Shipwrecks Just Short

Last Wednesday the Shipwrecks again put in a reasonable watch but without result when they encountered the Healthpros, the local Hospital Ship so far yet to be taken into NHS special measures.  The Kingholm had meanwhile been transformed into a dry dock with no remaining sign of the marine conditions and plantlife prevalent for the last 12 months.

Ali McEwan and Rory Dean restricted the early batsmen nicely, claiming two wickets apiece and the Shipwrecks' chances were looking good when several of their doctors decided to run themselves out rather than face the onslaught.  However a late flourish led by Williams plus the normal accumulation of wides and byes meant that the surgeons reached a respectable 78 all out in the penultimate over.

Unfortunately, the Shipwrecks took on a good deal of water early in their innings, partly due to some shipshape bowling by Doig, Fawad and Fahad.  For the 'Wrecks, Jim 'Boy' Worthington and Mike 'Senior' Service started badly, trying to renegotiate a single in the first over, which caused Service's premature run out when he looked to be in good touch.  Then Oates and both Deans were out without adding significantly to the score and  Shipwrecks were still looking for fifty plus runs after eight overs.

Sid Barbour - MoM

This was clearly where the game was lost as Colin Taylor and Sid Barbour gradually built up a partnership that brought Shipwrecks tantalisingly in sight of a surprising victory.  But neither batsmen could penetrate the thick grass cuttings around the boundary, and when Barbour was out in the nineteenth over, Ali McEwan was faced with the task of hitting three sixes to get home. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't to be and Shipwrecks fell short by ten runs.

Man of the Match (apart from Geoff Dean and 'run out') in a good-natured game was Sid Barbour for his all round contribution.

Scores: Healthpros 78 all out (Williams 16 n.o. ; R. Dean 2-7, McEwan 2-8) : Shipwrecks 68 - 6 (Barbour 18, Taylor 15 n.o.)

Shipwrecks Confined To Port... Scottish Cricket Sunk?

Even hardened sailors could not face the weather this Tuesday, when consistent rain caused the cancellation of what would have been a fine naval display between Shipwrecks and Kirkmahoe - and a cricket game we might have had some chance of winning.

And so another Scottish cricket season trickles on, as both midweek and weekend teams find it ever harder to persuade players to turn out for fixtures that are likely to be cancelled for the weather.  The last players to have experienced playing much cricket at state schools before the changes to Teachers' terms and conditions in the eighties will just about be coming up for retirement and younger recruits have a vast array of different sports to chose from*, quite apart from rugby and football, which increasingly encroach on what was the cricket season.

As a result, the signs are that many clubs are struggling to put teams out and the standards of play are declining.  The main focus of Cricket Scotland (latest web headline: "Rain halts Scottish run chase") seems to be to put out increasing bureaucratic exercises for clubs to complete, so that one wonders if it could ever be possible to start up a new club and get into one of the Leagues without a five year development plan produced by a management consultant.

Ultimately though, there are two main problems hampering cricket in Scotland - the weather and the fact that current forms of the game are too long to attract young people hung up on instant gratification. Until someone looks seriously at shorter, indoor forms of the game, my fear is that the decline will continue.

Except of course for a small number of elite clubs in the central belt and one or two outposts with hundreds of members paying £££s each in subscriptions, who will be able during climate change to go on playing occasional and cancelling many fixtures with each other until the money runs out.  Will they at some point turn, look around at what is happening to smaller clubs and lower leagues and start to get worried?

Note: This sudden switch to editorial rant mode does not necessarily reflect the views of The Shipwrecks plc or its umbrella organisation, The Ship Inn.

*They won't however have the chance to see much cricket unless they can get Sky Sports.

Shipwrecks in Stormy Seas...

Completion of the Shipwrecks' log has been severely delayed over the past week because Ship's Writer CPO Taylor has been away on a mission in France. Apparently he was trying to recruit petanque players to join the team in the hope of reducing the number of wides conceded in future games, having overlooked the fact that underarm bowling is no longer permissible under the Laws of Cricket*.  Apologies anyway to both of you who read this regularly for depriving you of your weekly fix.

What follows is a summary of the two skirmishes that have taken place in the meantime:

Ooh, Aye and Up She Rises...

Last week our noble crew counter attacked fiercely at Lockerbie to record our second victory and first total of over 100 this season, winning by a stupendous nine wickets.

Lockerbie 105 all out (A Veitch 25 n.o., Bray 26 n.o. ; Barbour 2-17, R Dean  2-22) : Shipwrecks 106 for 1 (McCuaig 28 n.o., Service 26 n.o., G Dean  24 n.o., R Dean 11 n.o.)

Davy Potter's Locker...

Harry Potter

This trend was however not continued against Irving Meadow at Kingholm 2 on Tuesday. The mythical Harry Potter inflicted a major broadside on our batting flagship, which was almost completely scuppered at 5 - 4. In spite of a brave rearguard action from McEwen, Dean and extras, Shipwrecks could not make up the leeway and went down by 19 runs.

Captain's commendations however went to Worthington (2), R. Dean and Sarosh, who all took excellent catches.

Irving Meadow 89 for 9 (Harriman 18 ; Sarosh 4-18,  McEwen 2-17, Service 2-16) : Shipwrecks 70 all out (McEwen 27 n.o., R Dean 13)

With two games to go, will the Shipwrecks now steam ahead as in previous seasons to achieve mid-table mediocrity?

*except by prior agreement of both teams.

More Midges Than Shipwrecks

The Shipwrecks - or some of them - ventured inland to meet Annan CC at picturesque Kinmount estate last Thursday.  Unfortunately the roll call was sadly depleted by the death of Sid Oates' dog, who could not therefore play and the less comprehensible non-appearance of deckhands G. and M. Robinson (thanks for letting us know, lads) with the inclusion of whom this could have been a very interesting encounter indeed.

What a posh pavilion!

Kinmount is really starting to look like a cricket venue again.  The surrounds of the pitch and outfield have been overhauled and the pitch cleared of moss - with the result that it does play incredibly slowly, but that in itself makes for an intriguing contest as the bowlers get no pace off it and batsmen have to find some innovative shots to knock the ball away.

Annan won the toss and decided to bat, perhaps knowing that they would thus evade the swarm of small but high-class midges that gathered around the boundary in the course of their innings.  They were also kind enough to lend a couple of hands to replace absent friends.

Colin Taylor got the ball to move around a bit to dismiss both openers and took a diving caught and bowled to remove McCann.  Unfortunately, only Rory Dean and one run out were able to contribute further wickets. Sometimes making heavy weather of it, the Annan batsmen overall cruised to 125 - 5 against the other bowlers who were pressed into service, assisted by a shoal of wides and no-balls.  Mike Service did however fire some useful salvoes.

In reply Shipwrecks made chase, accelerating from the steady start made by Donald McCuaig when both generations of Dean hit their way to good maximums.  Unfortunately there was not much left in the ship's stores as Taylor poked around looking for a hitter to support but the others all hit out and got out until he and Worthington were left to prod out the last few balls as if looking for the non-existent draw.

Once again Shipwrecks were by no means disgraced, but this time a possibility of victory was scuppered as a team in cricket consists of eleven men, not eight as in rowing.

Scores:  Annan 125-5 (Pagan 27 n.o., Bellis 27 n.o., McCann 20 ; Taylor 3-16) : Shipwrecks: 97-9 (G. Dean 27 n.o., R. Dean 25 n.o. ; Patterson 3-15)

Creditable Performance by Weakened Shipwrecks

Shipwrecks paddled upriver last Thursday to take on Annandale Insurance.  A selection already depleted by the absences of Rear Admiral Geoff Dean (sailing in the Mediterranean) and Peter Harrison (unfit for duty) was further weakened when two hands unaccountably failed to appear on deck at six bells.  The opposition meanwhile consisted of the usual assortment of cabin boys and old sea-dogs, with a couple of professional sailors on hand just in case things got rocky.

The nine men were invited to field on losing the toss and Gregory Robinson opened the bowling to an umbrella field, substitute Skipper Taylor reasoning that there was no point in protecting the boundary as the sole possibility of victory lay in attack.

As no-one copied the opposition ship's log, only a sketchy account of what happened next is possible, but Alastair MacEwan pilfered three wickets, the Robinsons each took a nice catch and Taylor got McBride  in his last over but finished poorly to McCutcheon as A. I. (no, not Amnesty International) eased to 144 - 4.

Instructed at least to last the full twenty overs, the Shipwrecks stuck to their duty well.  Although early wickets fell when Mike Service was bowled for a duck and Kelvin Maxwell got run out by a good throw, Sid Oates took a fancy to young Levi and clouted him for several alarmingly straight boundaries before holing out.

Kelvin Maxwell prepares to lauch one towards the tennis courts

McCuaig and Taylor scratched around for a bit but the best innings came from Man of the Match MacEwan who, promoted up the order, took on some of the better bowling on the day to hoist a maximum.  Gregory Robinson hit three fours in his 15 and Sarosh batted steadily at the end to ensure Shipwrecks were not disgraced as they survived for 91 - 7.

Scores: Annandale Insurance 144-4 (MacEwan 3 - ??) : Shipwrecks 91-7 (MacEwan 25 not out, Oates 23, G. Robinson 15)

Kingholm 2 To Be Replaced By Dartboard?

The frustrating news that yet another fixture has fallen foul of the weather, as Kingholm 2 performed a passable imitation of the Nile flood plain earlier this week, set me thinking.

As it is apparent that the majority of sea battles this year will be abandoned without a cannonball being fired, I am considering a letter to the Midweek League Committee (also known as Everett) about the possibility of insisting that the teams involved resolve their differences by playing darts cricket instead.

The concept would be that all teams drawn at Kingholm 2 would instead nominate three players to meet each other on the night of the fixture.  Wikipedia mentions several sets of rules for Darts Cricket, most of which would be beyond the comprehension of most midweek players after a couple of drinks, so I propose to suggest the following format:

The New Kingholm 2?

• Toss is replaced by 'middle for diddle'.
• Players throw in nominated order, teams taking turn and turn about.
• Bowling team goes first
• Bullseye scores two wickets, outer bull one wicket. But darts outside the treble ring are scored to the batting team.
• Batting team scores runs for every three darts thrown less 40 until all out.  Rounds less than 40 score nothing, but bulls are scored as wickets.
• Points are allocated to participating teams as per usual rules (no rain-offs allowed).

Obviously this format has the key advantage that dartboards are always drier than Kingholm 2, so all Midweek League fixtures would be played and no-one would need to get wet unless they spill their beer. Also teams are unlikely not to have enough players.

One obvious problem is that, as there is currently no dartboard at The Ship Inn, we are struggling for a local venue that has both a dartboard and real ale. 

Unless of course, you know better...

Shipwrecks Bogged Down

After cunningly evading the previous week's encounter with Dalton Pros because of the waterlogged outfield at Kingholm 2, the Shipwrecks were finally called out again to face the Kingholm XI this Wednesday.

The match was played in excellent conditions for sailing, with a strong, chill north-westerly breeze blowing and bright sunshine reflected in the lakes and puddles on the boundary, between which the upturned sightscreens of ghost ship St Michael's CC looked a bit like capsized yachts.

On losing toss and being required to bat, Skipper Ally MacEwan delegated command to first mate Geoff Dean, who dispatched Sandy McNay and Mike Service out to face the opening Woodhouses.

A low scoring game was always likely as the openers struggled to stroke the ball through the mixture of ankle high grass and marsh plants and those that came were largely from using the pace of the ball.  Service was eventually bowled by Woodhouse (Sr.) in the fourth over, upon which a diastrous middle order collapse ensued.

Sid Oates was bowled by Woodhouse (Jr.) and Sid Barbour by Woodhouse (Sr.) in quick succession, and Peter Harrison's first shot went straight to cover.  There then followed two sharp run outs by the fielding side to jetison Rory Dean and McNay. Dean, curiously electing to bat down the order, edged to slip and it was left to Ship's Clerk Colin Taylor to survey the wreckage.

The missing scorebook

Having earlier forgotten the club scorebook (which may account for some inaccuracies* in the log), Taylor at least made amends by batting out the remaining overs, while Kelvin Maxwell helped avoid an embarrassing total with some late order hitting, which included the only boundary of the innings - a lusty six which splashed into the developing canal next to the river bank. Once he was out, Donald McCuaig and Taylor managed a few more singles to leave the Shipwrecks stranded on 47 - 9.

The outcome was in little doubt after the first four overs, during which Hutchinson amassed a quick 22. But after he was bowled by Harrison, most of the succeeding Kingholm batsmen struggled.  Harrison got the ball to swing in nicely with the wind to claim 3-15. After taking a catch off Dean (Jr.) MacEwan entered the attack to claim two wickets in two balls, Harrison again taking a good catch.  Momentarily, Kingholm lost momentum, but victory was already in sight and there was no fairy tale ending.

*Approximate Scores: Shipwreecks 47 - 9 (Taylor 13 not out, Maxwell 12, McNay about 10) : Kingholm XI 48 - 6 or 8 (Harrison 3 -15, MacEwan 2 - 4)