Dumfries Under 13s were back in League action this week with Langholm the opponents. It was Dumfries who once again came out on top to maintain their position at the top of the Cumbria North League.

Dumfries won the toss and elected to bat and the opening pair of Fergus Bainbridge and Max Corbett-Byers started off in confident mood. Usually the pair go on to dominate the bowling but uncharacteristically they both failed to convert. Bainbridge was caught for 10 and Corbett-Byers was run out for 18. Dumfries were unable to get any partnerships going and although Mathew McBurnie scored 10 runs and James Hobman 14, once again they were unable to build a longer innings. Dumfries were eventually bowled out for 73.

Langholm took a cautious approach to chasing down the small total and looked to build partnerships. The Dumfries bowling was not up to the usual high standards, however the fielding was the highlight as Langholm were unable to find the boundaries they needed to chase down the small target. Mathew McBurnie picked up a couple wickets to put Dumfries on top and further wickets from Max Corbett-Byers, Niamh Muir and Miles Pendred ensured that Langholm finished on just 49 runs.

The champagne moment was when 7 year old All Stars Cricket graduate Cory Dawson took a catch demonstrating that the coaching programmes in place are starting to develop good cricketers.

Dumfries retained their spot at the top of the table, however the crunch match away to Carlisle (second in the league) takes place on Friday at Edenside.

Saturday
Saturday was an opportunity for both the Croma Vigilant Dumfries and Nunholm (Dumfries 2nd XI) to push their way up the table with winnable matches. It was however the rain the won the day as both matches were called off due to the weather, allowing the players to fully enjoy the Guid Nychburris celebrations in town.

Sunday
Croma Vigilant Dumfries Sunday XI 124-7 v Carlisle (did not bat) Match Abandoned

Croma Vigilant Dumfries Sunday XI were in action against Carlisle. Carlisle made the short trip across the border and were put into the field as Dumfries chose to bat. It was a steady innings from Dumfries as they took the score to 124-7 with valuable contributions from Adam Malik (25) and Mark Abnett (25) and a solid performance from youngster Sean Thornley (20 not out).

It however turned out that the rain would again win this weekend as the covers were bought onto the pitch and were never removed. The match was abandoned and the match declared tied and the points shared.

Photo: Sean in batting action