Hillhead 175 all out after 48.4 overs (25 points)
Greenock 146 all out after 44.4 overs (5 points)
GREENOCK gifted a win to relegation rivals Hillhead after an astonishing batting collapse.
Chasing the Glasgow club’s total of 175, Greenock had reached 131 for the loss of just three wickets, and had 12.4 overs (76 balls minimum) available to score the 46 runs needed, when the match changed quite dramatically.
The fourth-wicket loss of Aussie Adam McGuirk, who had scored 30 runs, led to a complete implosion of the remaining Greenock batting line-up as seven wickets were lost for the addition of only 12 runs and stunned the Glenpark support.
The match started with Greenock winning the toss, inserting Hillhead and removing opening bat Henry James with just the second ball when Chirag Pandher had him caught by Toby Matthews without scoring.
A second wicket was picked up by Pandher in the third over when Hillhead’s other opening bat, Alex Hawley, was also caught by Matthews without scoring.
Hillhead moved on to 36 after 10 overs but in the next over Pandher struck with two more wickets, removing Mazumber (26) caught behind the wicket, and just two balls later new batsman Kumar became Matthews’s third catch of the innings.
Greenock made a change of bowler at the beginning of the 18th over and Mahmood Ahmadzai bowled Patel (6) with his first ball to make it 57 for 5. Hillhead rallied and Ajay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan built a partnership which added 53 runs before Khan (33) was caught by Ewan Stewart off the bowling of Greg McDougall.
A further two relatively quick wickets put Hillhead on 122 for 8 and it seemed as though Greenock would have the Glasgow side dismissed soon after. But tail-enders Kesh Soni (26) and Haresh Ravichandran (not out 19) along with last man Isaac Howell (five not out) batted defiantly and added 53 more runs before the innings ended on 175.
Those 53 runs were to prove crucial. And a total of 35 wide-ball extras which Greenock’s bowlers leaked during the innings were also to prove fatal by the end of the match.
An opening partnership pf 60 runs between Jamie Nowell and Chirag Pandher gave Greenock the perfect start after the tea interval before Pandher was dismissed caught off the bowling of Ravichandran for 39. Without any addition to the score Shailesh Prabhu was adjudged leg-before-wicket.
But then another fine partnership of 53 runs between Nowell and Adam McGuirk took Greenock to within sight of victory before Nowell was bowled by Patel for 38 with the score on 113 for 3
Greenock’s score had reached 131 when Adam McGuirk played a loose shot and was caught for 30. At this point, only 46 runs were needed to win with a minimum of 76 balls still to be bowled.
However, following the dismissal of McGuirk, the Glenparkers’ innings disintegrated as Aussie amateur and team captain, Toby Matthews, could only look on. Including the wicket of McGuirk, Greenock lost seven wickets for the addition of just 15 runs and so Hillhead won the game by 29 runs. Matthews was 21 not out.
Greenock’s hopes of avoiding relegation are now slim. With just two matches left, the Glenpark team must win both and depend on other results going their way.
Glenpark XI Lose To Hughenden
The Glenpark XI batted first against Hughenden and after a poor start to the innings managed to reach 86 before being all out after 33.5 overs. Hughenden took just 14 overs to reach their winning target, during which time they lost two wickets. Ciaran Prabhu and Alex Berrington, two of the Glenpark XI’s young players were the wicket-takers.
Greenock’s Senior XI (Over 50’s XI)
Greenock’s senior XI played against Stenhousemuir’s Senior XI at Glenpark on Sunday in a friendly match and gained a deserved win by scoring 145 for 7 and then bowling out the Stenny team for under 80 runs.
Greenock Midweek XI Fixture
The Greenock Midweek XI will hope to gain their fifth win of the season out of eight matches played when Mearns Challengers come to Glenpark on Tuesday evening. The match starts at 6.15pm
Greenock Cricket Club is sponsored by The Ethos Group
