Stirling County 206 all out from 46.1 overs (4 Points)
Greenock 190 for 9 from 38.1 overs (25 Points)
Greenock win by DLS having been set to score 188 from 40 overs
GREENOCK gained a hugely important league victory against Stirling County, moving the local side up to joint sixth position.
A number of rain interruptions meant that the Duckworth Lewis Stern (DLS) method had to be introduced to help determine the result. And it led to a an exciting finish with Greenock gaining their second win of the season by just one wicket and with only 11 balls of the away match remaining.
Greenock captain Aryan Sanghera won the toss and inserted County with the knowledge that any rain interruptions would see DLS being involved and so giving his side the advantage of knowing their target.
The Glenparkers opened their bowling attack with left arm pace from Fahim Dinarkiel and right arm medium pace from Jack Matthews, and gained an early breakthrough when opening bat Andy Carswell was bowled by Dinarkiel for 12 runs with the last ball of the fifth over.
A bowling change at the start of the eighth over brought a second wicket when new bowler Greg McDougall captured the wicket of Graham Taylor with just his second ball, with the score on 36 for 2.
Stirling rallied and a partnership between Bryce Carnegie and Elliot Bunn added 51 runs before Stirling captain Carnegie was caught by Toby Matthews off the bowling of Nikhil Kadyan for 45. Following Carnegie’s dismissal wickets tumbled regularly.
Bunn top-scored with 63, while the only other scores of note came from Zach Coffee (26) and Vipul Ramtake, 18 not out. The innings ended early in the 47th over when Ali Mubarak was last man out with the score on 206.
Dinarkiel was the leading wicket-taker for Greenock with 3 for 40 from 8.1 overs. Greg McDougall, Nikhil Kadyan and Toby Matthews each picked up two wickets.
After the tea interval, Greenock set about the task of scoring more than 200 runs to overtake Stirling’s total. Rain delays, however, led to the introduction of DLS, and eventually the target required became 188 from just 40 overs.
Initially, Greenock’s reply did not go well as Nikhil Kadyan was caught behind the wicket by Graham Taylor with only 11 runs on the scoreboard. But then a 48-run partnership between Usman Mansoor and Toby Matthews got the innings back on track.
However, the wicket of Mansoor (13) in the 13th over was quickly followed by Matthews (38) in the 14th over and Greenock were three wickets down for 63 runs. Four further wickets fell as the Glenparkers slipped to 109 for 7 after 25 overs. A 36-run partnership between Adam McGuirk and Jack Matthews took Greenock to 145 before Matthews (22) became Greenock’s eighth wicket to fall.
McGuirk was the key player now for Greenock as the target was in sight. But his innings of 64 runs, which included five ‘sixes’ and a boundary, ended with the team tantalisingly close to the winning line. He was caught off the bowling of Carnegie with just 12 runs needed and, with his dismissal, just one wicket left.
In an exciting finale, Greg McDougall (12 not out) and Fahim Dinarkiel (5 not out) held their nerve and batted confidently to take Greenock to a deserved and important win with Dinarkiel hitting a winning boundary with just 11 balls remaining.
Sudip Talukder with four wickets for 40 runs from eight overs was Stirling County’s top bowler.
Glenpark XI Lose Out To Stenhousemuir’s The Tryst XI
Batting first at Glenpark, The Tryst scored 135 all out in 35.3 overs with Rakesh Kumar taking 3 for 39. Heavy rain interrupted play for more than an hour before Glenpark started their
innings.
Glenpark’s DLS target when they batted was 108 in 23 overs. But they were always struggling and came up 28 runs short, Mahmood Ahmadzai’s unbeaten 30 the top score in their total of 81 for 7 from 23 overs.
Greenock Cricket Club is sponsored by The Ethos Group
