The University of Edinburgh Cricket Club (EUCC) have kicked off their season in style, winning five out of their seven games, across five different teams. The 1st XI recorded a famous win against Loughborough at Grange on Wednesday, winning by 16 runs against one of the best sides in the league. Having been put in to bat, the 1s found themselves in a spot of bother at 110-6, but a 98 run partnership between Elliot Foster (58) and Robert Taylor (54 not out) saw them post a defendable score of 216-7.
The Loughborough openers started well, however, and were 70 for no loss after 10 overs, but after a wicket each for Zach Place (1-39) and Will King (2-40), the score stood at 154-2. Loughborough then lost eight wickets for 48 runs as Callum Dutia (4-41) picked up a hat-trick to trigger the collapse. King took another wicket, Keven Meier (1-27) claimed his first scalp of the game, and Taylor (2-25), after his half century, got two wickets including the winning LBW. This Loughborough side was the team below their Marylebone Cricket Club University side, so this win cannot go unnoticed, and could well be one of the best wins in EUCC’s history.
The 2nd XI had a winning start to their season as well, as they beat Strathclyde 1s by six wickets as Strathclyde were bowled out for 133 with three wickets each for Freddie Young and Place, and two for King. Rob Thirlwell scored 59 runs opening the batting, but was out caught at mid-off with only 10 needed to win. Sam Stibbs laid a successful foundation for the chase as he scored ninety off 18 overs, seeing out the opposition’s two main bowlers, which allowed for Thirlwell and Place (22) to accelerate to a convincing victory.
The 3rd XI lost to St Andrews 2s by 111 runs in their season opener. They were made to field and could only restrict St Andrews to 286 with Callum Sibley (3-54) the pick of the bowlers. Other than Matt Boreman (40) and Akhil Anand (25), no batsman made a noticeable impact. In their next game, the 3rd XI beat Strathclyde 1s, this time by 53 runs, with Mark Frazer starring with the bat and ball as he picked up three wickets and 27 runs. Tom Wilson also claimed three wickets as the 3rd XI defended 182 comfortably.
The 4th XI experienced a special day in the Meadows. New captain Chris Bogie scored 66 stunning runs as his side posted Dundee 1s a daunting target of 209 on a tricky Meadows wicket. He was supported by Daniel Graveling (33) and Louis Green (26) in what was an extremely strong 4th XI. Bogie’s side won by 34 runs in the end, with some great bowling from Gareth Bevan (3-16), Luke Stevens (2-15) and White (1-15). This win was only the 4th XI’s second win since their BUCS debut two years ago.
The Women’s team became the fourth team to kick off their BUCS campaign with a win over newcomers Hull. Skipper Matilda Coke’s side batted first and scored 109, with the main contributions coming from Zoe Conway (15) and Philippa Oliver (11). In the field, the women bowled extremely well, with Coke leading by example, claiming three Hull scalps, while Conway (2-7) and Oliver (2-8) backed up their performances with the bat by claiming two wickets each. Debutant Ruth Foulds also got herself two wickets on debut, going for only nine runs as Hull were bowled out for 57.
For the first time, EUCC entered a side into the Scottish Masterton T20 Trophy, and came up against Scottish champions Carlton Cricket Club in their first game, unfortunately being bowled out for 70 and losing by 10 wickets. The T20 side head to Grange on Thursday for another T20, in what should be a testing encounter against another one of Scotland’s best teams.
This week’s fixtures see the 1st XI head down to Leeds, the 2nd XI and 3rd XI face off against each other in a league match, and the 4th XI travel up to play against St Andrews 3s.
Finally, the women host Leeds to round off another slate of games.
Image courtesy of Edinburgh University Cricket Club