Edinburgh South Cricket Club

2nd XI win Division Two to secure sixth successive promotion

Edinburgh South 2nd XI have secured a sixth successive promotion after winning the ESCA Division Two title.

The team, captained this season by George O’Neill, have now been promoted every year since 2021, moving from Division Seven through to Division One, where they will play in 2027.

Six years, six promotions

The Division Two title continues an unbroken run of promotions for the 2nd XI which began in Division Seven in 2021.

Since then, the team have progressed through Divisions Six, Five, Four, Three and Two, earning promotion at the end of every season.

This year’s title was secured with a match still to play.

Title sealed with a six at Peffermill

South confirmed top spot on Saturday with a four-run win over University of Edinburgh Staff at Peffermill under the ESCA Rain Calculator.

The bonus points collected during the match had already put the title beyond reach, but the afternoon ended with a flourish by securing the win, albeit in unusual circumstances.

University of Edinburgh Staff made 186/7 from their 40 overs, with Sriram Govindan taking two wickets and Frank Omozejele, Amiya Mishra, Praveen Kumar Mohan and Kamran ud Din taking one apiece.

South’s reply was led by Praful Pant with 48 and Vipin Gupta with 31.

As the match approached the Peffermill ground's evening cut-off, Siva Kavati hit six from what proved to be the final ball of the game. It took South to 166/7, four runs ahead under the ESCA Calculator with 35.5 overs being bowled, and secured the win.

The runs behind the title

Vipin Gupta leads the 2nd XI’s league run-scoring with 479 runs, including an unbeaten 149, the team’s highest individual league score of the season.

Praf Pant has scored 379 runs, while Amiya Mishra has made 265. Nabkishore Pani also made a significant contribution in just five appearances, scoring 254 runs at an average of 63.50 and finishing with a high score of 99 not out.

Captain George O’Neill completes the top five with 184 runs.

Wickets across the attack

Sriram Govindan leads the wicket-taking with 22 league wickets, with Kiran Sankaran on 19 and Amiya Mishra on 17.

Manik Kapoor has taken 14 wickets from six matches at an average of 9.36, while Praf Pant has added 13 wickets to his contribution with the bat.

Amiya Mishra has also had a strong all-round season, combining his 265 runs with 17 wickets at an average of 15.29.

The 2nd XI have one league match remaining before stepping up to ESCA Division One in 2027.