Greenock look to do the double over Weirs

Greenock have a ‘must win’ match this Saturday when the visitors to Glenpark are bottom of the table Weirs. The Glasgow south-side club have failed to win any of their league matches to date while Greenock have managed just one win.....against Weirs, when the two clubs met at Albert Park in mid-May.

On that occasion, the Glenparkers, gave one of their best team batting performances of the season with six players contributing significant runs in the team’s total of 221 for the loss of 8 wickets. Neil Flack top scored with 67 and Aussie amateur Tom Batters hit a fine 37.

The match was rain-interrupted and the Greenock innings was reduced to 42 overs. Duckworth Lewis (D/L) set Weirs a total of 226 to chase in 42 overs, but, although they lasted through the full quota, the Greenock total was never at any time under threat. Weirs finished their innings 71 runs short of the target set.

Since that win in mid-May , Greenock have been on a long and disappointing run of results and must view the match against Weirs as being the opportunity to arrest that situation and get back on to winning ways.

A good all round team performance will be required this Saturday, with batting likely to be the key to victory for the Glenparkers. On numerous occasions this season, including last Saturday against Stenhousemuir, Greenock have bowled and fielded well to create potential winning positions, only to falter when batting.

Shailesh Prabhu will return to open the batting along with Neil Flack and a good, solid partnership at the top of the order is what Greenock will be seeking to achieve. That done, Greenock would have the springboard to a total in excess of 220 runs with players such as Chris Hempsey, Tom Batters, Harry Briggs and West Indian overseas amateur Dwight Thomas all in the mix for middle order batting spots and each capable of scoring significant runs.

Dwight Thomas will be keen to make a big score this week as runs have been hard to come by for the St Lucian player who came to Greenock with a high scoring batting record. Thomas may be held back in the order a little and a number four or number five spot may be considered to allow him the opportunity to build on an already good platform rather than have the pressure of getting the innings started.

Greenock’s performances in the field have been generally good this season and last Saturday at The Tryst was one of their best. Stenhousemuir were bowled out for just 141 runs in 43 overs. Tom Batters returned fine figures of 4 wickets for 27 runs from 10 overs and Ben Peterson had 3 wickets for 31 runs from 7.4 overs. No fewer than eight catches were taken at The Tryst, with Aidan Forrest taking three.

Weirs have struggled all season and have taken a number of very heavy defeats whether batting first or chasing a total. On only four occasions has a total of over 100 runs been achieved by the Glasgow side, with the 155 for 8 against Greenock their highest. On three occasions scores of under 65 have been registered. So, stats would suggest Weirs are very vulnerable when batting and Greenock must seek to do early damage and then drive home whatever advantage can be achieved.

The match will start at 12 noon with a final selection being made from a squad of fourteen with Prabhu, Guy Crichton and Rod Mountford, who scored a century for the Glenpark XI last week, added to the team that lost to Stenhousemuir.

The Glenpark XI travel to Glasgow on Saturday to take on Albert Park (Weirs 2nd XI) in a Reserve League match and they do so, buoyed by their comprehensive win over the The Tryst last weekend. As a result, they will be confident of recoding a second win on the bounce for the first time this season. This match will start at 1pm.

The Hillend XI have a break from league duties on Sunday when they embark on an overseas tour ... to Innellan. The start time for this match is 1pm .... approximately!

Greenock Cricket Club is sponsored this season by Cleaning Supplies 4U.