1st XI face crunch encounter with East Kilbride

The good weather shows no sign of breaking down until next week at the earliest and that will mean that the 1st XI's match with East Kilbride should go ahead at Glenpark in ideal conditions, especially for the batsmen who will look to take advantage of a fast outfield.

With still 7 games to go in the WDCU Premiership Two season, it might seem premature to call this a must-win game for the team but there are five teams that are caught up in the relegation battle from the league and two of them are the teams meeting this weekend. A win for either would clearly give them a significant boost for the rest of the season.

It is also the case that the other three teams involved in this struggle at the foot of the table, Hillhead, Helensburgh and Mearns, have tricky fixtures this weekend which could increase the rewards for the team that comes out on top at Glenpark.

The two teams met earlier in the season at Torrance House and the 1st XI were emphatic winners. They bowled out East Kilbride for just 68 with Toby Matthews taking 5 for 8 and Cammy Calder 3 for 24 and quickly knocked off the runs for the loss of just one wicket. What wouldn't the team give for a repeat performance on Saturday.

Since that game, East Kilbride have only won once in five matches, last Saturday when they defeated Helensburgh by 11 runs in a high-scoring contest. That win should give them confidence when they face the 1st XI and the latter's bowlers really need to impose themselves on the visitor’s batting line-up which has certainly performed better since the May encounter.

Shahid Abbasi has been the stand-out batsman for East Kilbride throughout the season but he now seems to be getting more support from those around him. Their bowlers though have not responded in the same way and in the five games since the May match, they have failed to dismiss the opposition.

From the 1st XI's viewpoint, they need to absorb some of the lessons to be learnt from last Saturday's defeat at the hands of Dumfries. If they bat first, then they must ensure that they bat through their allocated 50 overs. And even when chasing, batting through their overs may mean that bonus points are gained should they fail to overtake the opposition’s total. In a relegation battle, every point will count.

From a bowling perspective, too often this season they have let the opposition gain the initiative in the second half of their innings. Last Saturday was a good example of this when they let Dumfries put on more than a hundred runs from being 134 for 5.

Saturday's team shows three changes from the side that lost to Dumfries with Fahim Dinarkheil, Shailesh Prabhu and Kamal Thapa replacing Fischer-Keogh, Stewsart and Chaudhary.

The game will start at the usual time of 12 noon and for anyone unable to make it to Glenpark, it will be streamed live on the Club’s Youtube channel.

The Glenpark XI have another away game on Saturday, travelling through to East Kilbride to take on Woodhall EK in the WDCU Championship Two. When the teams met earlier in the season, Glenpark lost by 4 wickets, their lack of bowling strength ultimately costing them the win.

Since that game, the side has really struggled, as much because of selection difficulties as anything. This week they look to field a stronger eleven which should help them against their opponents, who currently sit in third position in the table and will have an eye on promotion at the end of the season.

On Sunday, the Hillend XI travel to New Cambusdoon to take on an Ayr XI in the Sunday League Division 1. When the teams met earlier in the season at Glenpark, the home side came out on top by 177 runs but it is fair to point out that Ayr played with only 9 men. It is reasonable to assume that Ayr will have a full complement on Sunday, being at home, and this should mean that the match will be more closely contested this time.

Hillend had a convincing eight-wicket victory over Kilmarnock on Tuesday in the Midweek League, both Usman Mansoor and Adam McGuirk hopefully playing themselves into form by scoring over 60 runs apiece.

The Club is grateful for the continued sponsorship from Ethos Group.