Peebles County Cricket Club

ESCA Division 8, Match 1: Bass Rock 2 vs Peebles CCC, Saturday 26th April 2025

Last Saturday Bass Rock 2 welcomed Peebles down to Recreation Park in the ESCA leagues.

Last Saturday Peebles County Cricket Club travelled to North Berwick to play Bass Rock at the recreation ground on a warm April afternoon. County have welcomed a few new faces during winter training and today began with a “new cap presentation” to Adam Hayes, Ian Revell and Sravan Parakkattu. Skipper Pete Caddick explained the history of the Peebles coat of arms while Niall Burns handed the caps over.

County lost the toss and were asked to bat as the returning Thorsten Schutte (15) and Caddick added 39 for the first wicket. This brought debutant Parakkattu to the crease as County moved to a steady 52 at the drinks break. Acceleration after drinks saw County to 104 off 30 overs and a few big blows from both batters took Peebles to 207 as the innings closed. Parakkattu ended on 74* with Caddick 100* off the last ball, the pair adding 168.

A delightful tea break with cakes provided by both teams before an encouraging reminder from the skipper to capitalise on such a good start whilst enjoying the game. Mehul Prajapati (2-12) bowled his usual good length and Parakkattu (1-10), with 4 maidens, kept the game tight. Burns (2-23) bowled a nagging line with his gentle away swing being slightly outperformed by the mystery deliveries of Aarad Ajmal (4-16) varying line and pace impressively. Gary Walsh (1-1) finished things off and despite a few dropped catches there were impressive grabs from Ajmal, Parakkattu (2) and Pete Walker. Kris Easter kept wicket tidily also taking a catch as Walker took the champagne moment, putting his body on the line to stop a boundary and refusing our requests for medical assistance. Good fielding performances from Hayes and Rev as “The Rock” were dismissed for 63 giving Peebles a starting victory by 144 runs.

Player of the match to Parakkattu and a thank you to the team and supporters making the long away trip. Peebles County are delighted to be sponsored by Sully’s Fish and Chips Pizzeria with weekly ladies, seniors and junior training at the Gytes with full details on Social Media. Walsh and Burnsy led the team song and a thank you to Bass Rock for welcoming us and playing an enjoyable sporting afternoon.

County took the long road home beginning preparations for Saturday’s home tie with Leith Franklin.