Glenpark XI fail to clinch third spot
Partick XI v Glenpark XI
With Whitehaugh securing second place in the league, already won by Titwood with a 100% record, by virtue of only playing five matches, Saturday’s contest between Glenpark and Partick became a fight for third place – unfortunately Glenpark lost that fight.
Due to morning rain the match was reduced to 42 overs and started well for the visitors as Jonathan Hempsey took an early wicket. He should also have dismissed the other opener but the chance at first slip went down. This prove a costly missed as, after Sam Sanghera removed the Partick number three, there came a third wicket partnership of 116. It was going to need something special for Glenpark to get back in the game, and it came with an outstanding catch by Dave Sharma – hanging on to the ball one-handed overhead, six inches in from the boundary – Jonathan finally getting his man in his second spell. After that Glenpark came back with superb finishing spells from Sam and Waleed Jamal. Waleed, at one point on a hattrick, clean bowled three batsmen with his pace, and Sam completed his five-wicket haul with a running back caught and bowled. Partick were all out in their final over for 172, an imposing score with a slow outfield and long boundaries, but at one point Glenpark looked to be facing a target in excess of two hundred.
Glenpark’s response started badly losing Dave early, but then the father/son pairing of Jonathan and Peter Hempsey consolidated the innings with a half-century partnership. After Peter fell it was hoped that Chris Hempsey would continue the family trend, but it wasn’t to be. With a weakened batting line-up Glenpark needed their top order to perform, but no one was able to support Jonathan, who completed an excellent fifty. As wickets fell the team fell further behind the run rate, and even a huge six from Greg McDougall was too little too late as the innings closed on 138.
Partick XI 172 (41.3 overs) J Singh 76, R Brown 51, S Sanghera 5 for 38, W Jamal 3 for 23
Glenpark XI 138 (38.1 overs) JPC Hempsey 59, JA Cameron 4 for 37, C Brown 3 for 26
Partick XI won by 38 runs
Glenpark XI Man of the Match: A close call between Sam’s bowling and Jonathan’s batting, but Jonathan Hempsey’s two wickets swings it
Scooby Award: Neil Flack – chasing the ball to the boundary the ball stopped short, however Neil still tried to flick it back only for the ball to hit his leg and rebound across the line – much to the amusement of the supporters.
'The Snake'
