Cricket: Vale of Leven Cricket Club not bowling teams out

Jun 12 2009 by Andy Galloway, Lennox Herald (main ed)

VALE of Leven Cricket Club entertained Marress at Millburn on Saturday in the league. Captain John Birnie won the toss and invited the visitors to bat.

An early breakthrough was achieved when Ivan Lawrence caught the opener from the bowling of Brian Stavert when the total was on 11, but the early dismissal was not followed up.

A trap was engineered for one of the hard hitting batsman as the runs mounted up. He fell for it with Mohamed Qayyum taking a fine catch on the leg side boundary. Marress declared on 157 for 8 in the 49th over.

The four bowlers used, Alex McAdam, Brian Stavert, Peter Innes and Mohamed Qayyum, each took two wickets.

The Vale openers found it tough against the quicker bowlers from Irvine and the bounce of the ball on the hard surface.

Only three of the top order managed double figures. The middle order lost three wickets on the score of 60.

Hugh Hutchinson joined Robbie Bruce in the middle with seven wickets down. The pair batted for an hour and added 33 runs before Hugh was bowled with the score on 93.

With only four overs left, Robbie marshalled the last two batsmen for a well-earned draw. The Vale closed their innings on 107 for nine. Robbie finished on 24no.

The Vale bowlers bowled well on the day. However, the inability to bowl the opposition out remains the major barrier to progressing up the league.

The Vale is the only cricket club in West Dunbartonshire and is looking to recruit new players, especially from the Clydebank, Dumbarton and Vale of Leven areas.

The Vale are always looking for anyone who may wish to take the game up or are looking for a club to play for.

Contact Hugh on 0141 951 8133 for more details or look up our website at http://vale ofleven.play-cricket.com/home/home.asp.