1st XI need win against Stenhousemuir

The 1st XI face an important match on Saturday when Stenhousemuir are the opposition at Glenpark. With just three Western Premiership One matches remaining, the local side are needing wins to try and secure a place in the top league once again next season.

Stenhousemuir were promoted along with Greenock at the end of the 2022 season from the First Division but have performed much better this season than the 1st XI and are currently sitting very comfortably in fourth top position.

Last Saturday a disappointing result against Clydesdale at Titwood returned the team to the very foot of the Premiership One league table and so the pressure is on for the team to gain some wins from the remaining three matches against Stenhousemuir, Stirling County and Uddingston.

With just three wins from the thirteen matches completed up until now in the Premiership One, gaining at least two wins from the last three matches will be quite a task and even then results will depend on the outcomes of the matches played by Dumfries and Stirling County who occupy the positions immediately above Greenock.

For the match against Stenhousemuir on Saturday, the selected team show just one change from the team which lost to Clydesdale last weekend. Harry Briggs is unavailable and is replaced by Cammy Calder.

Calder, who has been unavailable in recent weeks due to work commitments, will provide an extra pace bowling option for the team plus he is a powerful attacking batsman once he gets settled in at the crease.

The side's batting form has been inconsistent throughout the Premiership One programme and so players in the top six in the batting order will need to do their best to find form, not just this coming Saturday, but in all three of the matches to come.

Whether batting first or chasing the opposition's total when batting second, it is getting runs on the board by building good partnerships which the batsmen need to be able to create. A few good partnerships on Saturday will put them into a position to win the match.

A key player will be Indian professional Rahu Dalal. He is the second highest run-scorer across all sides in the Premiership One league with 716 runs.

Dalal will likely bat at number four in the order. If he can come in to bat with a good score already on the board, and then be supported by the remaining batsmen, he could well be the means by which the team scores well.

When the two teams met earlier in the season through at The Tryst ground in Larbert the home side compiled a massive 292 for the loss of 6 wickets.

After fielding for 50 overs in the hot sunshine, a weary batting line-up was eventually all out for 182 despite Dalal scoring an unbeaten 111.

With the weather not likely to replicate the conditions in June, the team will be seeking to ensure that Stenhousemuir also do not replicate their high score this time around.

The main danger men in the Stirlingshire side are their two South African imports for the season. Overseas amateur Zander Smith has found his batting form after a slow start and has amassed almost 400 runs in the Premiership and also opens the bowling where he has collected 24 wickets.

Professional Danie Roussouw is the team's wicketkeeper and also their leading batsman. He plays First Class cricket for Easterns back home in South Africa and is a hard hitting attacking batsman. In the first match between the teams in June he scored a fine century, just like Dalal, but was out just before the close of Stenny's innings for 109.

The dismissal of these two players early in their innings would give the 1st XI a great opportunity to get the win and also the 25 valuable points which are so badly needed as the league programme moves towards its conclusion.

The match will start at 12 noon as usual.

The Glenpark XI are away to The Tryst on Saturday. The team has suffered some rotten luck with the weather in recent weeks with only one completed game out of the last four. Their opponents are challenging strongly for the top spot in Championship Three and the selected side will need to be at their very best if they wish to capture the winning points. The match is scheduled to start at 12 noon.

On Sunday, a Greenock XI will play against the Forty Club (Scottish District) at Glenpark. The Forty Club is reputed to be the largest wandering cricket Club in the world. As a wandering or nomadic Club it does not own its own ground, and so always "plays away". The Forty Club (Scottish District) draws players from across Scotland, including from Greenock. The match will be the first time that the Forty Club has played against Greenock.

The match will start at 1pm and will be played over 40 overs per side. The club has selected a relatively youthful side to take on their more mature opponents and there are some interesting match-ups between fathers and sons in the two line-ups.

The Club is grateful for the continued sponsorship from Cleaning Supplies 4U.