Close Encounter of the Third Kind

After two close battles with the Healthpros in the League resulting in losses, the Shipwrecks hoped to reverse their fortunes with an act of piracy  in the Fosters Plate Semi Final at the Kingholm on Thursday. On winning the toss, Sub Lieutenant Donald McCuaig won the toss and elected to bowl, play finally commencing late after various delays in sailing.

Shipwrecks battle ploy was to hold their fire by not launching raw pace bowler Derek "Shabba" Rankine until the Healthpros middle order entered the fray, Petty Officers Colin Taylor and Jason Hall being promoted to open the attack. The idea was to stall the opponents' innings by not taking early wickets.

Unfortunately neither bowler had read the script. Taylor bowled Wilson and had Venkat stumped in his second over and Hall bowled Laurie for one. By the time Taylor bowled Williams, Rankine had been introduced to deal with the fleet of Strachans approaching over the horizon. In fact it was Davey Fallas who bowled Fraser Strachan in full tilt and it took a strange run out late in the piece to eliminate David Strachan after he collided with John Mutthiah and both players hit the deck half way down the wicket.

Mutthiah managed to hold the stern together before he was last man out in the last over, lbw to Andy Cameron.  In spite of his salvage operation, the Healthpros only managed 79 all out and the Shipwrecks were already eying up the booty.

However the latter stages of the Cup competitions are often aversely affected by the darkness plus the lack of a lighthouse on the Nith, and unfortunately that is what happened on Thursday. Sid Oates and Mike Service made an unfortunately slow start and only 19 runs were collected in a becalmed first eight overs, Oates having been bowled for 1 by Fraser Strachan in the seventh.

Twilight Post-Mortem

Service and Geoff Dean gave the innings some impetus but when Service retired, Davey Fallas missed out for once and was scuppered by a straight one from Williams. Bad luck then started to intervene when Hall hit his second delivery hard but straight to short mid on. Once Dean was bowled for a boundaryless 11 and Mike Lumb succumbed for 2, Rankine and Taylor needed 20 off the last four overs, scratching about in increasingly difficult light.  Neither could reach the boundary and Shipwrecks eventually fell tantalisingly short  by just 4 runs after a last over collapse.

So dreams of cup glory are put aside for another tide and, with no tour or friendlies lined up, there is only the so-called AGM at the Captain's Table to look forward to.

Joint Men of the Match were Mike Service for his solo batting effort and Colin Taylor for his three wickets.

Scores: Healthpros 79 all out (D Strachan 24, F Strachan 15, Mutthiah 14 ; Taylor 3-18) : Shipwrecks 75 - 7 (Service 25 n.o., Dean 11 ; Williams 3-13, K Strachan 2-3)