GREENOCK’S dismal record of just three wins in the Western Premiership Two has put the local team into a four-way fight for survival as the end of the season approaches.
Just four matches remain and on Saturday the team travels to face league leaders Kilmarnock, who have lost only one of their 12 league matches and are currently favourites to win the title and be promoted.
And while beating Kilmarnock would bring much needed points to Glenpark, the main focus for the Greenock side will be the final three game run-in against their relegation rivals Hillhead, Helensburgh and Mearns.
Only a minimum of two wins out of these games is likely to provide a lifeline and it may be that Greenock will need to win all three.
For Saturday’s match, Greenock show just one change from the team which lost to second-top Uddingston a couple of weeks ago. Vice-captain Cammy Calder is out through injury.
All-rounder Calder will be missed as he would likely have opened the batting along with Avi Neupane and is also a key bowler for the team. Greenock will also still be missing Usman Mansoor who was one of the regular opening batsmen for much of the season.
When Greenock met Kilmarnock at Glenpark in early June, Kilmarnock batted first and posted a total of 213 all out in 46.4 overs. Greenock’s reply fell well short with the team bowled out for 145 in 45.1 overs.
That was only the second time all season that Kilmarnock have been bowled out. The first was against Uddingston in the opening league match in May. Since then, the Ayrshire side have embarked on an 11-match unbeaten run.
On each of the five occasions Kilmarnock have batted first, the lowest total the team has made is 193 for nine which was against bottom side Hillhead. On two occasions the team has scored more than 300 runs from the allocated 50 overs. Of these, 332 for four was scored against Helensburgh at home at the end of May, and against Mearns in mid-July the team scored a massive 370 for seven.
The team will be: TA Matthews (Capt), Ma Ahmadzai, Mu Ahmadzai, F Dinarkhiel, GJ McDougall, A. McGuirk (Wk), A Neupane, CS Pandher, SS Prabhu, R Safi, K Thapa.
Greenock’s 2nd XI Glenpark have a double=header of league fixtures this weekend, both at Glenpark with noon starts. On Saturday, Mearns 2nd XI Mearns Challengers are the visitors and, on Sunday, Langside 2nd XI Albert Park are the opponents.
Greenock Cricket Club is sponsored by The Ethos Group
