Kingholm win bruising encounter

Aug 28 2009 by Our Correspondent, Dumfries Standard Friday

LAST Saturday, St Michael's second string Kingholm travelled to Ardrossan and were put in to bat on a bouncy artificial wicket.

Alan Coulter immediately set about the Ardrossan bowling, racing to 21 off 10 balls before being bowled trying to launch McLaggan over the legside boundary.

Against some very tight bowling especially from McLaggan, who took one for 14 from his 11 overs, Mike Lumb and Alex Taylor progressed steadily at three runs an over so that at drinks the score was 80 for one.

Taylor, promoted to three in the order, batted especially bravely against pacy Australian bowler Thomas and took two heavy blows from bouncers during the course of his innings of 41, which ended in the 31st over with the score on 97.

Raj Shyam then hit a brisk 14 before being caught and then Ram Krishna drove a ball to cover for a duck, leaving Kingholm at 123-4 in the 40th over.

In strode Davey Fallas, who in recent weeks has turned back the clock 10 years.

Back to his brutal best, he punished the tight Ardrossan bowling attack, hitting straight ball after straight ball to the boundary.

After Lumb went for a stubborn 37 trying for the big hit, Fallas carried on with first Kenny Wilson and then John Whitehouse taking the total to 199-6 from 50 overs, having plundered 76 runs from the last ten.

Ardrossan's batting chances were not helped when Thomas was taken to hospital following a severe hand injury sustained while fielding.

However openers Clayton Lambert and Dwariwal set off at a brisk pace against bowlers Ram Krishna and Kenny Wilson before Lambert was narrowly run out for 19.

The runs were still flowing at five an over until Campbell was caught by Fallas off Wilson, who was by now showing himself to be the best bowler on display. Wickets started to fall at regular intervals and good catches were taken by Fallas, Whitehouse, Armstrong, Shyam and Sloan.

Donald held the innings together with 35 for Ardrossan but eventually they were all out for 123.

All of the Kingholm bowlers contributed to the win but the best was Kenny Wilson with figures of 3 for 32 from 11 overs.

This win puts Kingholm third in the table with a trip away to table toppers Hamilton next week.

The J.B Houston Man of the Match award went to Alex Taylor for his fine innings of 41 against some very tight Ardrossan bowling.