Weekend Sport Sat 13th April – Season’s Opener for Cricket Club

Stewart’s Melville CC     140 all out;    Stewart’s Melville College 1st XI     132 all out.

The Club prevailed in a match of fluctuating fortunes to win the traditional Season’s opener by 8 runs after scoring 140 off 36.1 overs.

It was agreed to play a 40 overs a side match with 12 players in each side, no more than 11 fielding at any time. SMCC batted first in sunny but cold conditions. The bulk of the 140 runs scored came from new recruit Ben Wilkinson (39), this year’s cricket gap student from Australia, Sam Langley (21) and 2018 school leaver Chris Hill (32). In reply, Harry Johnstone opening the batting for SMC was the only bat in the top half to make double figures with a solid 30 in 56 minutes including three 4s as the school side struggled to 52 for 7 after 21 overs. A recovery by Mario Mercantonio (27) and Cameron Ede (30) batting 8 and 9 took the school side to within sight of victory and needing only 11 runs to win with two wickets and seven overs left. At that point Sam Langley back for a second spell grabbed the final two wickets and the win finishing with 5 for 19. Asad Amir, recruited from Edinburgh Accies took 3 for 13 off 5 overs in his first match for the club. Cameron Ede 4 for 17 off 6.1 overs and Sam Tait 2 for 15 off 8 overs were the best of the school’s bowlers.

The match ball sponsor for the day was former Principal, David Gray, who continues to take an interest in the club’s activities from afar.

Next Saturday sees the club’s 1st and 2nd XIs travel to New Williamfield to take on Stiring County in a double header of friendly matches.