1956 - A recovery of sorts

It was all change in 1956 as Duncan Drummond took over the captaincy and Bill Coldwell replaced Ted Whitfield as professional. After the disappointing season of 1955, anything better would be an improvement and in the event a mid-table position in the league was achieved without the eleven ever threatening the teams above them.

Double over Clydesdale

League performances at the start of the season were mixed, defeats to Ferguslie, Kilmarnock and West of Scotland interspersed with an exciting 2 wicket win over Clydesdale. The Greenock Telegraph reported that "All the excitement in this game at Titwood was packed into the last half hour when Greenock, fighting against a pace attack which had swung the game in Clydesdale's favour, held on to get the winning run with only three balls to come". No progress was made in the West League Cup with 5 defeats and an abandoned game in the group fixtures. The Club had also withdrawn from the Rowan Cup for reasons which are unclear and indeed would not return to that competition until 1963.

Two further draws, against Drumpellier and Poloc, followed by a one wicket defeat to Uddingston brought the first half of the season to a conclusion and it looked as if this was going to be another disappointing season. Even the mid-season friendlies brought no relief as Glasgow Accies and, surprisingly, Golfhill were victorious. But then, the season turned round. The double over Clydesdale was accomplished, with an emphatic 60 run win at Glenpark this time.

Success at Bothwell Policies at last

A strong performance at Whitehaugh against Kelburne, who would eventually finish second in the table, which saw them gain the upper hand in a match ultimately deemed to be a no-count draw due to interruptions for rain which were longer than the allowed 30 minutes, was followed by an even better result against the eventual champions, Poloc. In an exciting, low-scoring game at Glenpark, five wickets apiece for skipper Drummond and left-arm swing bowler, Ian Gilliland, saw Poloc bowled out for 95, eleven runs short of Greenock's total. The following week, in the last game of the season, the Uddingston bogey, or rather the Bothwell Policies bogey, was comprehensively laid, when the Villagers were defeated by 6 wickets, the first win at that ground since 1947.

Coldwell proves his worth

The standout performer of the season was undoutedly Bill Coldwell, with the professional contributing 689 runs and 20 wickets, although perhaps there were hopes that his bowling might have proved to be more effective. Robin Duthie had a fine season with 403 runs and the wickets were evenly spread around between the skipper, John Simpson and Ian Gilliland.

With such a strong ending to the season, there was every hope that 1957 would see even greater improvement with a challenge for the league title a real possibility.