Belhaven's Mixed Cricket Match reports against St. Mary's
Wednesday, 27th May 2026
1st XI
On Wednesday afternoon, the 1st XI travelled to St Mary’s for what turned into a very close and exciting game of cricket. It was a lovely warm, sunny day and, amazingly for May in Scotland, there were even a few complaints that it was too hot for some of our batters!
St Mary’s won the toss and chose to bowl first. Our innings got off to a difficult start, with Patrick and Fred both falling early. Wilbur then worked hard to settle things down, playing sensibly for his 9 from 17 balls. Xander, as he has done so often this season, batted with real maturity and composure. He took his time, found the gaps, and punished the bad ball when it came. His 25 from 29 balls was a very important innings and gave us something to build around.
Geordie came in and struck a nice boundary before being bowled for 5, while Ben showed patience at the crease, even though scoring was not easy. At 35-5 we were in a tricky position and needed someone to change the momentum.
That came from Rodrigue, who played a brilliant counter-attacking innings. He struck the ball cleanly, ran hard, and put the pressure back on St Mary’s. His 25 from just 16 balls, including three boundaries and a six, gave the innings a much-needed lift. Maggie also dug in, while Tommy played a useful hand towards the end, making 10 from 12 balls and playing the shot of the innings with a powerful cover drive, helping us get close to the 100 mark.
Belhaven finished on 95 all out from 19.5 overs. It felt like we were probably 15 or 20 runs short, but there was still something to bowl at if we stuck to our plans and fielded well.
We made an excellent start with the ball. Wilbur bowled with good control and picked up two important wickets, finishing with 2 for 25 from his 4 overs. Xander also bowled tightly from the other end, going for just 12 runs from his 3 overs. Bea produced a sharp run-out early on, which helped keep us right in the game.
Patrick then bowled an excellent spell through the middle, taking 2 for 12 from his 3 overs, with a very good catch from Tommy. Fred also bowled beautifully, conceding just 10 runs from his 3 overs and taking an important wicket. Rodrigue and Bertie both bowled tidy overs, while Bea kept things tight with her over as well.
Geordie, with the gloves on, was busy throughout, doing an excellent job on a tricky wicket to keep on. Tommy had a tough over but showed great character to stay involved and took a good catch soon after.
The match became very tight towards the end, with Belhaven fighting for every run. However, St Mary’s eventually reached the target in the 17th over, finishing on 96-7 and winning by 3 wickets.
Although it was disappointing to lose such a close game, there were lots of positives to take. Xander, Rodrigue and Tommy all batted very well. Our bowling kept us in the game throughout, and the fielding effort stayed strong right to the end. It was a good contest, played in excellent spirit, and another valuable learning experience for the team.
Thank you, as always, to the parents who travelled and supported.
Mr Brown
2nd XI
Belhaven U13 2nd XI Defeat St Mary’s by 15 Runs
On a bright but breezy afternoon in Melrose, Belhaven’s Under 13 2nd XI mixed team produced an excellent all-round performance to secure a hard-fought 15-run victory over St Mary’s.
After winning the toss, Belhaven captain Fergus elected to bat first. Alexander and Emily were rewarded for their recent impressive performances with the bat by opening the innings, although both fell cheaply in the early stages as St Mary’s made a strong start with the ball.
Tristan then steadied the innings superbly with a well-measured 33, showing great composure at the crease and providing the backbone of the Belhaven total. Bella continued her fine recent form with an attacking and powerfully struck 18, while Will added an important 22 late in the innings. Finley finished unbeaten on 9 as Belhaven closed on a competitive score.
In reply, Belhaven bowled with discipline and energy throughout. Leo, Anastasia, Tristan, Alexander and Fergus all claimed wickets as the visitors kept the pressure on the St Mary’s batting line-up.
However, it was in the field where Belhaven truly excelled. Rose produced two superb catches on the boundary, both taken under pressure in difficult windy conditions. Bella, Fergus and Emily also contributed impressive run outs, highlighting the sharpness and enthusiasm in the field. Behind the stumps, Finley kept wicket confidently in tricky conditions and played an important role in the victory.
Although Belhaven were made to work slightly harder than expected towards the end of the innings, they held their nerve to complete an excellent 15-run win.
U11A
Opponents: St. Mary’s Date: Wednesday 27th May
Venue: Belhaven – Main North Time: 2.15pm
After last week’s epic match against Cargilfield, the U11As were looking forward to another challenge this week as we hosted St. Mary’s on the Main Pitch, on a lovely, sunny afternoon, ideal for cricket. The pitch was hard, dry with lots of bounce and life and, on winning the toss, St. Mary’s invited Belhaven to bat first.
Archie and Fin opened the batting for Belhaven who got us off to a steady start with Archie taking most of the strike and picking up runs here and there. Fin eventually missed a straight on, in the third over which brought Monty to the crease. Monty likes to score quickly and after a few false shots early on, he began to find his rhythm, all while Archie got into his stride and played some excellent cover drives. The two of them ended up building a very impressive 88 run partnership, running well between the wicket, hammering any loose balls and keeping out any good ones. Archie’s innings really was a beauty and he deserved a 50 but fell agonisingly short, on 47 when he played and missed at a gentle straight ball.
With Archie out, Monty really accelerated and began to hammer the ball to all parts of the field. Lochie came in and some questionable calling between the wicket saw him run-out without troubling the scoreboard. Sigi came in, played some good shots and was very unlucky to be brilliantly caught at midwicket. With only a few overs remaining, it was all systems go and Fede and Flora were bowled cheaply, Sandy run-out and Bertie caught. Monty tried to reach his 50 but as the final ball of the inning s was bowled, he found himself on 42 not out, off just 47 balls – an excellent knock.
Belhaven ended their 20 overs on 123 for 7 – a very defendable total.
Woody and Cleo opened the bowling for Belhaven after the break and the first two overs went for 20 runs which was a little worrying! Both of them held their nerve and came back well, with Woody picking up a wicket and Cleo tightening things up nicely for the next four overs.
After 6 overs, St. Mary’s were on 38 runs when Fede entered the fray and bowled his man with his first ball. He then went on to take a second wicket with his sixth ball. An important lesson in just how effective pitched up, on-wicket bowling can be!
After 10 overs, St. Mary’s were pretty much on track to reach our total but a fiery spell from Monty pinned them back while Flora took her first wicket for the U11As and the rest bowled fairly steadily to see the match out.
There are certainly still a few things to work on in the field but it was brilliant to see three new players slot into the side so well today, to see a couple of the boys build excellent innings with the bat and to see everyone play a part with bat or ball.
Result: Match won by 19 runs.
POTM: Shared between Archie and Monty for their brilliant knocks but a special mention to Fede for his wickets and also, his impeccable fielding – a lesson to all.
WT
U11C
Belhaven 105 - 91 St. Mary’s
In glorious sunshine, Belhaven opened the batting with Eliza & Dulcie. They set the tone that the whole team followed: running when sensible to do so and hitting hard when given the opportunity. They scored 18 runs between them, a total matched by Innes & Lyra. Noah & Petra scored 20 runs, Grace & Atticus 21, with Heidi & Flora finishing the innings with 28 runs.
A total of 105 runs in ten 10-ball overs didn’t take Mr White long to work out that it was just over 1 run per ball.
St Mary’s took to the crease with a big total to reach. Belhaven were consistent bowlers, with the St. Mary’s coach highlighting Atticus, Noah and Flora for particularly good bowling. Having scored 17 runs on the 8th over and 15 on the 9th, St Mary’s needed 17 more runs to tie the match. Up stepped Flora to keep the St Mary’s run rate down. She bowled a stellar 10-ball over, for only 3 runs – helped by some excellent fielding on the final ball resulting in a run out.
The match was played in great spirits with Innes being awarded the best bowler, Lyra the best batter and Grace the best fielder by our friends from Melrose.
U11D
Belhaven 114 – St Mary’s 86
A glorious afternoon for cricket and the U11d team set up pitch in ‘Dingly Dell’, to face their opponents, St Mary’s. Harvey captained the batting innings today and, having lost the toss, Belhaven went into bat first.
Cordelia and Ruaridh were the first pair to face the ball. Finding it difficult to hit the ball, Cordelia secured a few single runs, and the wind made it difficult for St Mary’s to bowl accurately. Miscommunication on two balls saw the pair stumped out which reduced their runs to just 2.
Arabella and Bea were next into bat. Both girls managing to hit the ball from wide balls which added to our total and an amazing 4 from Arabella on the last ball of the over, took our total to 33.
Blaise and Jemima were next in and had a steady two overs. Both hit some good balls and the bowling in these overs was accurate, but they scored a further 15.
Harvey and Joseph were next up and had a great partnership. Going for every ball, including wides and no-balls, they scored a further 35 runs.
As St Mary’s had an extra player, our two captains for the day played the final two overs. Both Arabella and Harvey were on a mission to hit every ball they faced, despite the wind. Two further 6’s and 4’s were scored giving us a final total of 114.
As we went in to field Cordelia and Ruaridh opened the innings with some accurate bowling which made the good balls difficult to hit. Unfortunately, the wind affected the ball again giving some wides to take the first batting pair to a total of 16 runs.
Arabella and Bea were next up and St Mary’s picked up some runs from good batting, taking them to a total of 35 after 4 overs.
A nice steady bowling partnership from Blaise and Jemima followed. There was some good fielding but St Mary’s managed to get in a 4 along with some single runs to boost their score.
Harvey and Joseph were next up and whilst it took Harvey some time to find his bowling action, St Mary’s didn’t always run on the balls they hit. Joseph had a great over and with some quick fielding from Harvey, took a wicket on the final ball of the over.
To make up numbers, Cordelia and Jemima took a second over each with some lovely bowling only allowing St Mary’s to gain 15 runs in the two overs.
Well done today. It was rather breezy which made it difficult to bowl and some of your fielding needs to be a little tighter, stop and drop when the ball comes to you along with backing up the stumps. Your batting was strong and your communication was super.
Player of the match as voted by St Mary’s - Ruaridh
Mrs Gale’s player of the match – Harvey for some amazing shots when batting
U9 "Yorkers"
Mixed ability side runs near full-strength St. Mary’s side close.
Today was one of those matches which left a bittersweet taste. I am so proud of the way the pupils played in today’s match, away to St. Mary’s, but we came up short against a team which ultimately had more strength than ours. Our team was a genuine mix of ability and gender while the St. Mary’s teams seemed unbalanced – the team the Belhaven Yorkers played were comfortably better than us today – more like a genuine A-team – while our other team, the Bouncers, won their own match so handsomely, by 72 runs, it was as if they were facing a B-team. The peculiarities of sport ...
Hughie and Tessa got off to the worst possible start, with a wicket from the first ball and so it continued with a further run-out and clean bowled wicket taken in the first two overs as the opening pair ended on –3 from their four overs. Alfie and John added an impressive 23 for the loss of just one wicket, as Alfie, in particular, pushed the score along nicely. John needed reminders to tale alert when looking for a run.
12 more runs were put on between Archie C. and Iris, Iris scoring a beautiful 4 but Archie managing to get himself clean bowled four times to the same bowler with the same, straight delivery! Luckily there is always and Innis and he and his partner Hamish put on 45 from their four overs, Innis bagging 24 of these.
First innings: Belhaven 79 runs for 7 wickets off 16 overs.
By way of response St. Mary’s looked as though they might run away with it as they reached our total in just eight overs – half of the innings. Alfie took two near-identical absolute worldies of catches out on the boundary, not only preventing certain sixes, but denying St. Mary’s ten runs. In the second half of the innings we bowled much more tightly, giving away fewer runs through wides and no-balls but with little left to do, St. Mary’s comfortably got the runs required in good time.
Hamish bowled the best I have seen him bowl, with special mentions for Archie C., Tessa, Alfie and Innis who also shone in keeping the score of a good side down. Well done to all.
Second innings: St. Mary’s 107 for 3 wickets off 16 overs.
Stats:
Wickets: Hughie (2), Archie C.
Catches: Alfie (2).
Run-outs: None.
Stumpings: None.
Runs: Innis (32), Alfie (12), Iris (6), Hamish, Hughie (5), John (4), Archie C., Tessa (1)
Man of the Match: Alfie for superb all-round play..
St. Mary’s U9 win by 28 runs.
