DUNFERMLINE and Carnegie Cricket Club's first XI saw their promotion ambitions take another dent as they slipped to a third loss in four matches on Saturday.
The McKane Park side hosted RH Corstorphine second XI looking to bounce back from their defeat at Kelso last time out, but suffered a 92-run loss in East of Scotland Cricket Association (ESCA) Division Two.
A poor batting performance, which saw them fail to successfully chase the visiting total of 158, and the dropping of no fewer than 11 catches in the field, contributed significantly to the outcome.
The contest began brightly for Dunfermline and Carnegie, with Muhammad Rafiq taking three early wickets, and at 26 for three, the visitors were in trouble.
But that was when some poor catching by the home side came into play and Corstorphine took advantage to put together a decent score of 158 in 40 overs, albeit on a slow outfield.
The home reply, however, never really got off the ground, as only one batter, skipper Daniel Styer, made double figures, whilst wickets fell at regular intervals.
A mixture of very poor shot selection, and some accurate bowling, saw too few home batters settle in to put together an innings and the end result was the reply being all over in only 25 overs.
The result leaves Dunfermline and Carnegie third bottom ahead of their match at Leith FAB, one place below them, this Saturday (1pm). They'll be seeking to improve their batting or it could be a struggle to avoid being involved in a battle to escape relegation.
RH Corstorphine second XI (20) 157 for 8, D Noble 52, J Joseph 30, M Rafiq 3 for 18, R Cox 2 for 4, A Xavier 2 for 28.
Dunfermline and Carnegie first XI (4) 66, D Styer 13, W Connellan 4 for 17, G Clement 3 for 15.
In Division Five, Dunfermline and Carnegie's second XI secured their fourth successive win when they triumphed away to Watsonian third XI at Craiglockhart in Edinburgh.
Batting first, the West Fifers did so aggressively and scored at almost six runs an over for their whole innings, with excellent knocks from James Spreng, Kushan Piyumal, Nishi Nithiyunnathan and Haidan Sultan seeing them set the home side a target of 237.
Watsonians made a decent start in reply, but the loss of eight wickets for only 40 runs set up Dunfermline and Carnegie for a 120 run victory, which moves them second top of the table.
They are due to host Murrayfield DAFS third XI at McKane Park this Saturday, at 1pm.
Dunfermline and Carnegie second XI (20) 237 for 9, J Spreng 57, K Piyumal 45, N Nithiyunnathan 43, H Sultan 25, W Ellison 2 for 24, T Mullin 2 for 49.
Watsonians third XI (8) 117, C Cox 29, D Bryen 26, M Irfan 3 for 11, A Khan 3 for 19, K Kallamadi 2 for 17.
In Division Eight, Dunfermline and Carnegie's third XI saw their contest at Murrayfield DAFS fifth XI called off.
They are due to host Watsonian fourth XI this Saturday at McKane, with a 1pm start.
Meanwhile, Broomhall saw two matches called off due to the weather.
They had been due to host Glenrothes in the SPCU (Strathmore and Perthshire Cricket Union) T20 cup final on Wednesday May 22, but that match was rescheduled and due to be played last night (Wednesday).
On Saturday, they saw their SPCU Division Two fixture against Tay Lions rained off, but are due to host Glenrothes second XI at The Cairns this Saturday.
They have also lined up a friendly, on Sunday, against a Scottish Government XI.
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