Greenock after full points at Uddingston

Greenock continue their fight to avoid relegation with a visit to Uddingston this Saturday. Only four matches remain in this season's Premier Division and the local team is battling at the lower end of the league just above the bottom two, Ayr and Dumfries.

The Glenpark side occupies eighth position in the league but just four percent separates all three teams in the relegation battle and points gained from the upcoming matches will be like gold dust for each of the sides.

WDCU CSL Premier Division Table (as at 28 July)

Greenock's run in to the end of the season pits them against Uddingston (a), Ferguslie (h), Stirling County (a) and Poloc (h) and it is likely that maximum points from at least two of these matches, plus bonus points from the other two, will be needed to ensure Premier Division cricket next season at Glenpark.

Uddingston provided Greenock with their first league win of the season back at the end of May and that win was followed up with maximum points against league leaders Ferguslie the following weekend.

A repeat of those two wins would almost certainly see Greenock safe, but their opponents will want to ensure that revenge is theirs when the teams meet. Champions elect Ferguslie have been unbeaten in the Premier Division all season with the exception of the loss to Greenock and will be out to make amends as they drive forward to the 2018 title.

Saturday's opponents Uddingston too will wish to gain a win on their own patch, as the match between the sides earlier in the season was settled by the Duckworth Lewis Stern method after rain interrupted and finally abandoned the match with Greenock winning in dramatic fashion just as a monsoon downpour ended play.

Uddingston occupy a comfortable fourth top position in the Premier Division at present with a record of played 12, won 6 and lost 6 which indicates some very mixed performances. So Greenock will take confidence from the Bothwell side's stats and see Saturday afternoon's match as one where maximum points can be gained.

A key player in their side is former Greenockian Ross Lyons who moved to Glasgow when he was just a young teenager and joined Clydesdale where he gained international recognition at various age group levels.

A left-handed batsman and a slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler, Lyons made his debut for the Scottish senior international team in 2005 and played 61 times for Scotland in all formats, including 25 One Day Internationals. After a spell out of the international scene, Lyons was chosen to represent Scotland 'A' in a number of matches earlier this season.

Now aged 33, Lyons joined Uddingston in April 2017 following a spell with East Kilbride where he was their Player of the Year in 2016. He is a player who is well known to the Greenock side and his performances with both bat and ball could well have a very important bearing upon the outcome of the game on Saturday.

Others in the Uddingston side who Greenock will need to keep in check include team captain Bryan Clarke, Gavin Bradley, Mo Awais, Harmanjit 'Harry' Singh and South African amateur Jimmy Sholto-Douglas each of whom is capable of scoring important runs.

So Greenock will need to be at their best to overcome Uddingston at Bothwell Policies. But good performances when batting and also when in the field could well give the Glenparkers the edge and bring the reward of maximum points.

Indian professional Saurabh Bandekar has been in good form with the bat in recent matches with innings of 56 against Prestwick and 80 against West of Scotland in his last two matches. Another long innings from him along with support from others would set up a good score for the local side.

Neil Flack has had mixed form with the bat but he is a player capable of staying at the crease and his innings of 56 against Ayr in July and 119 against Clydesdale at the end of May are testament to his ability. Also key to a good Greenock score could be South African amateur Laurens Smit who, with 41 against Ayr and 30 not out against Prestwick in recent weeks, has been an important middle order batsman for the team.

Returning to the side this Saturday are Shailesh Prabhu, Jack Griffiths and Jonathan Hempsey all of whom will bolster Greenock's batting strength. With Bandekar, Flack and Smit, they will make up the top six in the Greenock batting line-up and if each can contribute then Uddingston will most certainly have a match on their hands.

In the field, Greenock will possibly look to Bandekar and Flack to lead the attack with backup being provided by Jonathan Hempsey, Laurens Smit, and Under-15 Scotland international Sean Fischer-Keogh. Other bowling options for this match will come from Greg McDougall and Sam Sanghera who also have the ability to pick up important wickets.

However missing from the selected side will be Chris Hempsey and Harry Briggs. Their unavailability will present Greenock with not just the loss of two important batsmen but also with a wicketkeeping problem. The options for who will fill the position will be something for team captain Neil Flack to consider carefully.

The Glenpark XI are at home to Ardencaple (Helensburgh's second string) on Saturday. Their opponents sit at the foot of the Third Division table and this is a game that Glenpark really ought to win. Skipper Ally Calder has a strong squad from which to make his final selection and will be confident of victory, irrespective of the eleven that is chosen. The match starts at 1pm.

Sunday afternoon cricket at Glenpark this weekend involves a double header of junior cricket matches versus Helensburgh Junior XI when Greenock's players of the future will be showing their abilities. Greenock's various age group teams which play league cricket at U11, U12, U14 and U16 are having a successful season and junior cricket is very much on the up thanks to the coaching available at Glenpark.

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