Young Scots on a roll
Scotland U19s 259 for 10 (47.3 overs); Heriot’s 243 for 8 (50 overs)
Scotland U19s travel to play champions Grange this Sunday, trying to make it three victories in a row after two good wins against Ayr and Heriot’s. After their defeat last year, Grange will be looking to make amends and, weather permitting, this should be a high-scoring, entertaining match.
Scotland U19s will field the same team, still missing Mathew Parker, who is away on Saltires duty, and the injured Hairs, Bremner and Brock.
The youngsters made it two wins in a row with an all-round workmanlike performance against Heriot’s, wining by 16 runs in a high-scoring match. Scotland won the toss and decided to bat first on a bright sunny day but with a cold breeze, not a day for standing about. The pitch and outfield were dry and hard - no-one had seen Goldenacre so dry at this time of the year, so it was a good toss to win.
The U19s got off to a bad start and were soon 14 for three, the two openers Freddie Coleman and Calum Howard going cheaply and Craig Wallace first ball by the sixth over.
Ewan Chalmers kept one end intact while Marc Petrie (right), coming to the wicket at number 5, played with refreshing freedom, hitting controlled shots to all parts of the ground. Petrie and Chalmers quickly put on a partnership of 104, Petrie the main contributor, scoring 69 in 55 balls.
Calvin Burnett (52 of 59 balls) kept the momentum going and, when Chalmers was out for 39, Aman Bailwal (50 from 71 balls) joined Burnett to add a further partnership of 90, again in quick time.
The one disappointing part of the innings was that the tail did not wag and there were still 15 balls remaining. Summing-up: a bad start, which can happen in cricket, excellent middle, two good partnerships and three 50+ all in good time, and then a very poor end.
This would have been a good match for Heriot’s to win, with a decent score to chase, but in the end the club came up 16 runs short. The U19 bowlers kept chipping away, nothing spectacular. And when first Farrell (37) then Knox (51) went, the cracks began to appear. McIntyre (44) and Edlington (39) put together a match-winning partnership near the end, but when Edlington then McIntyre went that ended any chance of winning.
The best bowling for the U19s was Willie Rowan's 2 for 31 off 10overs.
Scotland U19s new season record now stands at played 3 won 2, and are showing those who wish to see that the next generation of top young cricketers is already measuring up to the best club sides in the country.
Report by Ron Fleming
