Glenpark XI beat Partick to reach Western Cup finals
Partick XI v Glenpark XI
Glenpark booked a spot on Western Cup Finals Day with an excellent performance against Partick on Tuesday evening.
Batting first, skipper Mark Robertson opened with himself and Phil McIntosh. Phil immediately set about the Partick bowlers, taking fourteen off the first over. Mark fell cheaply to be replaced by Ryan Begley, as Phil continued to dominate. By the time he fell for a fine 41 the score was fifty after eight overs. Chris Hempsey came in and struck some heavy blows himself (including a big six that bounced over my car!), but wickets fell regularly at the other end as the scoring rate faltered. Apart from a couple of quick boundaries from Dave Sharma, Chris was left fighting a lone battle and, although he saw the total pass a century, his dismissal dashed hopes of a big score. Glenpark finished on 110 – not a low score, but a difficult one to defend against strong opposition.
However this did not factor in Mark’s second opening role, a bit suspect for the captain perhaps, but quickly justified by a superb spell. He was backed up by Dave as the Partick openers were dismissed by a smart stumping and catch by Chris and Ryan respectively. By the end their maximum four-over spells Partick were reduced to 24 for 6 with the wickets shared equally. Ryan and John McNab continued to keep on the pressure, supported by an animated fielding performance. The seventh wicket partnership put up some resistance but eventually, with the required rate climbing, the inevitable run out came along with some fine work by Aidan Forrest. The innings closed swiftly thereafter with three wickets in three balls – two to John and one to Phil.
It is proposed that the semi-finals and final will be played in September as a weekend fixture. If the seconds can maintain this form in the competition perhaps there might be some silverware coming to Glenpark this season.
Glenpark XI 110 for 8 (20 overs) PC McIntosh 41, D Wiiliams 3 for 24
Partick XI 53 (14.1 overs) MI Robertson 3 for 6, DC Sharma 3 for 16
Glenpark XI won by 57 runs
Glenpark XI Man of the Match: Another difficult choice. Phil McIntosh got the Glenpark innings off to an excellent start, took a well-judged catch and a wicket. Chris Hempsey shepherded the middle order, took two catches and a stumping, but I’ve opted for Mark Robertson for his match-winning bowling spell.
'The Snake'