Neil Flack's all-round display too much for Cavaliers
Clydesdale Cavaliers vs Hillend XI
WDCU Sunday League Division 3 - West
Sunday 27th April 2014
| Hillend XI | 178 for 5 | ND Flack 55 |
| Clydesdale Cavaliers | 131 | ND Flack 6 for 27 |
The Hillend XI gained a fine season opening win in the WDCU Sunday League against Clydesdale Cavaliers at Titwood on Sunday.
Batting first, Greenock opened their innings against a good Clydesdale side with two of the Club’s young up and coming players, 16 year old Neil Flack and 14 year old Harry Briggs. These two gave the team a fine start, putting on eighty four runs before Flack was caught at mid off for 55 in the seventeenth over off the bowling of Arun Krishna.
Krishna also picked up the wicket of Flack’s opening partner just a few overs later when Briggs got an edge and was caught by wicketkeeper Calum Campbell for 19 with the score on 99.
Overseas player Dwight Thomas from St Lucia got his first taste of Scottish conditions and along with Chris Hempsey put on 25 runs for the third wicket before mis-timing a drive on the off-side and being caught at mid off for 21.
Another of Greenock’s promising youngsters, 14 year old Louis Ware, joined Chris Hempsey and they took the score along to 146 before Hempsey was caught at deep mid wicket for 17 in the 32nd over. Australian amateur Tom Batters joined Ware and a further 31 runs were added in the last eight overs of the innings before the youngster was caught off the second last ball of the allotted 40 overs for a fine contribution of 27 runs. Tom Batters was not out 9 as Greenock finished on 178 for 5.
Hafeez Siddiq and Mohammed Tariq gave Clydesdale a sound start in the reply to Greenock’s total but when overseas amateur Dwight Thomas came on as first change bowler, the Glenparkers achieved an immediate breakthrough. The St Lucian off spinner picked up the wicket of Tariq (16) with his very first ball bowled in Scotland when Neil Flack held on to a fine catch at backward point.
Siddiq and new batsman Humza Sher then guided Clydesdale along to 61 after 16 overs and the Glasgow side’s run chase was well on target. But that was when Neil Flack took over and changed the game dramatically in the direction of Greenock. Three wickets in consecutive overs from the Glenpark youngster to dismiss Sher (14) caught by Tom Batters, Siddiq (15) caught by wicketkeeping dad Kevin and then Calum Campbell bowled (0) left Clydesdale reeling at 64 for 5.
A 22 run partnership from Bilawal Pirzada and Patrick Barbour kept the Titwood team in the game but Flack struck again with another three wickets to effectively end the Glasgow challenge when Pirzada went for 11 runs having been bowled, Rohail Gilani was brilliantly caught and bowled by Flack himself without scoring and Barbour was caught by Jonathan Hempsey for 17. Now 105 for 7 with nine overs remaining, Clydesdale were in some trouble.
An eighth wicket tumbled just five runs later when Australian Tom Batters came on for a brief spell and sent the leg stump of Arun Krishna’s wicket cartwheeling out of the ground. Another twenty runs were added before Greg McDougall and Louis Ware picked up a wicket each to end the Clydesdale innings on 131 all out in the 37th over.
Neil Flack returned outstanding off spin bowling figures of 6 wickets for 27 runs from just 8 overs with Greg McDougall, Dwight Thomas, Tom Batters and Louis Ware each picking up one wicket apiece.
