A Grand Day Out
Sunday the 25th of July saw the resumption of the DCC season with a visit to North Berwick to take on our newest friends Bass Rock CC. Conditions were glorious, and although the track was artificial, it was a belter of an astro. It was to be a 30 over match and captain Sandy Cunningham won the toss and sent Bass Rock into bat.
Opening bowlers Jason Syme and Bruce Harper had to be on their games as the two young opening batsmen, C. Lang and O. Jack, had an array of shots in their arsenal and got Bass Rock off to a fine start. Then… Harper tossed one down, Lang fired it to mid-off only for it be met by a gold-medal-winning leap by the bowler. An astonishingly acrobatic caught and bowled by the vice-captain. In the next over Syme put his first ‘W’ in the scorer’s book by claiming the scalp of the dangerous Jack, forcing him to top edge one into the safe gloves of Cameron Glasgow. The impetus was now firmly with DCC as Harper claimed his second wicket with the final ball of his spell.
Charlie Dunn replaced Harper and he soon added to the early in-roads by displaying some lightning reactions to claim his own caught and bowled. Syme followed this up in his typical fashion of sending the bails flying. The gymnastics in the field were not done yet as Jack Smart leaped high into the air and snagged a screamer of a one-handed catch to give Dunn his 2nd wicket, and then a few balls later Dunn clipped the outside of off-stump to end his fine spell. Gregg ‘Deadly’ Dunsire once again lived up to his nickname when he found the outside edge and the ball made its way, via a deflection from the keepers mitt, to the artistic hands of Nichol Wheatley at first slip. Making his first appearance of the summer, Chris Hadlee got in on the act as he beat the 10th batsman, P. Calmond’s defence with a nice bit of turn and pace. This saw ex Scotland captain G. Salmond enter the fray, and in tow with the fine junior player R. Hill, they began to form a formidable final wicket stand. However, the innings would be brought to an end as Cunningham cleaned bowled the youngster. The efforts of Pete Matthews in the field and Tom Hall’s umpiring must also be commended. Bass Rock all out for 77.
Best figures: C. Dunn; 8 of 3 for 3, J. Syme; 17 of 6 for 2, B. Harper; 23 of 4 for 2
Adam Buchanan-Smith and the skipper got the DCC innings under way, and with plenty of overs to play with time was on our side. However, the innings did not get off to the desired start. The fresh-faced opening bowlers, A. Lang and O. Jack, were firing down some bullets and soon sent the openers back to the boundary. Glasgow unfortunately failed in moving the total towards the required target and DCC finally managed to get the score moving in the right direction through the brutal style of Harper, who smashed an array of boundaries, and the reliable Smart who sensibly refrained from playing in his usual fast-paced style and nudged the ball confidently around the outfield. Harper would be bowled for a commendable 24. Hadlee entered and quickly fired off a 4, but he too would exit quickly. Dunn too looked capable of a decent score, but was caught in two minds as he was bowled by a long hop for 6. Smart then flashed at a quicker delivery and his innings came to an end for a solid 18. Any doubts of a collapse were soon squashed as Paul Fensom (7) and Syme (2) confidently moved the ball around to see DCC over the line with the victory being confirmed through a wide ball with 14 overs to spare.
Top Scores: B. Harper 24, J. Smart 18, P. Fensom 7*
We offer thanks to our newest friends Bass Rock CC for the competitive match, the warm welcome, and the great recommendation of a post-match rehydration facility. I am certain that next’s years fixture will be one circled far in advance, and hopefully we will be able to invite our opponents to Dollar in 2022 as well.
Man of the Match: Bruce Harper, “Fantastic afternoon of quality cricket!”
RESULT: DCC VICTORY BY 3 WICKETS
Played 6 | Won 4 | Lost 2