1st XI face tough task at Uddingston

The 1st XI travel to Lanarkshire this Saturday to meet high flying Uddingston who are second top of the league and aiming to achieve a quick return to the Western Premiership One after having been relegated at the end of summer 2025.

The fixture will be a difficult one for the side who have endured two disappointing results over recent weekends and now lie in relegation territory. It is at times like this that players need to put recent performances into the past, concentrate on the present and bring out their best skills.

Uddingston will be full of confidence having won eight out of nine league fixtures played. The team's only blip came at the end of May when Langside were winners in a rain affected match played at Bothwell Policies.

And when the teams met at Glenpark on 23 May, the Lanarkshire side made light work of the match. The 1st XI were bowled out for just 59 runs and then Uddingston scored the runs in under thirteen overs to win by 10 wickets. It was the team's worst result of the season and one for which they will wish to try and make amends.

The team which is set to play on Saturday looks likely to be the one which lost last weekend to East Kilbride. And while gaining a much-needed win might seem unlikely, the players will know that they need to raise their game significantly if Uddingston are to be challenged. In particular, scoring runs must be the number one priority. And if batting first, Greenock must try and bat through the full 50 overs of their innings.

Adam McGuirk and Toby Matthews, the Club's two Aussie amateurs, have been the side's most reliable batters during the season, and substantial scores from them both would go a long way to the team accumulating the sort of total which might defeat Uddingston.

But others in the team must also contribute to the run-scoring which will be needed. The experienced Shailesh Prabhu is due a good innings, as are Chirag Pandher and Cammy Calder. And young Usman Mansoor, who regularly opens the innings, is capable of rising to the occasion at Uddingston.

The remaining players in the batting line up, if needed, must show grit and determination to stay at the crease for as long as possible. The runs which they score will be important and could well be the difference between a win and a loss.

Uddingston, with home advantage and sitting less than one percentage point behind league leaders Kilmarnock, will wish to maintain their push for the league title and be keen to brush aside their opponents.

The Bothwell Policies side certainly have players who have the ability to score runs and also take wickets. Ben Willmott, Amaan Ramzan, Parth Palawat and Ross Lyons have each scored consistently well and will require to be removed early if the 1st XI are to keep the Lanarkshire side from posting a high innings total, if batting first.

The team will be aware that Uddingston can chase down opponent's totals extremely well and have won each of their matches where they have batted second, no matter if they have had to score in excess of 200 runs.

Their bowling attack too is a strong one. Three times this season Uddingston's opposition has been bowled out for under 100 runs. Team captain Tom Willmott and Nathan Umeed form the regular opening bowling attack and are then backed up with Parth Palawat, Rajarajan Kamaraj, Ross Lyons and Simon Umeed.

So, Saturday's fixture is a formidable one for the team. But, if they turn up then the match may turn out to be an interesting encounter and one which could give the Glenpark men the boost needed to gain some much needed wins in the run in to the end of the season.

The Glenpark XI are at home on Saturday to Ferguslie's second eleven, Meikleriggs, after a string of away fixtures which have proved to be extremely demanding. The ageless Peter Robertson captains the side this week in the absence of Eddie Ahmad and will hope to be the man in charge of the team's first league win of the season.

On Sunday, the Hillend XI travel to Coatbridge to take on a Drumpellier XI in the Sunday League Division 1 while the Senior XI play GHK at Glenpark in the Senior League.

In midweek, Hillend lost to Clydesdale Bees at Titwood in a high-scoring encounter. Bees scored 190 for 8 wickets with Zabiullah Dilsoz the team's top wicket-taker with 3 for 50. In reply, Hillend put up a decent run chase scoring 150 for 8 but falling short by 40 runs. Dilsoz with 50 was top scorer, with Mahmood Ahmadzai 37 also contributing important runs. It has to be said that the concession of 34 wides in 20 overs did not help Hillend's cause.

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