Greenock gain first league win of the season

Greenock 1st XI vs Drumpellier
CSL Western Premier Division
Saturday 2nd June 2012

Scorecard       

Greenock notched up a first CSL Premier Division West win of the season at Glenpark on Saturday when Drumpellier were comprehensively defeated. In a good all round team performance, Greenock outplayed their Lanarkshire opponents, who were always struggling to get on terms with a Glenpark side which showed improvement from recent weeks, yet still did not bat out the full fifty overs.

Greenock were put into bat by Drumpellier captain Alistair Rawlinson, who very soon must have considered his decision to be ill-judged as the Glenpark side made its best start of the season. Shailesh Prabhu and Alex Baum put on a fine opening stand of 91 runs before Baum was beaten by the sharp bounce of a delivery from Willie Leslie and gloved an easy chance to Stevie Allison behind the stumps. He had played a very fine innings of 53 runs, when dismissed, which had included nine boundaries.

South African Pro Mpho Sekhoto lasted only ten balls before gifting a return catch to bowler Rashid Yousaf having scored just nine runs. Then Shailesh Prabhu became Drumpellier’s third wicket in the space of ten overs when he was caught by Nazar Hussain for 41 off the bowling of Chris Keltie when the total was on 119 in the 27th over.

Chris and Jonathan Hempsey came together and compiled a promising partnership of 52 runs taking the total in just nine overs together to 173 before Jonathan was caught behind by Stevie Allison for 24 runs. Two runs later younger brother Chris perished in similar circumstances for 27 runs to bring Drumpellier back into the game with Greenock 173 for 5 at the end of the 37th over.

Greenock were unable to capitalise on their very good position at this stage and only some sound batting from home skipper Ryan Begley held the remainder of the innings together. Greg McDougall (11) was the only lower order batsman able to offer any meaningful addition to the score before the last wicket fell at 212 in the 44th over. Begley was unbeaten on 21, but once again his side had failed to bat out the full allocation of 50 overs.

For Drumpellier, opening bowler Nazar Hussain returned the excellent figures of 4 for 28 from his ten overs while Rashid Yousaf picked up two wickets for 35 runs.

Greenock made the best possible start after the tea interval by picking up three quick wickets. Top three batsmen Yousaf, Shaw and Hussain were all returned to the clubhouse in the space of the first three overs. Waleed Jamal made the initial breakthrough when he had Yousaf caught behind the stumps by Alex Baum in just the third over. Then, in overs four and six, Jonathan Hempsey picked up two further wickets. Firstly he had Shaw caught by Baum, then he had the visitors pro Nazar Hussain caught by his brother Chris.

Keltie and Rawlinson put together Drumpellier’s highest partnership of the innings when thay added 34 runs for the fourth wicket, but that ended when Keltie fell victim to the bowling of Dave Sharma and was caught by Mpho Sekhoto for 14 runs. Drumps captain Alistair Rawlinson was next to go with the score on 79 having rather doggedly held on for over an hour for his 15 runs until he was given out LBW to the bowling of Mpho Sekhoto.

Stevie Allison batting at number 6 in the visitors line-up proved a difficult wicket to gain and he battled away for a very fine fifty before being one of Mpho Sekhoto’s five bowling victims. When Allison departed from the middle the match was all but done at 123 for 8. Waleed Jamal clean bowled Willie Leslie for 14 runs to make Drumpellier nine wickets down for 136 and the match was finally concluded on 148 in the 39th over when Joshua Allison was caught by Aidan Forrest to give pro Mpho Sekhoto his fifth wicket of the afternoon.

Mpho Sekhoto took 5 wickets for 27 runs, Waleed Jamal 2 for 36 and Jonathan Hempsey 2 for 37.

In the end, it was a very comfortable win for Greenock and a win which will hopefully give the team encouragement for forthcoming games.