Approaching the end of what has been a very frustrating season for the Galloway Ladies they finally got to play a league game against local rivals, Dumfries on Sunday at Nunholm. The weather has resulted in most of the women’s league games being called off and everyone was very excited to play in this local derby.
Dumfries conceded the toss and Galloway chose to field first. A solid start with some excellent bowling from Jessica McCulloch (sponsored by BS Electrical) and Louise Cumbley (sponsored by The Gallery at Laurieston) kept the run rate down and the first breakthrough came in the sixth over when captain, Natalie Hamblin (sponsored by BS Electrical) ran out their opener when she was on just 5 runs. An important wicket in the grand scheme of things. It was clear from the tight fielding that the ladies’ summer training has paid off. Dawn Campbell (sponsored by The Selkirk Arms, Kirkcudbright) was a standout all-round fielder along with fantastic performances from youngsters Hope Taylor, Tessa Hall and Carmen Cluckie.
The run rate sped up and the strong Dumfries side put the Galloway girls’ fielding skills to the test. On the way to their 118 total Dumfries lost 3 more wickets – another run out by Alex Livingston, one caught by Natalie Hamblin (sponsored by BS Electrical) off the bowling of Orla Montgomery and one hit wicket off the bowling f Hope Taylor.
With a fairly healthy total to chase the pressure seemed to get to the Galloway girls who haven’t had a lot of match experience this season. It wasn’t the greatest start as wickets fell like dominoes until Louise Cumbley (sponsored by The Gallery at Laurieston) and Natalie Hamblin (sponsored by BS Electrical) managed to anchor the team and settled into bat together nicely with some brilliant calling and backing up. The score finally started to tick over until Natalie was unfortunately clean bowled, leaving Alex Livingston and Louise to see out the remaining overs. Another fantastic partnership saw the Galloway Ladies finish on 62 for 5 off their 20 overs – a long way from the target set by Dumfries. The ladies are now focusing on making improvements ahead of their next league game away against Stirling on Saturday 27th August.
Man of the Match was awarded to Louise Cumbley for her excellent bowling, calm and encouraging attitude throughout and taking on the role of a much-needed anchor when the batting order crumbled.
Anyone who would like to get involved with women’s/girls’ cricket in Galloway should contact Natalie on 07872 909 010.
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