The 1st XI looking for maximum points against Clydesdale
The 1st XI will seek out a second Western Premiership One league win on Saturday when Clydesdale provide the opposition at Glenpark.
The Glasgow side have been one of Scotland's top teams over the past decade. In that time the Titwood team have won the Premier League three times, Scottish Cup once, The Rowan Cup twice, and The McCulloch Cup twice.
This season, however, even Clydesdale have been finding league wins hard to get. Out of five matches played only two have been won. There are no easy games in the Western Premiership One.
A strong side will be fielded against their Glasgow opponents and will feel that they can gain a home win if the team can play to its potential. Particularly encouraging has been the form of Rahul Dalal, the club's Indian professional. Two consecutive unbeaten centuries in the recent games against West of Scotland and Prestwick have been just what was needed for him personally and also as a boost for the team's confidence.
The feeling of being competitive against some of the top teams in the league is a real encouragement for the players. They are recognising that with hard work and application, they can compete with the best in the Western Premiership One league.
Playing alongside such an accomplished professional cricketer as Dalal is an excellent learning experience for the players and, in particular, for the younger players who have not previously played at the top level.
Recognising how to play and keep up concentration against experienced bowling is an ability which takes time to learn. And staying out in the middle and building partnerships is how teams achieve good scores. More lengthy innings from Dalal will only help to develop these abilities for his team mates.
Clydesdale have not had the start to the season that they might have hoped for, or expected. Only two wins from five matches is a most unusual statistic for the Titwood team. And it should be a statistic which offers real encouragement to the Glenparkers.
Stirling County, who occupy the position immediately above the eleven at the foot of the table, gained their only win of the season to date against Clydesdale on the first Saturday of the league programme.
The loss to County was followed up by one of Clydesdale's worst league performances in many a long year when, at their own home ground, they were bowled out for just 75 when chasing West of Scotland's lowly total of 94.
However, the Titwood team got back on track in round three of the Western Premiership One league programme. Playing against Uddingston at Bothwell Policies, Clydesdale overcame the Lanarkshire club's challenging total of 250 and scored 251 for the loss of six wickets, mainly thanks to a second wicket partnership of 165 runs between Sheryar Awan (85) and Craig Young (73).
Round four returned another loss, this time to Prestwick at the Henry Thow Oval when another disappointing batting performance could only muster 148 runs which the Ayrshire side passed with ease.
Last Saturday brought Clydesdale a second win when Dumfries were bowled out for 107. But even then, the Titwood team made heavy weather of the run chase, losing six wickets before passing the Dumfries total.
So, only once have Clydesdale batted well. There is a fragility in their line-up which the team must look to exploit.
But there is also talent in their squad. Scotland senior international cricket captain, Richie Berrington, is in their ranks and, if he is in form, he can be a major danger. Berrington is, of course, a former Greenock player who came through the Glenpark junior system and played for years in the 1st XI before transferring to Clydesdale at the end of the 2013 season.
Another key batsman is former Poloc player Craig Young. He is Clydesdale's captain and leading run-scorer this season and removing him early will be important to curtail the visitors' run-scoring.
A number of changes have been made from the team that lost to Prestwick to this week's line-up. Unavailable due to work are Shailesh Prabhu, Chirag Pandher and Tom Forrest while Jamie Nowell drops down to the Glenpark XI. Into the side come Harry Briggs, the Hempsey brothers and Nagendra Nagaraju.
Briggs will partner Tom Polkinghorne at the top of the batting order for the third time this season. The pair have previously opened the innings against Dumfries and West of Scotland and will be keen to get the side off to a good start.
The Hempsey brothers have the potential to score useful runs in the middle order while Jonathan will also add experience to the team's bowling attack.
And back into the side after a fine all round performance for the Glenpark XI last weekend comes Nagendra Nagaraju. He is gaining experience playing at the top level and has the potential to be a valuable contributor with both bat and ball.
With the weather set fair for the weekend, Saturday's match should be one which brings out a good local support to give encouragement to the team. A good performance from the Glenpark side could well bring a second win of the season and a move up into a mid-table position.
As usual, the match will start at 12 noon.
The Glenpark XI make their shortest journey of the season on Saturday when they travel to Gourock Park to meet local rivals Inverclyde. Last Saturday, they came up just short against the unbeaten leaders, Woodfarm, and a repeat performance should enable the strong-looking eleven to bring the winning spoils back to Glenpark. But they must be wary of the fact their opponents will be very keen to come out on top in what is sure to be a keenly contested derby match. 1.00pm is the start time for the game.
The Club is grateful for the continued sponsorship from Cleaning Supplies 4U.