Dumfries Cricket Club had a partial start to their league season at the weekend with the Sunday XI and the Under-11s able to complete their fixtures.
The 1st XI, Your Move Dumfries, could only reach the half way stage in their Premier League game against Ayr on Saturday at Nunholm before rain intervened. However, that was after Scotland ‘A’ bat Michael English showed imperious form in amassing a score of 180 for Ayr. He was backed up by their top order and the strong visiting side, one of the favourites for the league this season, reached 349 for 4, before the persistent rain caused an abandonment. The 2nd XI, Nunholm, also faced an abandoned match up at East Renfrewshire.
The Dumfries Sunday side enjoyed a close win at Wetheral on Sunday where 13-year old Billy Morgan took the headlines, and the James Hallam Insurance Player of the Match award, in his senior debut with a hat trick to help Dumfries fight back to a 16 run win.
Batting first the Sunday XI had a steady start with Mat Williams and Adam Malik getting through the first ten overs before Williams was out caught. Malik went on to hit 35 before also being caught. That brought James Little and Max Corbett-Byers together in the middle to accelerate the run rate with James hitting two big sixes. Max retired for a fine 50 with ten balls of the 36 overs remaining with Dumfries reaching a total of 160 for 2.
Max Corbett-Byers and Jacob Holden opened the bowling and Max picked up two early wickets, both bowled. A couple of bowling changes were not able to stem the run rate by Wetheral, until Dave Lightfoot and Billy Morgan were brought on together following the drinks break.
Dave Lightfoot made the first breakthrough clean bowling one and in his next over got a second thanks to a good one handed catch by Jesse Smit. The following over Billy Morgan got his first wicket dismissing the Wetheral top scorer as he hit the ball deep into the leg side where Max took a very good catch. The next ball clean bowled a second and he claimed a senior debut hat trick with his 3rd wicket, an LBW.
Following those four overs Wetheral lost the means to chase and Dumfries squeezed the run rate with sharp fielding and accurate bowling. The last ball saw a run out and Dumfries winners by 16 runs in a tight and friendly well played match.
Dumfries beat Wetheral by 16 runs [Eden Valley Sunday League Division 1]
Dumfries Sunday XI 160-2 (36 overs)
M Corbett-Byers 50 retired, J Little 37no, A Malik 35
Wetheral 144-9 (36 overs)
B Morgan 3 for 22, D Lightfoot 2 for 22, M Corbett-Byers 2 for 16
Women’s Cricket: For West U18s Girls, Orla Montgomery, Niamh Muir and Emma Fordyce represented the region in their fixtures against the East on Sunday in the Scottish regional series. Captain Montgomery top scored for the West in the second T20 match and Muir took three wickets in match one but the East came away with two wins.
Dumfries Cricket Club welcome new players, of any age from 5 upwards, male and female, to come along to the club’s various sessions and can contact the club on [email protected], via www.dumfriescricketclub.com, or on social media @dumfriescricket.
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