Shipwrecks Run Out Of Steam

The Shipwrecks went down in a catamaran-style League and Cup Double at Kingholm 2 on Thursday, in what however turned out to be a close and well-contested skirmish. Unfortunately holidays etc had deprived the Sailors of four key players, most notably bowlers Cameron and Skipper McEwan.

Captain Lieutenant McCuaig standing in lost the toss and was thankful to be invited to bat as several of the team only made it out of their bunks in the nick of time.  As is often the case with large ocean-going vessels, the openers were slow to haul away from dock, but Sid Oates and Jim Worthington hung around for seven overs and batted quite well, also benefitting from the large number of wides on offer to take the score to 28 for the first wicket.

After Oates decided it was time for a howk, McCuaig started his captain's innings with a nice straight four but, when Worthington picked out the wrong fielder (Forsyth) with a drive and the Skipper was also caught to make it 59-3, the effort began to go a little awry.  Hall was adjudged lbw to one that might have been drifting to port and Peter Cooper fired his first ball straight to Sam Thornley who did really well to cling on.

Mike Service batted well but could only manage one four before he was also caught off the Colts' pro Forsyth.  Possibly taking over the wheel a little late, Davey Fallas provided the usual flurry of activity on deck but was restricted to 16 not out, which plus the usual scratching around at the end of innings and a nice four from Lumb, moved the final acore on to 98-9 after a last ball run out.

As the dull weather improved marginally, makeshift opening bowlers Taylor and Hall did a reasonable job of battening down the hatches in the first eight overs and between them accounted for openers Gordon and Currie. Lewis was smartly run out by Cooper and it looked like the sea gods might be favouring the Shipwrecks when, in his last over, Hall accidentally diverted a well-struck ball to run a stranded S. Thornley out at the bowler's end.

However, Forsyth made the expected maximum with ease after one narrow squeak and a third run out (yes three in the same innings!) by Taylor may have been a tactical error as the victim was the youngest cabin boy on the pitch, T. Currie, who was defending solidly but showed little sign of being able to reach the boundary rope.

When Davey Fallas bowled Keith Walker for a duck, the odds were still acceptable with only two wickets needed for victory, but the 'Wrecks were now out of established bowlers and, in spite of one respectable over from Worthington,  the Colts eventually had a clear run in to the finish line in the 19th over.

Scores: Shipwrecks 98 – 9 (Fallas 16 n.o., Service 14 n.o., Oates 10 ; K. Walker 3-18) : Dumfries Colts 99-8 (Forsyth 26 ret, Gordon 17, R. Thornley 12 n.o.)