Glenpark XI win the derby tussle against Inverclyde
Glenpark XI v Inverclyde
Western Cup
Saturday 4th May
There were two incentives for Glenpark to win their Western Cup match this weekend – firstly to go into next week’s league campaign with a victory under their belt, secondly to have bragging rights in Greenock, as their opponents were Inverclyde.
Before the game started they had overcome their initial hurdle as, for the first time this season, they fielded eleven players. Having lost the toss Glenpark were put in to bat on the obligatory damp wicket – though with Friday’s downpour, it was surprising to be playing at all.
Dave Sharma and Harry Briggs began steadily though, for the third week running, Dave failed to convert a start into a substantial score as he misjudged a slower delivery. This brought Aidan Forrest to the crease to share an excellent partnership with Harry, almost taking the total to treble figures. Correctly judging it was time to up the scoring rate, Harry perished soon after, but Aidan went on to complete a fine half-century. A score well in excess of 200 was on the cards and the stage was set for Sam Sanghera who was soon blasting the ball to the boundary. Unfortunately there was little support for Sam as wickets fell regularly. The final total of 207 was competitive, but a little below what was hoped for at one point.
The weather turned during the tea-break as Glenpark took to the field in the wind, cold and rain. Dave started well and had a good shout for LBW turned down in his first over, Kieran didn’t start as well – his first over going for eleven. In the ever-inclement weather it was difficult for the bowlers to make inroads and, when the umpires took the teams off after eleven overs, Inverclyde had not lost a wicket. Fortunes changed after the break with the bowling pairing of Sam and Sandeep Singh getting three quick wickets. They then bowled tightly to increase the pressure on the batsmen, leading to the inevitable run out. After that Inverclyde were never in the game. Sam and Sandeep had further successes; once their spells finished Louis Ware and Harry completed caught and bowled dismissals to bring the final pair to the crease. These batsmen held out, but the game was long lost by then.
Next week finds Glenpark again on home turf against East Kilbride, in the first league game of the season, and hope they can build on today’s success.
Glenpark XI (2 pts) 207 for 8 (40 overs) AP Forrest 61, SS Sanghera 36; S Blair 5 for 45
Inverclyde (0 pts) 151 for 9 (40 overs) D Cooke 33; SS Sanghera 3 for 35
Glenpark XI won by 56 runs
Glenpark XI Man of the Match: Difficult to pick between the bowling performances of Sam Sanghera and Sandeep Singh, so I’ll opt for Aidan Forrest’s batting performance!
Scooby Award: Kieran Wylie – after being frustrated by two bizarrely failed attempts to have a shower, he eventually completed one which lasted all of fifteen seconds!
'The Snake'
