1st XI look to recover their form when they play Irvine

The 1st XI meet Irvine at Glenpark on Saturday and will be keen to get back to a winning way after three successive defeats, two of which have involved the intervention of the Duckworth Lewis Stern (DLS) system due to matches having to be abandoned part way through as a result of rain.

Just three weeks ago, the Glenpark side was eyeing up moving into second top spot in the Western Premiership Two as they travelled down into Ayrshire to meet Kilmarnock. But an innings of 95 runs from Adrian Maritz derailed that hope as the home side chased, and eventually passed, the team's total of 187 for 6.

Since then, two further reversals against East Renfrewshire and league leaders Kelburne have plummeted the eleven down the table into eighth position and almost certainly cast into the bin any hopes of promotion this season.

So Saturday's fixture against Irvine provides an opportunity for the team to show that it can get back to winning once again.

Team captain Greg McDougall will lead a team which shows just one change from last Saturday. Harry Briggs is unavailable and into the side in his place comes Faheengul Dinarkhel who has picked up six wickets in two games for the Glenpark XI and who has been part of the 1st XI on a number of occasions this season.

Getting runs on the board will be key on Saturday. But unavailable once again, are Shailesh Prabhu and Harry Briggs. They are both top order batters who might have opened the innings for the team alongside regular opener Connor Nowlan.

Last Saturday, against Kelburne, Aryan Sanghera was promoted up the order to open with Nowlan and that partnership may be called upon once again against Irvine. If so, it will be important to make a good start and set the tone for the rest of the innings.

Nowlan along with Chirag Pandher was in fine form in midweek. The pair put together a rapid unbeaten 66 run partnership to give the team a fine win nine wicket win over Ferguslie in a McCulloch Cup sectional match at Glenpark. The win was the team's first against their Renfrewshire rivals since June 2018 when they defeated the Paisley side in a Premier League match at Meikleriggs.

On Wednesday evening, the pair came together midway through the sixth over and took just eight more overs to finish the game as Ferguslie were swept aside. And Pandher finished the match in style with a massive six hit over the Union Street wall. Nowlan was 43 not out and Pandher 30 not out.

Angus Tolhurst, Cameron Calder, Sam Sanghera and Ewan Stewart will be among others in the side who should be able to add runs for the team. They will form an important middle order group from which the innings can be taken forward to a competitive total if the top order batters do their jobs.

Nowlan and Tolhurst continue to be the team's most successful wicket-takers with 24 wickets between them. Their bowling form on Saturday will be an important factor for the team.

But they should be able to be well supported by Sam Sanghera, Greg McDougall, Cameron Calder, Chirag Pandher, Ewan Stewart and Usman Mansoor. Faheengul Dinarkhel may also be brought into the attack so McDougall has a variety of bowling options available.

Irvine come to Glenpark on Saturday having won two games out of the five matches which they have completed so far this season. Their wins have come against Langside and bottom team Hillhead. Two of their fixtures (East Renfrewshire and Renfrew) have been cancelled due to rain and last Saturday the Ayrshire side lost to second bottom Glasgow Accies, who gained their first win of the season.

Their form, like the 1st XI's, has been patchy but apart from their two wins, they gave second top Dumfries a good game two weeks ago. Batting first at Nunholm, Irvine scored 204 for the loss of 8 wickets and almost beat the second top team who just gained the win with a score of 205 for 9.

Team captain Zishan Zaman 58, Muhammad Abdullah 42 and Sachin Jayawardena 27 formed Irvine's middle order and their runs gave the team a fine total which was almost enough to gain the win over the Dumfries side who made it over the line with just four balls and one wicket remaining.

Jayawardena is also their main strike bowler. He has accumulated 20 wickets and is currently the leading wicket-taker in the Western Premiership Two. His best return so far in the league came on the first Saturday of June against Hillhead when he took 7 wickets for just 8 runs from 9 overs bowled.

A keen contest can therefore be expected at Glenpark on Saturday with both sides eager to add to the two wins which each has gained in the league so far as the mid-point of the season approaches.

The team will surely take some confidence into the match following their fine win over Ferguslie in midweek, and come Saturday evening, a third league win will hopefully have been achieved.

The Glenpark XI will be involved in a local derby on Saturday afternoon when they make the short journey to Gourock Park to play Inverclyde. The team currently sits in 5th position in the WDCU Championship Three table, four places above Inverclyde, and on paper that should make them favourites for the game. But games are not played on paper and Inverclyde will surely be very keen to inflict a defeat on Glenpark. For that reason alone Eddie Ahmad's team, which shows a few changes from last week, will need to be at their best to claim the local bragging rights.

Both games will start as usual at 12 noon.

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