The first nine weeks of the Eastern Premier League seem to have come and gone in a flash, but there has been some great cricket on show and everything is set up nicely for the next nine weeks.
Heriot’s, the defending champions, are top of the tree at the halfway point and this Saturday they are taking on bottom side Arbroath.
Week one of the campaign back in late April was one of the few so far that was hit by really bad weather, Heriot’s bowling Arbroath out for 143 at Lochlands that day before the rain came.
For the return clash at Goldenacre, Heriot’s will be looking to bounce back from their Scottish Cup quarter-final loss at Forfarshire last Sunday knowing that they did thump Falkland in the league the day before.
For this one Lloyd Brown’s men have Scotland seamer Gavin Main coming back into the side while Fraser Proud, Ryan Brown, James Hickman and former skipper Keith Morton also join the XI.
Arbroath are still looking for their first league win of 2022 and have Greg Peal, Jack Plomer, Matthew Salmond and Luke Hayes coming into their side.
RH Corstorphine are in second place after beating Arbroath last week and they are hosting third placed Gen!us Grange in a big match at Barnton.
Like Heriot’s, RH Corstorphine have been forced into a few changes with eight players unavailable, five of whom played last Saturday.
Umar Mohammed, Paul Cusick, Rex Hugill, Jamie Gibson and Finlay King come into the side this week for James Dickinson’s outfit.
Grange defeated Stewart’s Melville last week then saw their Cup last eight tie with Clydesdale abandoned due to the weather before a result could be confirmed on the Sunday.
Their XI is due to be confirmed on Friday.
It was a brilliant weekend for fourth placed Forfarshire last time out – a league win at Watsonians followed up by the aforementioned Cup triumph over Heriot’s – and they will look to keep up the momentum at home to Stoneywood Dyce.
Scotland all-rounder Michael Leask led the way with 240 runs in two games (78 and 162) and he is again in their side for this Forthill match.
They are unchanged from the XI that defeated Watsonians while fifth placed Stoneywood Dyce bring in Scotland women’s cap Ailsa Lister, Fraser Maclean, Sawan Kumar and Ryan Williams.
Stewart’s Melville are sixth and they will be looking to do the double over eighth placed Watsonians.
Both sides XIs for the Inverleith match are due to be confirmed on Friday while ‘Sonians will hope to have taken confidence from progressing to the Cup semi-finals last Sunday by seeing off Aberdeenshire at Mannofield.
Seventh placed Carlton host ninth placed Falkland at Grange Loan.
Angus Beattie and Fraser Burnett join the Carlton XI for this one with Logan Briggs coming in for the visiting team.
Saturday, July 2’s fixtures:
Forfarshire v Stoneywood Dyce (Forthill)
Carlton v Falkland (Grange Loan)
Heriot’s v Arbroath (Goldenacre)
RH Corstorphine v Gen!us Grange (Barnton)
Stewart’s Melville v Watsonians (Inverleith)
Forfarshire’s Michael Leask is pictured by Graham Gaw
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