Greenock at home to Renfrew in West League opener
Greenock begin their 2013 West League Cup campaign with a sectional opener against near neighbours Renfrew at Glenpark on Wednesday evening. The Glenparkers will be hoping to repeat their win over Renfrew achieved just over a week ago in their Scottish Cup encounter.
Buoyed by two wins on successive Saturdays, Greenock will go into this cup match with confidence. It is a competition which Greenock have won no fewer than sixteen times since the 1950s, and, since 2000, the West League Cup has been proudly positioned in the Glenpark trophy cabinet on six occasions, most recently in 2009.
Although a different format to Saturday cricket, and with some players unavailable due to work and university commitments, the local side will still feel capable of winning this Twenty 20 match. Out are Skipper Shailesh Prabhu and also wicketkeeper batsman Alex Baum, but in may come Scottish internationalist Richie Berrington.
New Zealand overseas amateur Fraser Colson has shown fine form with the bat scoring two innings of over 70 not out in his opening two games for the Club, and, if Richie Berrington is declared fit to play , then two very potent batsmen capable of destroying opponents bowling attack will be in the side. Others who have the potential to add some valuable runs include Chris and Jonathan Hempsey, Ben Peterson and Waleed Jamal who in the opening Scottish Cup game against Grange scored a quickfire 30 not out. Aussie Tom Batters, not yet seen with a bat in his hand in a competitive situation, could also be a player capable of scoring.
On the bowling front, Greenock have all of their main bowlers available for this match. Spearheading the attack will be Aussie amateur Tom Batters who was particularly frugal on Saturday bowling eight overs for just seven runs and gaining a wicket, and Waleed Jamal whose express pace routed the Dundee batting line-up as he returned figures of 5 wickets for 22 runs from 10.4 overs.
Renfrew for their part will be keen to avenge their Scottish Cup defeat and in opening batsman, Pakistani professional Ahmed Said, they have a player who is widely regarded as a run scoring machine. Said was fortunately (for Greenock) dismissed early in the match at Glenpark just over a week ago when he was clean bowled by Waleed Jamal and the Glenparkers will be hoping for a similar outcome on Wednesday evening.
So, weather permitting, Wednesday evening should provide an interesting tussle between the two teams when they meet at Glenpark. The match is scheduled to start at 6pm and Greenock’s team will be selected from a squad of 12.
Greenock Cricket Club is grateful to acknowledge that Wednesday's match is kindly sponsored by McTavish & Co, Chartered Accountants.