News from AGM

The AGM of the Midweek League took place at the Admiralty (aka Nunholm Bar) last night. This is a summary of the main telegraphs to be issued:

• We are once again the only club to behind with League Subscriptions as Club Purser Geoff "Naebeard" Dean is still clinging on to his pieces of eight,
  
• Kingholm Meadow are retiring to the scrapyard and some of their former hands are opting to sign up with us this season. Tremendous news in view of last season's crop of injuries, etc.
  
• Although entitled to avoid relegation Lockerbie have decided to drop to Division 2, which will mean a couple more voyages for us this year as St Michael's Juniors now have an extra crew.
  
• This means some revisions to draft fixtures, but our first encounter looks to be with the Burgh Boys on Thursday 4th May
  
• There was only one minor rule change, allowing cabin boys and girls stationed in S1 and below to bowl from the popping crease to a back foot no-ball rule using a junior ball.  All other League and Cup rules remain the same.
  
• In the Cup, Shipwrecks find themselves in an enlarged elimination group of four.  The other vessels involved in the skirmish are: Healthpros, St Michael's Juniors and Galloway Allstars - thereby increasing the chances that we actually get to play the Allstars for the first time this campaign.

Is now the time to start the annual discussion about a pre-season practice?

Sadie the Goat expects that every man will do his duty!

SHIPWRECKS PLOT A NEW COURSE

At their AGM on Friday in the Riverside Bar the crew members present agreed a new future for Shipwrecks CC.

The meeting was quorate but cabin boy Danny was reported missing presumed lost overboard, the crew agreed a keelhauling was the least he deserved.

The chair for the evening was Naebeard Dean who had taken stock of the provisions afore the meeting, The captain and vice-captain's report became a shaggy dog story of if's,buts, and maybes but crew mates agreed we had a season of calm seas and turbulent storms mixed together ,as ever, for the Shipwrecks.
Special mention was made of the development of the  bowling of Jim (Francis Drake ) Worthington who seemed to master the art even whilst the Shipwrecks were floundering. Despite strenuous efforts by Naebeard his faultless display behind the timbers was not mentioned!

The treasurer (Naebeard again) reported on the need for more booty next year as the cash did not flow adequately this year , although there was a contribution to the grog and ships biscuits later.

The chief blogger reported the  need for a little help/additional input and Naebeard volunteered again!! Those present made very positive comments about Colin's great work with the Ships (B)log thus far.

New crew members  will be sought before the next season of voyages-several seaworthy names were mentioned and a raid on the good ship Thornhill may be made. Others mentioned as hearty fellows were Alan, Connor and the Blackbeard Shabba. Fallas D was agreeable to recruit or Shanghai as many as possible.

Donald was reinstated as captain of the team as he is on a steep learning curve and will be ably assisted by Fallas D and a whole host of crewmen shouting flotsam .

Burser will continue to be Naebeard with enforcement duties ascribed to Mike (Senior) Service.

A bounty of £20 will be paid by each player at the start of the season to avoid needing to collect every week, those who don't wish to pay £20 can continue to pay £2 per voyage, but will be more effectively collected.

A voyage to the far off reaches of the Sea of Mid-Nithsdale will be made to give the crew a run out before the start of next season.

Mike agreed to get information about the Sannox sixes as a tour option next hear. Some of the crew felt a little mal de mer at the thought but agreed to consider it.

The meeting then abandoned ship and headed for the Spice Islands across the road before briefly mooring at the Ship, anchor was not weighed here as they had a poor quality of grog on offer. A return to the Riverside followed where it appeared that some of the crew had either fallen over the side or had been taken by pirates to another place.

All reported to shore bases and arrived safely home, although some appeared wetter than others!!

The Shipwrecks blog will be in dry dock for a while now but should be seaworthy again come the spring.

Shipwrecks Mugged

The Shipwrecks lost their Foster's Mug Final tie against to Healthpros at Nunholm.

On a slippery deck, some poor fielding and early bowling allowed the Healthpros to get off to a strong start through openers Orr and Hill, and although the last ten overs yielded slightly less runs, the only real highlight was a sensational one-handed diving catch by Alasdair McEwen off Andy Cameron to deny Hill a maximum.

Cameron to Williams

After a stuttering start during which they lost three wickets, Shipwrecks maintained a tolerable run rate to make 47 off the first ten overs, but Chamilla and F. Strachan checked their progress in mid-ocean. A clear turning point took place when Davey Fallas was adjudged lbw first ball and turned for the pavilion after closely inspecting the edge of his bat. 

Shipwrecks' chances were clearly fading into the horizon once Mike Lumb called McEwen for a tight single, but Lumb at least established a creditable partnership with last man Andy Cameron to take the Shipwrecks to a vaguely respectable 98-8.

Meanwhile some tampering by Mike Service meant that the electronic scoreboard was showing 123 after the eighteenth over but this was enough to cause only a momentary panic in the opposition ranks.

Afterwards in the Riverside Bar, it was generally agreed that the sea gods had not been in our favour.

Scores: HealthPros 130 for 4 (R Orr 43 retd, D Hill 38, D Strachan 26, M Williams 16 n.o.) : Shipwrecks 98 for 8 (M Lumb 26 n.o., J Dean 22, A Cameron 17 n.o. ; J Doig 3 for 12, F Strachan 2 for 13)
HealthPros won by 32 runs

Blog in Dry Dock

This is just a belated note to say that the Shipwrecks' Blog has been suspended as Writer Colin Taylor has been suffering with a severe bout of scurvy.

Look for it returning next season, if perhaps in a modified and briefer form. There are only so many seafaring puns you can get away with...

Meanwhile congratulations to the lads, who have made it to the Final of the Foster's Mug competition!

Tragedy At Sea

If Wednesday's cup performance was one of the Shipwrecks' better days, Thursday's league fixture against Dalton was one of their worst - a day when everything that could go wrong did go wrong and no amount of maritime puns can do justice to the full horror of the carnage that resulted.

First Mike Lumb had to be dispatched to pick up Danny McBryde at 6.00 pm, with the result that they did not arrive until four overs have been bowled.  So instead of ten men in the field against Dalton's eight batters, there were effectively six as continuing injuries to Colin Taylor and Donald McCuaig limited their mobility in the field. On a murky evening where batting first would have been a clear advantage as well as buying some time to get organised, the toss had of course been lost.

Not only that, opening bowlers Alasdair McEwen and Peter Cooper lapsed into a series of half trackers on the slowest pitch in the League so that the score had rocketed to 44 - 0 as the Dalton openers Steele and Barnard gleefully helped themselves.

Cooper's second two overs did improve, enabling him to bowl the Dalton figurehead, Amanda Creedon who played on first ball and was followed shortly by W. Jack, but Chris Lumb also started poorly with a number of wides before settling down.

Colin Taylor struggled to get to the wicket at all and his first three deliveries were dispatched for four. There was a brief moment of hope when he caught and bowled both Scarfe and Graham-Campbell in quick succession, the former with a particularly good catch.

At this stage there was still a possibility that the game could be brought back in control, but it was effectively lost when Davey Davidson was dropped with the score on 79. Shipwrecks contrived to drop him twice more as he piled on the runs with Richmond and the returning Creedon, who wittily remarked that she would be keeping her legs together in future.  Davidson was eventually very well taken by Chris Lumb at cover but by now the damage had been done.

Although there were plenty of runs to be had on a fast outfield, Dalton's 138 already looked an unlikely target.  Sid Oates and Danny McBryde made a slow start, amassing 10 off four overs as McBryde ran two short runs.  Both were quickly bowled by Davidson in his first over. The same bowler eventually accounted for Chris Lumb, who top scored with 17 after looking promising.

A little before that Richmond removed Mike Service, who had already clouted a couple of boundaries, with his first ball and Mike Lumb with his second.  There was some resistance from Cooper, Jim Worthington and McCuaig but McEwen capped a poor night by getting out for four and Taylor was the second to record a golden duck.  By this time anyway, Shipwrecks hopes of retaining their unbeaten League record had subsided far beyond the darkening horizon.

Home advantage on a pitch like Dalton is an important factor but Shipwrecks were completely out of sorts and, for the most, played like a team suffering from jetlag.

Scores: Dalton 138 -7 (Richmond 28 ret, Barnard 25 ret, Steele 25 ret, Davidson 22, Scarfe 12 ; Connor 2-22, Taylor 2-32) : Shipwrecks 88 – 8 (C. Lumb 17, Worthington 11 n.o., Connor 11 ; Davidson 3-16)

Shipwrecks Close To Cup Glory

To start the Foster's Midweek League Cup campaign, Shipwrecks were drawn against high floating Annandale Insurance Kirkmahoe (AIK), who are currently second in Division One.

Shipwrecks' High Command were not much amused by losing home advantage in faour of the Panther-Healthpros fixture as apparently no-one from Nunholm Port Authority would have been available to supervise the docking procedures. The 'Wrecks thought their best chance with a weakened team would be on the choppy meadows of Kingholm 2. As it happened Healthpros pulled out, leaving K2 to the seagulls.

In fact Shipwrecks distinguished themselves in what ensued at Nunholm - a tasty encounter that was only lost on the very last ball.

Eventually nine sailors only rolled up, of whom Skipper Donald McCuaig and Colin Taylor were carrying substantial injuries. Recognising the distress signals, AIK granted them permission to bat in spite of losing the toss again.

Mike Service strikes a maritime pose

Sid Oates was quickly bowled by Jones, but his departure gave Mike "Senior" Service the opportunity to profit from the new Cup rules allowing batsmen to retire on a maximum of 39+.  Only making two fours in his first twenty five and playing cautiously against the more dangerous balls, he then picked up the rate as others around him struggled.

Meanwhile Jim Worthington had put together a slow but steady 15 off 43 balls before falling on his own cutlass attempting a hopelessly ambitious quick single.  Unfortunately neither Chris Lumb nor Alasdair McEwen, who might have been potential matchwinners, made any serious headway, so the usual disorderly run scarmble resulted in the last four overs, Mike Lumb fortunately manning the wheel for long enough to steer the innings home despite luring Andy Cameron to another run out.

Shipwrecks' innings concluded on 108 - 7, a total that felt relatively modest in view of the fast outfield.

Chris Lumb immediately transmitted his intentions by dispatching Andrew McDonald to the poop deck with a fast yorker, and continued to cause damage with the aid of two catches from McEwen. Taylor and Andy Cameron looked to hold the run rate down for a wicket apiece, and the former only went for 13 off his four overs, Worthington taking a good catch at mid off.

Unfortunately some minor slip-ups on deck meant AIK got runs they shouldn't have but the two teams were still neck and neck going into the last couple of overs, the last of which saw Mike Lumb bowling to a tight field, all crew members looking to save singles.  Off his very last ball, however, Mark Irwin scrambled a single through fine leg to claim the result.

This was overall an above par performance by Shipwrecks with both bat 'n' ball.  Man of the Match was Mike Service for his excellent 42 retired.

Scores: Shipwrecks 108 – 7 (Service 42 ret, Worthington 14 ; Elliot 2-20) : Annandale Insurance Kirkmahoe 109 – 7 (Muir 41 ret, Irwin 16 n.o., Elliot 15, Barr 15 ; C. Lumb 3-22)

Shipwrecks Sail Close To The Wind

The Shipwrecks overcame an old sailor's curse at the Kingholm on Thursday, when they finally managed to triumph over the Healthpros by three wickets in their Midweek League Division II encounter. But success only came after a distinctly creaky batting performance, which nearly saw them sunk without trace.

In fair to sweltering conditions, the start of the match was unfortunately delayed as Ali McEwen was late after jetting into Annan* and still had the boundary marker buoys in his car after the last game. Meanwhile the Healthpros won the toss and chose to bat.

Colin "Old Man of The Sea" Taylor and McEwen himself  delivered a series of eight tight overs in a game of Ship's Cat and Mouse as the early batters refused to be drawn into any misadventures. Dave Hill was calmly caught at gully by Mike Service off Taylor's third delivery and McEwen soon bowled Sue Strachan.  No more wickets fell on their watch but by the end of it Taylor had figures of 1-4 and McEwen's were only spoiled by a big six from Williamson off his last delivery.

With only around 20 on the board, the pressure was now on the Healthpros to tighten the sails. Although Chris Lumb first struggled to find rhythm, Jason Hall picked up a couple of wickets, including the vital one of Doig, who was bowled for 20.  Mike Lumb conjured up a seaworthy spell, bowling the threatening Chezian for 9 and having Chamilla neatly caught amidships by Lumb (Jr.).

The latter then returned to good effect to remove David Strachan and Kalaya, Davey Fallas picked up a couple of stumpings, Williamson took nearly the full 20 overs to complete his retirement and experienced sailor Ben Rayen, surprisingly held back at No.11, was left stranded with Rosie Ryan on small not outs.

That the final total hoisted was 92 for 9 reflected the fact that Shipwrecks managed to concede 21 wides, so it was a good job they weren't sailing an aircraft carrier.  There was nevertheless an air of complacency below decks at the dinks interval.

This proved entirely misplaced as Doig quickly had Mike Service caught at mid-off and then scuppered Kelvin Maxwell with a straight one. At the other end Chamilla's bowled two overs of left arm spin that could have done more damage than just bowling Geoff Dean for 2.  Hall survived an lbw appeal to a rising delivery but was soon bowled by D. Strachan. Chris Lumb, perhaps sensing danger charged down the wicket for a quick single and was run out. At this point no Shipwreck had made more than his 6 and the team was running out of firepower.

Fortunately it fell those veterans of many a battle off the Clyde Coast, Mike Lumb and Davey Fallas to hold firm in stormy weather.  Fallas fired a couple of quick boundaries as the score finally began

Davey Fallas - delighted

to pull away.

Doig and Chamilla were brought back to break the Shipwrecks' lines and the pair responded with caution but still kept the required run rate at no more than five an over. Lumb played a couple of nice deflections to the short boundary and Fallas hit a fine six before each retired in quick succession.

This left McEwen and Taylor to get 15 off the last four overs in poor light but McEwen hit one four off Strachan and two off Ryan to complete the job unaided.with two overs to spare.

The result puts the Shipwrecks ahead of J. Walker & Son at the top of Division 2, resulting in lengthy celebrations in The Riverside Bar

Man of the Match was a clearly delighted Davey Fallas for his vital 25 retired and two stumpings.

Scores: Healthpros 92 – 9 (Williamson 28 ret., Doig 20 ; M. Lumb 2-11, Hall 2-12, C. Lumb 2-25) : Shipwrecks 94 – 7 (Fallas 25 ret., M. Lumb 25 ret., McEwen 14 n.o. ; Doig 2-17)
Shipwrecks won by three wickets

*Some mistake here surely (Ed.)