Every Man Does His Duty

10-man Shipwrecks outmanoeuvred Lockerbie with an excellent away victory on Thursday after an encounter featuring slightly weakened crews on both sides.

After a brief squall that livened up the pitch, returning skipper Alasdair McEwan won the toss and chose to bat.  After a quiet first over, Sid Oates and Danny McBryde, who hit three successive 4s, avoided the calm waters, accelerating to 30-2 by the time Oates was bowled off the first ball of the fifth over - possibly the best start Shipwrecks have had all season.

Called up almost simultaeneously, Davey Fallas and Mike "Senior" Service were soon in full attacking mode, both retiring on 25, Service having improved noticeably his charting of the fuller delivery. With the score already approaching 100, Jason Hall followed on at only slightly reduced revs and it was only unfortunate that his retiral coincided with an exhausted Taylor's run out. But once again, the tail (Jim Worthington and Mike Lumb) wagged and the ship's cat was smiling on a total of 144 after the 20 overs.

On the resumption of hostilities however, there was a feel of deja vu from previous humiliations as Carpenter and Ross Crawford plundered runs all over the place as the ageing argonauts again fumbled in the field. After five overs, Lockerbie were well ahead of the required rate, but at this point fortunes changed.

Mike Lumb Celebrates
His Three Dismissals

Looking to nail a last boundary, Carpenter missed and was bowled by Hall and McEwan responded by taking an excellent return catch to eliminate Crawford in his last over. McEwan was replaced by Colin Taylor, who sought to exploit a sporty breeze off the dogger bank.  In his first over he had Gracie neatly stumped down the leg side by Lumb.  In his second he crucially had Andy Veitch brilliantly taken by Worthington at mid off on the drive, then got one to move off the deck to have Stephenson caught behind by Lumb. After a neat run out by Danny McBryde to remove Dawson, Taylor struck again to bowl Rogerson with a curve ball before Lumb completed his third dismissal and Taylor's five-for when he took another good catch off Harris.

The Lockerbie innings had effectively been torn asunder and Fallas and Worthington picked up the last couple of wickets, dismissing the home side for 95 at the start of the last over.

Overall this was also an excellent performance in the batting and eventually the fielding departments. To avoid more painful pictures of Taylor, Skipper McEwan announce that the Man of The Match Award should be shared by the whole team as everyone had contributed to an excellent win.

Today's result by some accounts means that Shipwrecks have also outflanked Lockerbie at the top of the Division 2 League Table, so that they are now in serious danger of being promoted beyond their level of competence. Hopefully there will be some sort of nautical disaster  or seafaring catastrophe to help them avert this fate.

Scores: Shipwrecks 144 - 7 (Fallas 25 ret, Service 25 ret, Hall 25 ret, McBryde 13, Oates 10, Taylor 10 ; Gracie 2-36) : Lockerbie 95 all out (Carpenter 23, R. Crawford 12 ; Taylor 5-10)

A Happy Crew

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.)

Shipwrecks Weather The Storm

Shipwrecks got underway again with a second victory over Burgh Boys at Kingholm 2 on Thursday, their first game for three weeks.

A pause in the cup schedule had been compounded by a misreading of the tide charts, so that the 'Wrecks and Dumfries Colts were expecting to play each other on different days.  To be fair the Midweek League Fixture list stated that the game should have been played on Wednesday 25th June (which was a Thursday) - so the mix-up was to be understood.

This Thursday's teams gathered under the trees shortly after 6.00 p.m. as a southerly gale blew swept across the Kingholm from the Azores.  Fainter hearts would have headed for port, but a brief interlude in the downpour allowed play to commence at approximately 6.40, after Vice Captain Donald McCuaig rather hesitantly opted to bat.

This had the advantage that most of the team were still in hiding when the downpour resumed, but those on deck fared less well and in a fit of bravado, Shipwrecks lost Oates, Service, McCuaig, Dean and McBryde for a paltry 28.

After the Rain - Team Conference

Fortunately these had been made at the double so Davey Fallas and Derek Rankine were able to consolidate with a more selective approach but continued the required amount of big hits.  With not too much help from the lower order excepting Connor, Shipwrecks just managed to survive the voyage, and when Rankine brought up his retirement off the very last ball of the innings, the total had raced on to 121 - 9.

By now the sun stood fair in the sky, but it was always hard to see how this total could be reached using a ball that had gone from slippery to soaked and on an outfield still throwing up plumes of spray.

Early overs were uneventful until McCuaig turned to spin and Davey Fallas soon captured Edgar caught and bowled.  BB Skipper Collingwood was then surprised by a nifty throw by Service to be run out while still feathering his paddle.  Key moments then occurred when Rankine bowled S. Flack for 13 and F. Flack, on 10, edged to short third man, effectively ending the Burgh Boys' fire power.

Taylor - Naffest Selfie?

Fallas picked up two further wickets before old hand Colin Taylor was teleported back 25 years to eliminate B. Flack with a surprisingly sharp catch off his second ball.  Taylor went on to capture the wickets of various still arriving Burgh Boys, ending with the returning V. Collingwood, who was nicely taken by Cameron at wide slip to conclude the innings in the nineteenth over.

Taylor claimed the Man of the Match with  his 4-10 and also the Naffest Selfie Of The Season So Far Award.

Scores:  Shipwrecks 121 – 9 (Fallas 27 ret, Rankine 25 ret, Connor 10 ; F. Flack 3-20, V. Collingwood 2-15, A. Collingwood 2-17) : Burgh Boys 68 all out (S. Flack 13, A Carmichael 10 ; C Taylor 4-10, D Fallas 3-22)

Lost at Lockerbie

Shipwrecks went down in their first Sulwath Trophy Cup fixture at Lockerbie on Thursday in spite of posting a fair 131 after winning the toss and deciding to bat first.  This was a good toss to win for Skipper McEwan as heavy coastal traffic round the Dumfries bypass meant that many hands were delayed and arrived like flotsam at various stages during the innings.

After Sid Oates and Donald McCuaig were out trying to force the pace, a substantial partnership was established by Mike Service and Geoff Dean, who took the score into the eighties with some good aggressive play.  Both reached the compulsory retirement, Dean with a thumping six to record 29.

Mike Service eyes up a ball from Rogerson

After that point though wickets fell regularly. Davey Fallas was bowled for 11 taking a huge swipe at Stephenson, while Colin Taylor was run out by a sharp throw from third man next ball.  Some forward momentum was continued by Jason Hall, however, with McEwan and Worthington chipping in to take Shipwrecks to 131 - 9.

In tremendous weather with fast outfield conditions, the total was never insurmountable and the absence of leading seaman Derek Rankine meant that the bowling attack was missing its main anchor.

It began well enough when Fallas bowled Crawford in the second over but the improving Naysmith batted impressively with Carpenter - unfortunately only after Carpenter had shaved one to wicketkeeper Mike Lumb and declined the invitation to walk the plank.

Toiling in the heat, it was the Shipwrecks' fielding that ultimately let them down as catches went down, balls were fumbled and run outs missed.  The tiring oldsters were eventually reduced to lumbering around like unmanoeuvrable Spanish galleons as the opposition stole innumerable cheeky runs and only one more wicket fell as Lockerbie romped home with overs to spare.

Shipwrecks Man of the Match was Geoff Dean for his 29 n.o. after a traumatic journey.

Scores: Shipwrecks 131 - 9 (Dean 29 ret., Service 25 ret., Hall 19 n.o., Fallas 11 ; Dawson 2-14) : Lockerbie 132 - 5 (Gracie 27 ret., Naysmith 25 ret., Carpenter 25 ret., A. Veitch 19, D. Veitch 17 n.o.)

Shipwrecks Cruise to Victory

Shipwrecks met St Michael's Cadets (inappropriately sponsored by scrap merchant J. Walker & Son) at Kingholm 1 on Thursday.  For the first time the weather was fine and fair - enough to feel comfortable in the covers without donning a sou'wester.

Home Skipper Geddes won the toss and elected to bat on the artificial, reinforced by the return of professional sailor Rohin Thapar from the East India Company. But the youngsters were soon under heavy seas when Rankine and McEwan bowled Muir and Malik for early ducks. Unlike other pros observed locally, Thapar selflessly refrained from launching every ball over the boundary and hung around encouraging the youngsters to find their sea legs before retiring on 28. Unfortunately just Geddes could respond to the call, playing some nice cuts to starboard in his 25. Only Ryan Geddes and Levi White managed to contribute further runs to the wides allocation.

Howzat?! - Umpire McNay Looks Away

Derek "Shabba" Rankine bowled with commendable accuracy as did Alasdair McEwan, who produced his best spell of the season against the better batting. A notable addition to the fighting force was newcomer Peter Connor, who bowls and also fields at a higher pace than most of the old lags.  Later on Cameron, Taylor amd Hall produced stingy spells to restrict the J Walker & Son innings to 73.

In contrast to the swamp encountered in 2012, the Kingholm outfield is starting to ressemble a golf green, so it was relatively plain sailing for Shipwrecks to overhaul this target - but only after negotiating the impressive opening partnership of Fraser Jack and White, who bowled Service for 3 and accounted for Dean as he looked for a big finish.  After Davey Fallas hat put together a cool 25 retired against his St Michael's coachees, Hall and Taylor steered the Shipwrecks home.

Good news onshore for Shipwrecks is the launch of Bar Milan just downstream of our former haunt, The Ship Inn, which appears to spend a long time in dry dock waiting for a rich buyer.

Scores: J Walker & Sons 73 - 9 (Thapar 28 ret, A. Geddes 25 ret ; Connor 2-10, Rankine 2-21) : Shipwrecks 80 - 3 (Fallas 25 ret, Dean 24, Hall 14 n.o. ; White 2-25). Shipwrecks won by 7 wickets and 7 runs.

Shipwrecks Founder In The Darkness

Shipwrecks were left wondering who killed the albatross after the Healthpros escaped with their lives in the recent encounter at Kingholm 2. For, after a creditable performance on being asked to field and restricting the Medics to 85, they were cursed with the luck of Jonah and fell short of the target by 12.

Healthpros made heavy weather of the early part of their innings, restricted by tight bowling from Alasdair McEwan and Derek Rankine who bowled Sue Strachan for 1. After experimenting with a couple of wides, Colin Taylor got one to nip away from David Hill, who fell victim to a sharp catch by Ship's Doctor Mike Lumb standing up behind the stumps. The old sea dog continued to make use of the leg cutter to bowl Thin and had Doig nicely taken on the run by Rankine off his last salvo. Meanwhile Peel was run out following some neat work by McCuaig and Lumb.

Unfortunately the tide of success slackened as two takeable chances were spilled and, crucially in an encounter that was to produce only four boundaries, Shipwrecks left too much space on deck and several unnecessary singles were pillaged by the Strachans (Sr and Jr) as the Healthpros probed their way to 85 for 7.

A few lusty sixes should have settled the affair, but a chill breeze sprung up from the Dogger Bank as the sky grew blacker than a pirate's eyepatch, producing enough bad light to stop three test matches.

Jim Worthington edged behind second ball and Mike Service was tied down by accurate bowling from Raj as the run rate stalled, eventually being bowled as he tried to break the shackles.  Geoff Dean literally lost his middle stump (it broke) first ball to one that kept low and after McCuaig was run out under pressure, Taylor fell to another deck scourer from Rayen.

Donald McCuaig On Strike Before The Blackness Descended

Some sort of partnership developed between Rankine and Jason Hall, who did well to see the ball, let alone hit it.  But when Hall was bowled by Mutthiah, the writing was on the wall.  The key sloggers fell as McEwan unluckily played on and Cameron edged straight to slip and Shipwrecks' luck was clearly at rock bottom when Mike Lumb hit a firm shot only to be magnifcently taken by a diving Mutthiah for 0.

By this time it was statistically impossible for Rankine to get the necessary runs because of the retiral rule barring a brainstorm from Worthington in his second coming for the absent McBryde.

The New Scorebook

The two did what they could in the last three overs but it was never going to be enough.

Hopefully the acquisition of a new logbook by Purser Dean will bring better luck, but on this showing, we'd do better to chuck it overboard on the next voyage.

In spite of Rankine's excellent 24 not out and two wickets, the Man of the Match went to Colin Taylor for his vintage bowling spell.

Scores: HealthPros 85 for 7 (F Strachan 25 ret, D Strachan 19 ; C Taylor 3-11, D Rankine 2-11) : Shipwrecks 73 for 9 (Rankine 24 n.o., Hall 16 ; R Shyam 3 for 8)

Shipwrecks' Service Successful

After a major overhaul in the engine room following the Nunholm slowdown, Shipwrecks' batting machine belched steam immediately to power ahead of a reasonable Lockerbie total by six wickets at the Kingholm on Thursday.

Invited to field on an overcast evening, the start was not promising as Shipwrecks leaked easy runs and missed run out opportunities before Alasdair McEwan bowled Carpenter with a slower one and got Naysmith, who was hitting the ball over the static field regularly, to tee one up for Fallas on the boundary.

The ball was swinging for bowlers from the estuary end for Chris Lumb to bowl Bray and Jason Hall to do the same for Dawson.  Andy Veitch was typically steering to leg but misjudged against Andy Cameron to lose his stumps. Meanwhile Shipwrecks had managed to stem the tide of runs from the other end so that Lockerbie were only in the mid seventies with five overs to go.  But Gracie hit three powerful sixes with support from Daniel Veitch once Hall had dismissed Jamie Crawford, and the visitors finally resurfaced at 118 - 6 after the twenty overs.

Mike Service

For Shipwrecks, Geoff Dean started on full throttle from the outset with boundaries square of the wicket and Mike Service soon accelerated with a couple of notably big sixes while Danny McBryde once again perfected his exhibition shot without managing to score any runs with it.  Both openers departed having reached retirement as did Davey Fallas after a typically brief voyage.  Others scratched around in the gathering gloom and swarms of midges but the powerful start meant few runs were needed in the last few overs and Jason Hall stayed on hand to draw the scores level before a final wide took Shipwrecks to victory.

Mike Service was nominated Man of the Match for his full on assault.

Scores: Lockerbie 118 – 6 (Gracie 25 ret, A Veitch 24, Naysmith 23, D Veitch 13 n.o. ; J Hall 2-15, A McEwan 2-19) : Shipwrecks 119 – 4 (Fallas 29 ret, Dean 25 ret, Service 25 ret ; Stevenson 2-9)

Geoff Dean  Hauls Off