Linlithgow 1’s travelled through to the bright lights of the City on Saturday to take on newly promoted Edinburgh South at Inch Park. And bright lights would certainly have come in handy considering the gloomy, dreich conditions which greeted us upon arrival. And things didn’t get any brighter as the day went on.
Having lost the toss, Linlithgow were asked to bat on a deck that would have looked at home in the middle of the Somme wastelands during WW1. And for the most part of the Linlithgow innings it felt like we were indeed stuck in the trenches, being bombarded by enemy fire whilst trudging about in ankle dep mud. Marshiya and Stump were sent in as cannon fodder, to open the innings. Having decided that the intensity of battle was not for him, Stump went M.I.A and ran himself out with a suicidal single to gully. Kamlesh’s live-by-the-sword, die-by-the-sword involved more of the latter, and he departed soon afterwards. When Matt Hedge trudged back to the shipping container/pavilion after leaving a gap between bat and pad big enough to driver a Panzer tank through, LCC were in trouble at 26 for 3. Black and Morton, the instigators of a century partnership the previous week, walked to the crease. However, the only centurion on show this day was the opposition scorer, and both batsmen were soon walking in the opposite direction to the frontline, Black having been run out backing up and Morton having been bowled by an opposition sniper, with one that somehow managed to find a way through. The casualties continued to mount up, Joe Robinson donned his gladiatorial combat gear and ran out to do battle, however keeping the ball on the ground turned out to be the chink in his armour and he was soon felled. Graham and Hill were both unlucky to be out to great catches, and after Nettleton’s stumps were disturbed by a semi-subterranean grenade which kept low all hope seemed lost. However, through the mist and smoke their arose one man, standing head and shoulders above the rest and wielding his bat like King Leonidas did with his sword, Clinton Dixon stood firm. Slaying any wayward deliveries to the boundary, he led a one-man counterattack and bludgeoned his way to 28 before the final arrow found its mark. LCC were all out for 98 in only 32 overs.
Edinburgh South took to the field of battle and brought out their heavy guns straight from the start, racing to 56 with some lusty hitting. The shell shocked LCC bowlers managed to pick up a couple quick wickets, before the heavens opened and washed away any evidence of the massacre that had taken just taken place. Having only completed 14.2 overs of the second innings, the game was declared a no-result and LCC miraculously made the trip home no better or worse than they had begun the day.
The 2s game was called off without a ball being bowled.
This week, the 1’s play host to last season’s table toppers, Gala, whilst the 2s travel through to Leith FAB.