In Western Championship 2, second placed Dumfries 2nd XI, Nunholm, won a must win encounter with leaders Hillhead 2nds at home on Saturday. With bonus points significant the Nunholm side needed to win by a margin and succeeded in doing that with a convincing 9 wicket win with James Cox the Solway Print Player of the Match for the Dumfries side.
Nunholm put the visitors into bat in a bid to force the required result and opening bowler Cox led the way with three early wickets to reduce the visitors to 14 for 3. Youngster Munro Cubbon got the next breakthrough, bowled, whilst opener Paul Bartlett stubbornly proved the backbone of the Hillhead batting effort. Then Wahid Jabarkhil provided the first of three sharp run-outs as Nunholm put in a busy team performance in the field.
Ross Lamb was another to hit the stumps as Hillhead reached 80 for 6 to boost his position as the side’s leading wicket taker this season. Junior Billy Morgan took a diving caught and bowled chance to remove Bartlett for 21 and all the remaining wickets fell in the eighties for a total of 88 all out with Munro Cubbon playing his part in two further run-outs.
Nunholm also needed to restrict any possible bowling bonus points for the league leaders by not losing wickets and opener Jabarkhil eased any concerns with a characteristic attacking innings including five boundaries for 33. When he was caught attempting another boundary Nunholm were halfway home.
Thereafter a steady hand was applied with an unbeaten partnership between Andrew Reed and Max Corbett-Byers to ease to a nine-wicket win, and also with zero bonus points earned by Hillhead. Corbett-Byers finished 17 not out and Reed was 31 not out to consolidate his fifth spot amongst the league’s top run scorers.
A win in the final match of the league season against bottom side Renfrew 3rds at Nunholm next Saturday would see the Dumfries 2nd team joining the 1st team this season as Champions of their respective West leagues.
Meanwhile, in Western Premiership 2, the Dumfries 1st team fixture at Hillhead was cancelled as the effects of Storm Lilian played havoc with the Saturday league fixtures in the West.
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Photo: Jabarkhil top scored for Nunholm against Hillhead
