Shipwrecks Sail To Cup Victory

Shipwrecks faced First Division Kirkmahoe Insurance in their midweek second round Americas Cup fixture at Nunholm last Wednesday.  Once again only eight crew members reported for duty but a search and rescue party managed to liberate Danny McBryde from a life of sin and misery in the Sports Club Bar to make up the numbers.

Alex and Davey discuss tactics

The Shipwrecks' High Command had actually formulated a cunning battle plan that it might be better to lose the game, as it was thought that this might place us favourably in the runners-up competition.  However, a combination of unclear communication by the Officers concerned and a degree of insubordination amongst the ranks meant that Shipwrecks eventually cruised to a three wicket victory.

Having lost the toss, the now nine Shipwrecks standing were duly condemned to run around the Nunholm outfield for twenty overs on the hottest day of the year so far.

The battle plan appeared initially to be succeeding as Shipwrecks started by dropping catches in all directions.  Andy Cameron's deliberate backward stumble on an uneven deck was particularly noteworthy but eventually outdone by Jim Worthington who allowed a steepler from Colin Taylor's slower one to hit him full on the (figure) head, while the opposition gratefully took another run without calling dead ball.

Three of the experienced Insurers quickly racked up 25s and Shipwrecks looked all at sea by the end of the innings as the home team ran for everything to finish up on 111 - 6, the wickets being the result of three accidental run outs and some careless straight bowling by Cameron and Davey Fallas.

After Worthington and McBryde had been dismissed cheaply, it was felt incumbent to 'get somewhere near' the opposition total for the sake of show and Alasdair McEwen, whose claims as a batter have advanced considerably under his own captaincy, went in early to join Mike Service as the two fired off a number of lusty broadsides towards the tennis courts until a signalling error lead to McEwen's run out.

Alasdair about to fire off a broadside

Davey Fallas (lobbed up an easy catch) and Alex Taylor and Geoff Dean (both bowled by slower balls) had clearly read the script but Kirkmahoe Insurance hadn't and appeared determined to force the win at all costs. It was at this point that certain crew members, noting the somewhat eager approach of some of the fielding team, hatched a rebellious plot to win the game anyway.

And so it was that with close but easy defeat looming, Andy Cameron cudgelled a lightning 12 and bullied the elder Taylor into taking a number of quick runs against his better judgement.  Shipwrecks eventually won with a wide early in the last over, leaving the Insurance, who had tried to claim the nineteenth over was the last, to quibble over an apparent two run deficit in the scorebook.

The format of the Midweek Cup being more complicated that Stephen Hawking's calculation on the current World Cup, Shipwrecks afterwards decided that they were happy enough to have won the game after all.

Approximate Scores: Kirkmahoe Annandale Insurance 111 - 6 (Campbell 25 n.o., Brotherston, 25 n.o., Potts 25 n.o., Elliot 12, R. Rankine 11 n.o ; Cameron 2-13) : Shipwrecks 112 - 8 (McEwen 19, Service 18, Fallas 15, Cameron 12, C. Taylor 11 n.o. [Surely that should have been 13 n.o. - Ed.], A. Taylor 10 ; Potts 2-21)

Shipwrecks Run Aground On Haymeadow

Shipwrecks lost their first round Midweek Cup encounter to the aptly named Kingholm Meadow by three wickets last Wednesday, but the real winner was the outfield, which clearly hadn't seen a cutlass for several weeks and severely frustrated the efforts of both sides to play reasonable cricket shots.

Cut down by a mixture of battle scars, leave commitments and an outbreak of scurvy, the 'Wrecks could only field nine players.  However, they did manage to muster debutant Derek "Shabba" Rankine against their First Division opponents, who themselves seemed short of a few old hands.

In the strange, lowscoring but not uninteresting game that resulted, Shipwrecks lost the toss and were invited to bat.

Alex Goes Aerial
(note ankle-high grass)

Torn between defence and attack, Mike Service gave an early caught and bowled to Harry Potter (aka Mark Wharton) and Jim "Lad" Worthington was quickly becalmed on 1 for six overs before he was bowled. Alex Taylor broke the deadlock with a couple of titanic sixes, but was then unluckily bowled off his pads by a delivery from Harriman that was passing well down leg side. Rankine soon steered one straight to point off Willie Woodhouse, at which juncture Shipwrecks were 21 - 4 off 9.1 overs and it looked like the opposition would be home and dry.

Colin Taylor and Skipper Alasdair McEwen determined to bat out the overs and made some slow headway until Taylor was lbw for 7 trying to part the waves in the 17th over.  McEwen had more success with some late support from Andy Cameron and Donald McCuaig, as Shipwrecks reached a hardearned 49 - 6.

Kingholm Meadow were even slower to get underway, as Rankine completely tied up one end whilst clean bowling openers Dougan and Muir.  Andy Cameron meanwhile took a spectacular one-handed catch to remove David C off McEwen and Tom Woodhouse was neatly taken by Alex Taylor off his father's first delivery.

Cameron followed up by bowling R. Raverty and Craig, at which point the favourites were still foundering in the twenties, and the feverish on-pitch excitement was even enough to catch the attention of the occasional dogwalker on the towpath.

Unfortunately, Peter Harriman, the only opposition batsman to reach double figures, stood firm after Taylor dismissed Irving and managed to secure victory off the last ball off the nineteenth over. Nevertheless, it was a creditable performance by a scratch Shipwrecks team in difficult conditions against nominally stronger opposition and could easily have produced a different result.

The Man of the Match Award will go to whoever cuts the grass before our next game.

Scores: Shipwrecks 49 - 6 (A.Taylor 16, A. McEwen 15 n.o. ; W. Woodhouse 2-4, Harriman 2-7, Wharton 2-10) : Kingholm Meadow 51 - 7 (Harriman 24 n.o. ; Rankine 2-2, Cameron 2-11, C. Taylor 2-13)

Piracy Pays

Shipwrecks sailed towards their third win of the season against hulk merchants J Walker & Sons (aka St Michael's Youth) on Thursday, but only after an inspired act of piracy on the high seas.

As four members of last week's team were on shore leave or nursing battle scars, only nine crew members reported for duty at Kingholm 1 at six bells. However the guardroom immediately dispatched a press gang, which duly returned with Connor "Starboard" Bowie who had been looking for a Thursday bounce game as permitted by the new Midweek League eligibility criteria.

Uh oh! Service skies to Cummings

Skipper McEwen won the toss and despatched Mike "Senior" Service and Jim Worthington to open against a youthful opening attack. Worthington soon edged "Mad Dog" Moore behind after hitting a nice boundary and Service eventually fell to the same bowler, lofting one to Saints pro Cummings for an aggressive 11.

Out of touch Alex Taylor had the bad luck to be caught by Muir for 8 but Davey Fallas was already going full steam ahead, and considerable forward progress was made when he was joined by Geoff Dean.  Fallas characteristically reached his maximum with a flourish, hitting a big six into the banking.

Despite some difficulties timing shots against the aerial attack of the younger bowlers, who were certainly taking the pace of the ball, Dean and Colin Taylor continued to score at over a run a ball until the latter was stumped trying to splice the mainbrace against Ryan Geddes.

After Dean retired with a boundary, it fell to Mike Lumb and McEwen to pick up bonus runs off the last two or three overs. Particularly impressive was the way all middle order batsmen managed to take runs off Cummings, who finished wicketless.

Knowing that Saints pros Rohin Thapar and Cummings would be batting early, the Shipwrecks High Command decided on the amusing strategy of placing all fielders on the boundary on the shorter Pavilion side while they were on strike, and throttling the runs from the youngsters with a tight umbrella field.

Davey Fallas duly caught Muir at deep gully off McEwen and reacted nicely to run Andrew Geddes out from the same position.  Thapar meanwhile extracted revenge, effecting his early retirement with a series of sixes off Fallas' bowling, one of which cleared the mainmast of the Pavilion to land with an ominous thud.

Cummings followed the same ploy and retired in even less deliveries, but this left the younger batsmen exposed and only Sandy McNay and Moore for company.

Assembled Shipwrecks toast MoM Geoff Dean

Replacing McEwen, new recruit Bowie duly removed the promising Smith before clean bowling both Moore and then McNay, the latter after only three lbw shouts.  It was then left to Dean and Taylor (C) to pick up the remaining two wickets, Lumb taking up a nice catch behind off Dean to dismiss Reece McNay. Geoff Dean thereby clinched the MS Porky Scratchings Man of the Match Award.

Celebrations in the Ship Inn continued long into peak viewing time, abetted by an excellent supply of sandwiches.

Scores: Shipwrecks 120 - 4 (Dean 27 n.o., Fallas 25 n.o., C. Taylor 18, Service 11 ; Moore 2-7) : J Walker & Sons 80 - 8 (Cummings 29 n.o., Thapar 26 n.o. ; Bowie 3-7)