Despite being unbeaten all week, it was a cruel finish for Carlton in the final match of Group C in this years ECL at the Cartama Oval, Malaga, Spain.
Having beaten Cluj earlier in the day to set up their place in the final, it was a long wait for the Carlton players as Olten, Brescia and Cluj all battled to grab the other spot in the final.
Put into bat, the Arrows started comfortably with 12 runs an over in each of the first two and by the midway point they were 62/1. McCann and Shah continued with a mix of singles and boundaries and at 93/1 after eight they would have been targeting a big finish.
The 9th over saw the momentum halt with McCann and Khan being dismissed in consecutive balls. Shah started the final over brilliantly with three consecutive boundaries and Burnett’s four to finish took them up to 118/3.
Brescia had shown glimpses of what they could do with the bat earlier in the week and it was Islam that took the fight to Carlton with a blistering spell hitting 26 in 7 balls. His partner Dulu contributed with 16 in three balls and after 4 overs Brescia were well ahead of the run rate on 69/1.
Despite the efforts of Beattie, Raza and Gupta, Brescia played with calmness maintaining their run rate and for the first time in the week, the wickets did not fall. Brescia continued to show composure and finished the match with a four, with eight balls remaining.
Although the Scots were the stand-out team of the week, it was not to be for Carlton and their first foray into Europe sadly came to an abrupt end. However, once they reflect on the week they will undoubtedly have many positives to take home to Edinburgh.
They have represented Scotland brilliantly during this week, made many friends and have left a huge impact on the European Cricket League.
