BELOW-par Ayr fell to a second successive defeat in the Western Premier Division.

They lost by six wickets to West of Scotland at New Cambusdoon.

Batting first Ayr got off to a solid start as Anwar Hafeez (34) and Michael Miller (29) put on 50 for the first wicket, but following the departure of Miller, they then lost Andi McElnea and Shujja Khan in quick succession before Kenroy Peters (60) and Niall McCrossin (39) got the innings back on track as they finished on 210-7. The West innings also got off to a solid start before Johnny Baines struck to remove both openers, but the visitors middle order rallied and kept them ahead to the required run rate as they ran out six-wicket winners with two overs to spare, finishing on 214-4.

On Wednesday Ayr started their defence of the McCulloch Cup with a comfortable victory over Irvine at Cambusdoon. An opening stand of 133 between Anwar Hafeez (80) and Michael Miller (61) set them on their way to an impressive total of 173-4 which proved too much for the visitors who despite a late flurry by overseas amateur Bevan Carlse (43 no) finished well short on 141-5.

The Cambusdoon XI travelled to Glasgow to face Partick in the Reserve League on Saturday. The home batted first and were in a bit of trouble until the ninth wicket partnership between Hussain (45) and Sandhu (43) enabled them to reach the respectable total of 249 all out. Matthew Baines 3-39 and Callum Henderson 4-49 were the pick of the bowlers. The Cambusdoon reply started well with useful contributions from Dave Pinder (52) and Callum Henderson (38) but were always struggling to keep up with the run rate and finished just short, as they were bowled out for 231.

The Development XI travelled to East Kilbride to face Torrance House in the Western Cup and left with a victory by 45 runs. Batting first they scored 138-3 with Ross Mitchell (55 no) and Richie Simpson (20) top scoring. They then bowled their hosts out for 93 with skipper Harry Boyd taking 5-22 and Nari Bhandari 2-4.

This week sees Ayr take on Stirling at New Williamfield in the Western Union for the Irwin Iffla Trophy on Saturday and on Wednesday they continue their defence of the McCulloch Cup against GHK. The Cambusdoon XI face Torrance House in the Reserve League while the Development XI face Crow Road in the Evening League.

Match Sponsors

Stirling v Ayr : Hugh Devine; GHK v Ayr : Clancy Consulting; Cambusdoon v Torrance House : Callum Henderson