The 1st XI meet Uddingston in another crucial match
The mid-point of the Western Premiership One season is reached this Saturday and with it comes another chance for the 1st XI to lift themselves off the foot of the league table.
Second bottom Uddingston are the team's opposition and with just one win from eight matches, the same as the Glenparkers, it is a match with huge importance for both sides. Whoever wins will keep touch with mid table teams; whoever loses will become detached from the teams above.
With the match being played at their Bothwell Policies ground, Uddingston will have home advantage. But that may not count for much as the Lanarkshire side has not gained a home win in the league so far this season. The 1st XI will hope to continue that record.
The sole league victory achieved by Uddingston was against third bottom Dumfries at Nunholm. It was an emphatic win. Dumfries were bowled out for just 57 runs and Uddingston took just ten overs to pass the lowly total.
That win apart, Uddingston have rarely challenged against the other sides in the Premiership One league. Only in Round 3 against Clydesdale did they come close to a win. Batting first they scored 250 only for Clydesdale to make 251 for 6 with just four balls of the match remaining.
The 1st XI, by comparison, have played themselves into a position to win in several of their matches but then failed to find a way to achieve the victory and the important 25 points which go hand in hand.
And so, with the experience of the matches played in the Premiership One programme to date, the team should reflect on what they have done well and seek to add the extra dimension to their play which could bring the wins which are needed.
Key players for the Lanarkshire side are Mo Awais and Ross Lyons. Awais is their main run scorer with 248 runs and an average of 41. His top score (twice) was 64 against Clydesdale and again against West of Scotland. He is also a key bowler for the team.
Ross Lyons is, like Awais, a key all rounder for the Uddingston side. He is their number one wicket-taker. A slow, left arm orthodox spin bowler, Lyons has 17 wickets to his credit from the seven matches the team has completed. He is also a more than useful left hand bat.
Lyons, who was born in Greenock, played much of his junior and early adult cricket with Clydesdale and was a regular senior internationalist for Scotland between 2005 and 2010. Now 38 years of age, he is still very much a player who can quickly turn matches whether with the ball or the bat.
Captain Greg McDougall has a strong pool of players for Saturday's important match. Back in to the side come Shailesh Prabhu and Chirag Pandher while Chris Hempsey and Nagendra Nagaraju drop out.
Five players who scored runs in double figures last Saturday against Stirling County are once again in the team. Openers Tom Polkinghorne (16) and Harry Briggs (22) made the best start to an innings this season with a partnership of 46 runs before both were removed within the space of just four balls.
Lukas Fischer-Keogh, who is having a fine season with the bat, top scored with 35. He has 135 runs in the league and has also scored 166 from five McCulloch Cup games.
Rahul Dalal, the club pro, was dismissed for just 27 but he has hit three centuries in recent weeks and has an average in the Western Premiership One of 89, which is the best of any player in the top league.
Teenager Usman Mansoor showed his batting capabilities with his best 1st XI innings scoring 22 runs.
What the team will need on Saturday is for one or more players to go on and build a substantial innings while others make good contributions too.
Dalal and Fischer-Keogh could be the players to score big runs as they both know how to occupy the crease for lengthy spells. And so too do Polkinghorne and Gregor Chambers.
Chambers missed out on runs last weekend but has almost 150 league runs to his name this season and Polkinghorne has over 200.
The stats clearly indicate that there are good batsmen in the side. What is perhaps requiring attention among a number of players is the ability to maintain concentration while at the crease and also the skill of reading the game.
Cammy Calder, who took three wickets in midweek, is unfortunately missing for Saturday's match due to work commitments. His unavailability means that Gregor Chambers will be the only pace bowler in the attack.
However, Greg McDougall has various bowling options from the players in the side to face Uddingston. But he must use his bowlers skilfully if the Lanarkshire side is to be bowled out and a vital win achieved.
As usual, the match will start at 12 noon.
The Glenpark XI have a week off with no game on Saturday which will give them the chance to recharge their batteries after last week's heavy defeat at the hands of Milngavie 2nd XI.
On Sunday, the Hillend XI play a friendly game at Glenpark against a West of Scotland Development XI. The selected eleven is a good mixture of experienced players together with some of the most promising young talent in the club. This match will start at 1pm and will be played as a 40-overs per side game.
The Club is grateful for the continued sponsorship from Cleaning Supplies 4U.