Captain’s Report 2

ESCA Division 8, Match 2: Peebles CCC Vs Leith Fab 4, Saturday 3rd May 2025

Last Saturday Peebles welcomed Leith Franklin 4 to Whitestone Park on a warm afternoon under clear blue skies in ESCA div 8.

Skipper Pete Caddick lost the toss and County were sent in to bat. Following a first cap presentation from Burnsy to James Boyle , Chris Richardson (2) and the captain started proceedings. Leith bowled well changing bowlers frequently as Adam Hayward (0) and Zeeshan Gohar (9) came and went. Boyle (10) enjoyed a few runs on debut and then Niall Burns (36) joined the skipper in a partnership of 104. Burns smashed six fours, mostly to the cover boundary and even joined in with singles and the occasional two. Aarad Ajmal (0*) joined Caddick (74*) as County finished 40 overs on 169 feeling it was a competitive total.

A delightful tea included the usual cricket stories and a couple of fresh cakes (thank you Rev and bakers). A team photo and team talk encouraging the spirit of cricket followed by accurate bowling as Mehul Parajapati (1-40) and Adam Hayward (0-37) opened the proceedings. Leith struck a few boundaries as both bowlers frequently passed the bat and a few strikes were taken across the stumps. Burns(0-25) and Ajmal( 1-34) looked to make the breakthrough as drinks were taken at 20 overs. After the break county looked to tighten things up as Caddick (2-26) and Ajmal took wickets and built some pressure. Boyle (0-5) turned his arm over and Leith reached the total with four wickets down. In the field Adam Hayes took an excellent catch as did Richardson off his toes. Lawrence Dritsas and Ian Revell fielded well with Hayward and Caddick sharing wicket keeping duties.

County express their gratitude to Leith Franklin playing the game sportingly with plenty of enjoyable cricket banter during the afternoon. County are sponsored by Sully’s fish,chips and pizzeria with weekly training at the Gytes for ladies,juniors and seniors advertised on social media. As the opposition returned to the sunshine on Leith, County reflected on another good performance and thanked everyone for support at the match and helping with the ground prep, tea arrangements etc. Player of the match to Caddick and champagne moment to Niall Burns still dusting himself down refusing a quick single with a “titanic” turn to save himself.

On Saturday County will make the journey to Dunfermline with a mid week T20 game at Melrose.