Monday 2nd August - Stirling County Ladies - home
Sharks U-13's 95-6 beat SC Ladies 60-8 by 35 runs
Batting first Jamie B and Grant got off to a solid start, both playing solidly with some attacking shots. Grant was first out for 14, and Jamie was retired on 21 not out.
The innings stalled a bit at this point and it was not until Fraser and William added some quick runs in the last 5 overs that a final score of 95-6 became possible.
Connor and Austin opened the bowling, Connor showing good pace and Austin striking first. Jamie A replaced Austin on his debut for the Sharks, taking a wicket with his first ball, and going on to take three wickets in his 2 overs. Everyone bowled at least an over and generally it was all accurate and made scoring difficult for the ladies. At the end of the innings the score settled on 60-8, and a win for the Sharks. An all round valuable experience for some of the younger Sharks, and the Ladies, many of who have only taken the game up in the last few months, all benefitting from some extra game time.
One of the highlights for the Sharks was the fact the Ladies team had brought cakes, and everyone headed up to the tea room at the close, for an added bonus !!
Thursday 8th July - Falkland U-13's - home
Sharks U-13's 110-5 beat Falkland U-13's 63-4 by 47 runs
After losing the toss the Sharks were asked to bat, and Grant and Oscar got us off to a solid start. Both openers were fining the boundary and Oscar was bowled for 13 going for one big shot too many. Rory came to the crease at 39-1 and kept the scoring rate, his score of 12 including a big six. Fraser joined Grant who was batting sensibly and injected some pace with some fine hitting, and 5 boundaries in his 26 not out before retiring. Grant was retired on 22 not out, and the two Jack's helped move the score up to a fine 110-5 after 20 overs.
Stefan and Alasdair L opened the bowling, both bowling a good line and the scoring was kep to a minimum. Rory and Oscar continued the good work with only 8 runs coming from their 4 overs. Good work from Oscar in the field led to the run out of Langlands for 13, and Austin then took a wicket with his second ball thanks to a great catc h from Jamie. Most of the guys had a bowl, with a few too many wides creeping in but all in all a solid perfomance from the U-13's as the Falkland relpy ended on 63-4, and a win for the Sharks by 47 runs.
Below are a few photos from the game.
Grant plays in the 'v' Oscar punishes a short ball Rory sweeps to the boundary
Fraser powers another shot through mid wicket. Jack H 'on the charge'. Alistair S bowling a good line and length.
The Sharks U-13's v Falkland U-13's
Thursday 24th June - Stirling County U-13's - home
Sharks U-13's 55 all out lost to Stirling U-13's 56-4 by 6 wickets.
The Sharks batted first in the game played at The North Inch, due to lack of pitch availability at Doo'Cot Park. Early wickets fell against a tidy Stirling attack, before Rory P and Oscar M stayed togther adding vaulable runs for the third wicket. When Rory was out for 17 wickets again began to fall with too many of the batsmen hitting across the line, early in their innings. The innings ended on 55 in the final over.
The Sharks got off to a great start with the ball with both Stirling openers departing without troubling the scorers. Grant A picked up a wicket with a fine ball, with Oscar M claiming a run out with some sharp fielding. oscra then took a wicket thanks to a great catch by Jack E and the visitors were in a bit of trouble at 13-3. However jameson and Anwar then got the board moving, and depsite Jack H taking a wicket at 48-4, Stirling reached the target with 4 overs to spare.
Throughout the innings the bowling was tidy and once again the batting was was let the Sharks down. More work to be done at training on Monday before the local 'derby' with Perthshire next Thursday!
Monday 21st June - Dunfermline U-15's - home
Dunfermline U-15's 142-7 beat Sharks U-15's 65 all out by 77 runs.
The U-15s finally got their 2010 season underway, at home to Dunfermline. The vistors batted first and Rory made the first breakthrough as the openers got of to a fine start, with Penman in particular scoring freely. Stuart M bowled well with out any luck at the start. Lewis P then came on and took a wicket with his first ball. Not to be out done Liam R also took his first Sharks scalp as Kyle M took a well judged catch. The runs contin ued to flow as Salt played some big shots at then end of the innings, as a challenging target was set with a score of 142-7. Kyle stuck at his left arm spin, depsite some aggresive batting to finish with 2-21.
It was always going to be a tough run chase and despite a couple of scoring shots, Rory fell in the first over for 4. Liam and Fraser put on 20 for the third wicket and batted well before Liam was run out for 7. Wickets then fell at a regular rate with only Fraser (22) spending time in the middle. The final wicket fell with the score on 65, but considering this was the first game for some of the boys this season it was a good outing with some good individual performances.
Wed 16th June - Broomhall U-13's - away
Sharks U-13's 107-8 beat Broomhall U-13's 96-5 by 11 runs
The under 13's travelled down to Broomhall to take on the Fife side. Batting first Jamie (12) and Grant (11) got us off to a fine start and Rory (32), Fraser (15) and Oscar (11) carried on the good work. Tim, Alastair and Ben all chipped in at the end as the innings finished on 107.
Broomhall also started well in their innings, but wickets from Rory, Fraser and Tim pegged them back. Some good fielding and two run outs kep the home team behind the rate and the reply ended on 96 and an 11 run with for the young sharks.
Glenalmond Sixes - Under 11 Tournament
On Sunday 13th June the Sharks took a team through to the annual Glenalmond Sixes event. Always an excellent, well organised event, we found ourselves in a pool with Kinorss CC and Ardvreck School.
Kinross was the first game and we bowled first with Kinross making 53-3. Unfortunately we bowled enough wides to turn what should have been 5 overs, vitrually into 7 overs. In reply we reached 29-1 after our 5 overs. There were a few lessons to be learned from the first game. The 6-a-side format is fun, but it can be intense and there is no room for relaxing. In the field we needed to be a bit sharper and alive to what was happening, and the batting needed more urgency, always looking for the singles and looking to punish the bad balls.
Next up Kinross played Ardvreck and were soundly beaten which did not bode well for our last group game. Again we bowled first, but lessons had been learned and we bowled much straighter and the fielding was tighter. Tim M was the pick of the bowlers with 2-7 as Ardvreck finsihed on 45-4. The reply got off to a decent start but Jamie B was run out for 9 at a crucial point. Grant A and Jake M took the score on steadily as the running between the wickets was much better. Jake was then bowled and Grant was joined by Michael S in the middle. 19 were needed off the final over, and with a couple of wides and a no ball we had a chance. Grant had his eye in by this point and smashed 3 fours but we fell agonisingly short by 3 runs, on 42-3. All in all though a much better performance against Ardvreck who would go on to win the tournament.
Our final game was against Craigclowan who finioshed 3rd in the other pool. Bowling first again, we kept their score to 39-2 in the five overs. The bowling was again an improvement from the start of the day, and Grant was the pick with two late wickets. Grant and Jamie opened the batting in a sensible fashion taking it steadily in the first over. After this they both started to play some shots with Jamie in particular hitting some big boundaries, including a big six. At the end of the 4th over they reached 40-0 for a fine win with an over to spare.
A great day out for all the players and those watching on, and although the rain threatened, it stayed mainly dry which was bonus. Pictured below are the team who took part on the day.
Monday 7th June - Largo U-13's - Home
Sharks U-13's 66-7 lost to Largo U-13's 122-6 by 56 runs
Rory P won the toss and asked Largo to bat first. The fast outfield and some wayward bowling allowed the visitors to get off to a fast start and the openers soon had the score up to forty inside seven overs. Tim M came in to the attack and took the first wicket. The Strathy fielding improved as the innings went on, and a clutch of run outs stemmed the flow, with the Largo innings eventually finishing on 122-6.
The Sharks reply got off to a shaky start as Jack T was bowled realy on with some fine Largo bowling keeping the young sharks in check. Jamie B batted really well in the middle order and retired on 25 not out with about 5 overs left. However wickets fell steadily throughout and the reply eventually finished on 66-7 in pretty dark conditions. This was a tough outing against a strong Largo team, but again the young Strathy team showed glimpses of a strong future.
Wednesday 19th May - Freuchie U-13's - Away
Sharks U-13's 71-9 lost to Freuchie U-13's 72-8, by 2 wickets.
Asked to bat first on a lovely eveing in Freuchie the Sharks openers got off to a good start, before R McMurdo bowled Stuart McDonald with a full outswinging delivery. Fraser Buchan batted well and was run out for 23, in a calling mix up, which was to repeated on several occassions later in the innings. Tim Matthews and Jamie Blaikie batted well together in the middle overs showing good technique, before Jamie opened up and played some nice shots, hitting a few boundaries before being run out for 23. Tim was also then run out, and after 20 overs, the innings closed on 71-9.
Grant Anderson bowled a great spell at the start of the Freuchie reply conceding only one run off his three overs. Wickets fell regularly as the home side egded towards the target, with Scott Buchan the most successful bowler with 2-5 from his 2 overs. The game entered the final over with Freuchie needing 3 runs to win with 2 wickets in hand. They achieved this with 3 balls to spare in a tight tense finish, enjoyed by all who watched on. Another great learning experience for the young Sharks, who put in a good all round performance.
Thursday 6th May - Dunfermline U-13's - Home
Dunfermline U-13's 75-7 bt Sharks U-13's 30 all out, by 45 runs.
Whilst Mr Brown, Mr Cameron, and Mr Clegg battled it out elsewhere, all eyes were on Doo'cot Park for the Sharks first game of the season. A young Sharks side, many of who were making their hardball debuts, performed well in the field restricting Dunfermline to 75-7 in their 20 overs. B Wilkinson batted well for the visitors retiring on 28, whilst Rory Pennycook was the pick of the bowlers with 3-3. Jack Emslie (1-9) and Jamie Fennell (1-1) were the other wicket takers with two run outs. The young sharks were always up against it in their run chase against the more experienced Fife side, and the reply eventually finished at 30 all out.
Despite the loss this was a valuable learning experience for all involved, realising that there is more to a game of cricket than just batting and bowling in the nets.
