July 3/4 Weekend Preview
Saturday 3rd July - Clydesdale v 1st XI
Greenock hit the road again this weekend as they make the short trip up the M8 to the south side of Glasgow to play old foes Clydesdale.
Games between the two clubs have in the past been feisty affairs with the locals being in the ascendency over the last few years but a confident Clydesdale will be seeking a league double having already beaten their opponents on the first Saturday of the season at Glenpark.
Greenock’s absentee list looks like roll-call after the first morning of the Big Push at the Battle of the Somme with Baum, Berrington, McIntosh, Prabhu and Thomson all missing in action, presumed injured or unavailable. Coach Judd, who made a cameo appearance last Saturday in the defeat to Uddingston, is also unavailable as he seeks to perfect his dyke leaking prevention skills with Scotland in the land of cheese, coffee shops and windmills. Dougie Wylie should provide a welcome sight though for the Greenock supporters purveying his unique brand of left arm round as he returns from a well earned holiday. He could be a big influence as the recent rain will make life interesting for the batters.
Clydesdale lie just three places above Greenock in the table having won just four of their ten league fixtures this season and like their opponents, have in all honesty been able to field stronger XIs in recent years. Having recruited the cricketing cousins Haq and Hussain from Ferguslie, they have also seen players depart as local boy Ross Lyons decided to ply his trade with Carlton and Andy Hislop joined a growing list of former Titwood talent who have moved to Glenpark. The evergreen Greg Williamson will lead with bat and ball, ably backed up by Pakistani professional Kamran Sajid, whilst all-rounders Harry Singh and Zeeshan Bashir will feature in both disciplines.
This will be big ask for the local lads as, and with the greatest of respect to those drafted in as replacements, those that are missing will be missed and sorely missed at that. Bottom line is that this will be a very challenging game against an opponent that will be eager to balance the ledger following a series of heavy defeats against Greenock in recent years.
Saturday 3rd July - Glenpark XI v Albert Park
The Glenpark XI will once again have to field a seriously weakened team when they take on Albert Park at Glenpark. With the 1st XI missing a number of key players, this has a knock-on effect on the second string team, who also have some of their regulars missing. However, this will give opportunities to some of the Club's promising youngsters and this in the long run ought to be to their benefit.
Sunday 4th July - Kilmarnock v Hillend XI
Last week's Hillend XI game was unfortunately cancelled due to some miscommunication between those who should have been selecting the team. Hopefully, this will have been ironed out in time for this week's match.