GREENOCK Cricket Club are at home to Paisley side Kelburne at Glenpark on Saturday in a vital match for both sides.
The Paisley side looked like league title favorites in the first half of the season.
Between early May and mid-season at the end of June, they looked unbeaten as the team rolled through the first nine games, including an emphatic win over Dumfries, the current league leaders.
Greenock return to action this weekend (Photo – Alex Craig)
With just three rounds left in the league season, Dumfries look certain to take the title and climb back into Western Premiership One, having had a disappointing second half of the season at Kelburne.
However, victory against Greenock on Saturday would almost certainly seal Kelburne’s promotion to Western Premiership One alongside the South West side.
Greenock will of course be looking to beat the Kelburne side to improve their own league position and also to avenge a defeat earlier in the season when the Duckworth Lewis Stern (DLS) system handed victory to Kelburne when the rain ended early. to the match.
When fit, Paisley have a strong line-up led by their two South African amateurs, Sheldon Van Wyk and Juan Steyn.
But the team has shown significant inconsistency in its play since its nine-game winning streak ended midway through the season.
In the five matches played in the second half of the season, the team have lost three times and each time by less than 90 runs against Langside, Irvine and Dumfries.
And in the two matches they have won, the team have needed to score just 100 runs to get one out against club-low Hillhead.
So, if Greenock can make early breakthroughs in Kelburne’s innings and don’t allow their top order batsmen to settle, there is every chance that their lower order will fold with little opposition.
Steyn is the most important strike bowler in the Paisley team. He has taken 34 wickets this season, almost twice as many as their next most efficient wicket taker.
But with a selection of quality bowlers in the squad, including experienced former Greenock player Dougie Wylie, Greenock’s batsmen will have to work hard and carefully to knock on runs and build their own innings.
Greenock have named a squad that does not include club captain Greg McDougall, who is still not fully recovered from a back injury, so Connor Nowlan will once again lead the team.
On paper it’s a good strong group of players who, if they bring their best form and ability to Saturday’s game, will most certainly challenge Kelburne and perhaps delay their promotion hopes in week two.
Last weekend, Greenock’s Western Premiership League Two match against East Renfrewshire was called off due to a long wet spell leading up to the match, rendering Giffnock’s pitch unfit for play.
Although the match was abandoned, Greenock retained their fifth place. But only just. Sixth-placed Kilmarnock found their game and won convincingly against Langside, but were still unable to overcome Greenock, who now hold a slim lead over the Ayrshire side.
And with fourth-placed Irvine losing heavily to league leaders Dumfries, just one percentage point now separates them from Greenock. So it’s all to play for in these upper mid-table positions.
Greenock’s 1st XI squad for the match against Kelburne at Glenpark on Saturday is: CJ Nowlan (Captain), PJ Bryceland, C. Calder, CJK Hempsey, U Mansoor, CS Pandher, SS Pandher, SS Prabhu, AS Sanghera, SS Sanghera, E Stewart, AS Tolhurst.
The match on Saturday in Glenpark starts at 12 noon
Greenock 2ndXI “Glenpark” make the long trip to Gatehouse of Fleet to play Galloway 2ndXI on Saturday. The squads for this match are: M Ahmad (captain), S Bhumanwala, Z Dilsoz, F Dinarkhel, Y Hayat, S Hussain, I Khan, R Kumar, L McCahill, P Robertson, H Safi, M Zeeshan.
The match at the Gatehouse of Fleet kicks off at 12pm.
Greenock Cricket Club is sponsored by Cleaning Supplies 4U
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