Cricket: Edinburgh's Women clinch cricket sixes crown

Having narrowly lost out on winning the previous two Indoor Sixes tournaments, Edinburgh University’s women headed to Grangemouth Sports Complex in search of that elusive victory.

The round robin tournament consisted of four teams: Edinburgh University Women, Galloway Ladies, Stirling Ladies and Galloway U13 boys. All strong competition but that would not put off Edinburgh from achieving success.

The first match of the day was between Edinburgh University and Stirling Ladies. Edinburgh captain Helen Blair won the toss and decided to field first. With some very strong bowling and impressive fielding, which included a superb catch from Flora Livingston and an outstanding run-out. Stirling were restricted to a mere 30 runs.

Becca Oliver and Katie McGill opened Edinburgh’s innings, facing Stirling’s bowling attack with ease. A six from Oliver and some strategic batting from McGill ensured victory in the fourth over for loss of no wickets.

A strong start from Edinburgh, who took their confidence straight into the next match.

The second match of the day was between Edinburgh and Galloway Ladies. Edinburgh lost the toss and were put in to bat. Blair decided to open with Oliver and the partnership made some quick runs before Blair was run out. This solid start led the way for McGill to contribute to the team’s final score of 46.

With a small total to defend it was essential that Edinburgh bowled and fielded well. Some great calls from first time wicket-keeper Lydia Lepere resulted in the run-out of two top-order Galloway batters. Once again some great fielding ensured a win for Edinburgh by limiting Galloway to 40 runs.

While Edinburgh then enjoyed a break, Stirling Ladies defeated Galloway U13 boys with some fantastic batting, working the gaps, scoring a respectable 51 runs. Galloway U13 boys were unable to chase this down due to some tight bowling from Stirling.

Galloway Ladies then took on their U13 boys which saw the boys post a score of 52 runs from their five overs. The Galloway Ladies were unable to reach this total and some dubious calling lead to 3 run-outs and the Ladies were dismissed for 21 runs.

The final game for Edinburgh was against Galloway U13 boys. Edinburgh lost the toss and again they were put in to bat. Not worrying, Oliver and McGill opened again – but with a quick wicket from the boys Oliver was out for one run. Next in to bat was Blair, who was keen to get some runs on the board. She and McGill put on a 30-run partnership before McGill was run out. In came Lepere, unfazed, helping Edinburgh score a total of 43 runs.

Confident as ever, Edinburgh approached the seconds innings like they had the rest. Clean bowling from Oliver and a decent catch from Blair off McGill ensured victory with the boys scoring only 24 runs.

The final game of the day between Stirling Ladies and Galloway Ladies saw Stirling score 55, the highest total of the day. This was enough to defeat Galloway who could not quite reach the total but finished on a respectable 41 runs for the loss of only two wickets.

This resulted in Edinburgh University winning their first tournament of the 2011-2012 season – the culmination of a hard winter’s training. Bowling was tight, fielding was exceptional and all the girls performed well under pressure.

Confident after this triumph, the girls will hope to emulate this success in the final Cricket Scotland tournament on the 25 March at Mary Erskine, Edinburgh.