No respite from Ferguslie for the 1st XI

Greenock continue their run of matches against Ferguslie at Meikleriggs, Paisley on Saturday in a Premier Division encounter and then return to Meikleriggs once more on Sunday to play the Western Union Cup match postponed from last weekend.

The Greenock players might almost have taken up residence in Paisley over the past week as, in an almost unprecedented situation, Greenock have been required to meet their county rivals in T20 midweek cup, Western Union 40 Cup and Premier Division league competition matches all in the space of a week, and all in Paisley.

While Ferguslie will undoubtedly be happy to have had home advantage in all of these fixtures, Greenock must feel hard done to by their misfortune in having to travel and play each of these matches at their rival's ground.

Ferguslie are currently flying high in the Premier Division and top the league having completed five out of the seven scheduled fixtures, winning four and losing one. The Paisley side has developed steadily in recent seasons with a group of young, home-grown players and on their day are a side strong enough to challenge the best in the country.

Key players for the Paisley side include Michael English, whose cricketing talents have taken him to the verge of full international recognition, Gregor Preston-Jones, Riyaad Henry, son of the legendary Omar Henry, and David Stafford. Each of these players are capable of big scores and Greenock will wish to keep their run-scoring in check.

In the Ferguslie bowling attack there are a number of players who have had some success this season. Opening the bowling attack will probably be Jamie Carruthers and Riyaad Henry with change bowlers coming from John Allan, Haroon Tahir, Lucas Farndale, Greg Cameron and Michael English.

WDCU CSL Premier Division Table (at 10th June)

Greenock will be short of two of their usual 1st XI side with both Phil McIntosh and Chris Hempsey unavailable for the weekend. However, back into the side come Shailesh Prabhu and Harry Briggs who themselves were unavailable last weekend, but whose absence caused no issue, as both matches were lost to wet weather.

In-form opening batsman Neil Flack will once again be a key player for Greenock. He has accumulated well over five hundred runs already this season and his contributions to the team, not just with the bat but also as a key bowler, have been hugely important.

Also scoring quite consistently is overseas amateur Kyle Scrimegour. The young Aussie has made a number of 30s and 40s but has, however, failed to translate good starts into really sizeable innings and this is something he will be keen to do in the matches to come. Louis Ware too continues to do well for Greenock and he will be one of the middle order batsmen to whom the Glenparkers will look to make a big total on Saturday.

Greenock's bowlers have enjoyed regular success in the Premier Division matches and also in the various cup competitions. Kyle Scrimegour is in a rich vein of bowling form having taken fifteen wickets in the last five matches and tops the team's wicket-taking table with 26 wickets so far, just three ahead of Julian Hulbert who has taken 23 wickets.

As Ferguslie can be a high scoring side, the impact of the Greenock bowling attack could be the key to the outcome of Saturday afternoon's Premier Division match .

Greenock have chosen a squad of twelve for the match with Harry Briggs and Shailesh Prabhu restored to the selection and young bowler Jamie Nowell also added to the team that would have played last Saturday. The match will start at the usual time of 12 noon.

On Sunday, Greenock will attempt to play their second round match in this season's Western Union 40 Cup competition against Ferguslie at Meikleriggs in Paisley, the first attempt being abandoned last Sunday after just four overs due to rain. It is likely that a decision will have to be reached this Sunday even if rain interferes. No one wants a bowl-out but that might be the only option. With luck, the weather will play ball this time.

Greenock will be keen to win this match to progress to the quarter final of the competition and a home tie against Poloc. Longer term, the team will be aiming to reach the final which will be held at Glenpark in August.

Greenock's selection shows one change from Saturday's squad with Tom Forrest replacing Fraser Godsman. This match which will start at 1pm.

The Glenpark XI are at Glenpark on Saturday to play Torrance House (East Kilbride's 2nd XI) in the Reserve League First Division. This will be a tough fixture for the Glenparkers as their opponents currently sit on top of the table with a 100% record. It would be a feather in Glenpark's cap were they to bring that winning run to an end but clearly that will not be easy to accomplish. The game will start at 12 noon.

To complete another packed weekend for Greenock's senior team cricketers, the Hillend XI have a friendly match at Glenpark against Torrance Community from the foot of the Campsie Fells. The club was formed in 2010 and have gradually been building up their fixture list. Their players are understandably looking forward to their first visit to Glenpark. The match will begin at 1pm.

*** On Friday evening, Greenock and Helensburgh's Under-15 team travel to Glasgow to play Clydesdale Under-15s at Titwood. On Monday, Greenock's Under-13 XI host Stirling County at Glenpark while the Greenock / Helensburgh Under-18 team travel to play Clydesdale at Titwood.

On Sunday morning, Greenock host a Kwik Cricket Festival for Under-10 age group teams from clubs in the west of Scotland. The festival begins at 10am.

Junior training evenings are held at Glenpark on Wednesday evenings 6pm until 7.30pm and new young players are always welcome. Training is provided by a team of qualified and Disclosure-checked coaches.

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