After a few weeks off due to the recent bad weather, Melrose were back in action and facing a tricky match against Peebles. Peebles, like Melrose, were also eyeing promotion from division 5. Captain Loftus won the toss and decided to bowl first. Melrose thought they had an early run out but the decision favoured the Peebles batsman, much to Barry Scott’s annoyance. Annoyance soon turned to celebration as Thomas Brown removed the Peebles opener for a golden duck whilst also rearranging his furniture. Brown had his and Melrose’s second a few overs later with Loftus taking a smart catch at cover. The third wicket fell with Hosny taking a stunning catch off his own bowling. Peebles then carefully rebuilt their innings and no wickets fell until drinks However, a few balls after drinks, Loftus had the dangerous Maxwell caught behind. D. King also chipped in with a few wickets which included a back of the hand slower ball. Peebles ended their innings on 105-9. A decent score when factoring the worsening weather and the slow wicket.
Melrose started their innings by seeing out 4 consecutive maidens. It was at this point Will Owen realised that if he didn’t get a move on then there wouldn’t be any cake for him yet. Soon the runs and boundaries began to flow. Despite yet another 50 being in easy reach, Owen threw it all away by giving his wicket away with a loose shot, earning him the well deserved nickname: Bottle Job. A Melrose report wouldn’t be complete without a Melrose collapse which happened when Brown, Crawford and Milne all fell cheaply. This brought leader, legend, icon Hosny to the middle, who played with a swashbuckling style which had abandoned for most of the season. He and Loftus took Melrose within sight of the target before Loftus was unfortunately bowled by a ball that kept low. D. King joined Hosny in the middle and for the umpteenth this season, saw Melrose over the line with 10 overs spare.
(Written by S Hosny)
Melrose Cricket Club 