlier games we might have finished with more than three league wins.

Rugby:    National League Cup.     Carrick     19 points     Stewart’s Melville RFC    41 points 

Maybole was the destination for the rugby club’s first competitive game of the season with a comfortable win being achieved which takes them into the second round of the National League Cup.

A full report is available on http://www.stewmelrugby.com

Golf:    Third place finish for Grant Forrest on European Challenge Tour Event

Grant Forrest showed a return to form with a 15 under par score of 273 (71,70, 66,66) and third place finish in the 40 man field for the Rolex Trophy in Geneva, one of the more significant events on the tour.   This takes Grant back up into seventh place in the tour rankings with the top 15 at the end of the season winning cards for the main European Tour.

Cricket:   The heavy showers which affected the East of Scotland on Saturday resulted in a complete washout of East Premier League fixtures.    Our 1st XIs match with Watsonians at Myreside was one of the last to be called off by the officiating umpires in mid afternoon after much hanging about and World Cup football watching.   The monotony was relieved by the splendid Myreside tea supplied by the catering division of Heart of Midlothian FC – even our teams Hibs supporters were seen going back for seconds.   The cancellation leaves the 1st XI in 8th place with two wins above Watsonians (one win) and Glenrothes (no wins).

Golf:  While the Word’s attention was focused on the US Open in New York our own Grant Forrest had another successful week on the European Challenge tour in France tieing for the lead after the regulation 72 holes of strokeplay.  Unfortunately he lost out in the play-off for the winners cheque at the third extra hole but the ranking points gained elevated him to 7th place where the top fifteen at the end of the season obtain playing privileges on the full European Tour.

Rugby: Scotland suffered a surprise defeat by USA in the second Test match of their Americas tour by the narrowest of margins 30-29.    The Stew Mel interest was provided by George Turner winning his 5th cap who started for the first time and added a further try to the three he scored v Canada last week.