June 12/13 Weekend Preview
Saturday 12th June - 1st XI v Forfarshire
Greenock welcomes Forfarshire to Glenpark as the locals look to build upon their morale boosting first win of the season last Saturday against McCrae FS West.
Last weekend really did prove to be in football parlance ‘a game of two halves.’ On Saturday Greenock completely outplayed a West team who would have felt confident of victory but a great all round performance saw Greenock home by 52 runs. On Sunday Greenock travelled to play Stirling in the Scottish Cup buoyed by the result they merited the previous day but a day certainly is a long time in cricket as they proceeded to produce their most inept performance of an already fraught season.
Skipper McLaren has his work cut out as he attempts to rally his troops for the visit of the Dundonians who will themselves be boosted by the presence of captain Ryan Watson who was unable to join Richie Berrington and Scotland in the Netherlands due to work commitments. The team has not yet been selected as there are a few niggling injuries and McLaren will be hoping that these clear up before 1pm on Saturday. On a more positive note, Greenock will have overseas amateur Courtney Kruger back in action after a 3 week layoff with a broken finger.
Forfarshire sit comfortably in mid-table having won four of their seven games to date however they have lost three of their last four fixtures including a 7 wicket drubbing by high flying Carlton last Saturday. They retain more or less the same eleven for the trip to the tail o’ the bank including South Australian Professional 34 year old Kelby Pickering who will probably take the new ball and bat at seven or eight. Forfarshire boast a triumvirate of Graeme’s in Quinn, Black and opening batsman Garden although thankfully neither Bill Oddie nor Tim Brooke-Taylor were selected for this particular fixture as some would argue that there will be enough comedians on show without their presence.
Every match is taking on the importance of a cup final as Greenock attempt to steady the ship and McLaren really needs his players stand up and knuckle down in the face of adversity (Ed - is this an attempt to break the record for most cliches crammed into one sentence?). He may also choose to review the batting order as last Sunday there were two seasoned openers batting at six and seven whilst the in-form Baum was left nursing the tail at eight. Guys who are batting well need to get to the crease early and those who are not need to be positioned accordingly. Drastic times, drastic measures and all that.
Assuming Watson doesn’t go nuts this is definitely a team that is there for the taking but it will take a far more disciplined and cricket savvy approach to proceedings if the home team is to prevail. Catches will have to be held and width with the ball will need to be kept to a minimum. Anything less could see the neighbours running for the hills as a venerable plethora of Watson propelled munitions fall from the sky into their well appointed gardens as he attempts to achieve what Göring could not.
GCC would like to thank Ball Sponsor - John Kirk, Match Sponsors - Allan & Catherine MacFeate and Presidential Suite Sponsor - Capital Managers LLP.
Saturday 12th June - Torrance House v Glenpark XI
The Glenpark XI had the worse of a high-scoring draw last Saturday against Cavaliers, despite a terrific knock from their veteran opening bat, Peter Hempsey. Their opponents this week, Torrance House, are sitting in 8th position in the table and the Glenparkers will therefore see this as a real opportunity to get back on the winning trail.
At the time of writing, no team selection is known.
Sunday 13th June - Helensburgh v Hillend XI
The Hillend XI are still looking to get off the mark this season, having run into a couple of strong sides in their fixtures to do date. They will be hoping that their opponents this Sunday, Helensburgh, will field a team that will provide a more even contest but whatever happens, the team will enjoy their game and the youngsters in the side will get a little more experience.