Greenock 122 all out in 35.1 overs (0 Points)

Clydesdale 125 for 2 in 27 overs (25 Points)

FOLLOWING a fine win at Prestwick last weekend, Greenock put in one of their most disappointing performances of the season against Clydesdale on Saturday at Titwood.

Greenock produced a poor batting display and failed to set the Glasgow southsiders a total which was going to be challenging.

Due to a combination of poor choice of shot and poor running between the wickets, the Glenpark side could only muster 122 runs.

The start of the match was delayed due to some morning rain which left the ground pretty wet.

But when it did get under way, openers Tom Polkinghorne and Shailesh Prabhu played some fine shots and by the end of the seventh over they had accumulated 32 runs.

The umpires conferred and decided that there was an issue with the ball and a full five minutes passed while a new ball was brought out and eventually the game restarted.

Breaks in play are rarely good for a batsman’s concentration and with just the fourth ball after the resumption of play, Greenock lost Polkinghorne when he was caught for 19.

Two balls later and Krishna had new batsman Harry Briggs caught at slip by Kasim Farid.

A partnership between Prabhu and Rahul Dalal looked to be getting Greenock’s innings moving along well until Prabhu got an edge to a ball from Sahir Hussain and he was caught by wicketkeeper Galling who was standing up to the stumps.

The opening bat had scored 18 runs and the mini partnership had added 21 runs to take Greenock to 55 for the loss of 3 wickets

The incoming number five batsman, Gregor Chambers, played a useful supporting role to Dalal who was getting in to his stride, and also produced a couple of boundaries of his own as the score moved along into the eighties.

But with the mid-point of the fifty over innings approaching and 82 runs on the board, Chambers attempted to sweep a delivery from slow bowler Daniel Cairns towards the leg side boundary only to miss the ball and be given out LBW.

Another promising partnership then developed between Dalal and Nikhil Kadyan which took Greenock past the 100 run mark.

But with 111 runs showing on the scoreboard Kadyan, who had been batting well, played a shot towards short extra cover and immediately set off for an unlikely run only to be turned back by Dalal who recognised the danger.

A smart piece of fielding by Zeeshan Bashir saw the ball picked up and very quickly thrown to wicketkeeper Galling who had the bails removed before Kadyan could get back safely to the crease.

Further trouble ensued with just another five runs added to the score. With the last ball of the 31st over, Dalal scooped his shot straight to Walter Behr at mid-off and was caught having scored 42 runs.

Greenock were now 116 for the loss of 6 wickets and from being in a reasonably good position a short time previously on 82 for 3 in the 24th over, the innings was in some disarray.

The disarray was complete just four overs later when the last four wickets went down for the addition of just six more runs.

The lower order batsmen too easily became victims of the home bowling attack and the Glenpark side were all out for 122 after just 35 overs.

Greenock now have just three Premiership One matches remaining to find wins to avoid relegation.

Greenock’s 2ndXI match at Glenpark on Saturday afternoon against local rivals Inverclyde was interrupted by heavy rain after just 5.5 overs had been bowled. The two teams waited for a lengthy period of time after the rain stoppage hopeful that play might be able to be resumed. But due to the significant downpour of rain which had occurred, and which flooded various areas of the ground, it was agreed that no further play would be possible and the match was abandoned.

At the point when play was halted, Inverclyde were 18 for the loss of 3 wickets. The three wickets had just fallen to consecutive balls bowled by Inam Khan giving the Greenock bowler a ’hat-trick’.

Greenock’s ‘Hillend XI which was due to play a friendly match with a West of Scotland XI at Hamilton Crescent in Glasgow on Sunday afternoon had their match cancelled by West who were unable to field a team.

Greenock Cricket Club is sponsored by Cleaning Supplies 4U