Hillend XI maintain Sunday League momentum
Helensburgh v Hillend XI
WDCU Sunday League Division Three - West
Sunday 3rd June 2012
Hillend XI 230 for 7 (GJ McDougall 74, ND Flack 49, AP Forrest 47; A Middleton 4 for 56)
Helensburgh 192 for 7 (D Willoughby 88)
The Hillend XI maintained their fine Sunday league record of the last couple of seasons with a comfortable win against Helensburgh at Ardencaple. Greenock were always in control during the second half of the match when Helensburgh were batting and were able to give their younger players plenty of opportunity with the ball. The winning margin was 38 runs, but skipper Kevin Flack could have closed out the game a little earlier if he had felt it necessary.
Greg McDougall and Neil Flack got Greenock off to a very sound start to the innings with 96 runs added for the first wicket which fell when Flack was bowled by Calum Pender just one short of a half century in the eighteenth over. McDougall maintained the run-scoring momentum along with Aidan Forrest but was caught in the deep off the bowling of Andrew Middleton for 74 in the 29th over with the score on 176.
Helensburgh then had a rush of wickets as a number of Greenock batsmen attempted to get quick runs in the last quarter of the innings. Middleton was the main benefactor capturing a further three victims to give himself a tally of 4 wickets for 56 runs as Greenock eventually closed their innings on 230 for 7 at the end of 40 overs, Aidan Forrest having scored a fine 47 by the end.
Douglas Willoughby and Cameron Burt gave Helensburgh a very good start to their innings putting on almost seventy runs before Burt was bowled by Harry Briggs for 24. Clayton Lambert (12) and Matthew Pendle (18) partnered Willoughby for spells but it was the introduction of Kieran Wylie which brought two significant breakthroughs for Greenock. Firstly Pendle was well caught at mid wicket by Sachin Mundon, then Willoughby was stumped by stand-in wicketkeeper Jonathan Hempsey for 88.
Neil Flack and Aidan Forrest closed down the Helensburgh innings in the latter stages of the match with Flack picking up two wickets and Forrest one wicket as the home side ran out of runs finishing 38 short of their target.
