Inverclyde Now Logo CRICKET — Vital Win For Greenock Against Ayr

9 July, 2018 | Local

Ayr 169 all out (7 points)

Greenock 173 for 7 (25 points)

GREENOCK’S match with Ayr at Glenparkhad been billed beforehand as the equivalent of a footballing six-pointer, and at the end of an afternoon that ebbed and flowed, it was Greenock who walked away with those precious points.

As a result they have moved up to eighth place in the Premier Division table and given themselves the chance of retaining their place in the top division, something which would have been much more difficult had they lost.

Skipper Neil Flack lost the toss and Ayr not unsurprisingly elected to bat first. They got off to an electric start, taking 18 off Saurabh Bandekar’s opening over. Runs continued to flow as Miller and Hafeez took advantage of some poor bowling by the Greenock attack. Eventually, the openers were parted when Miller was caught by Laurens Smit off Jonathan Hempsey’s bowling for a hard-hitting 35 with the total on 65 in just the 8th over.

Flack now settled into a fine spell of bowling which gradually pulled Ayr back after their quick start although it was Bandekar who claimed the next wicket, trapping Hafeez in front for 28. At the same score of 73, Flack had Ayr’s skipper, Andi McElnea caught by newcomer Jack Griffiths and the same combination accounted for Khan in the 16th over to leave Ayr at 96 for 4.

The loss of these wickets meant that Ayr had to consolidate and the rate of scoring started to fall. By now young Sean Fischer-Keogh had taken over from Bandekar and he underlined his promise with a fine spell of bowling which eventually gained the reward that it deserved when he bowled Simpson for 11. Fischer-Keogh looks a real prospect and his first league wicket for the 1st XI ensured that he finished with the figures of 1 for 24 in 6 overs.

Laurens Smit took over from Flack and, with the pitch taking increasing turn, Ayr were finding it much harder to score. The young South African grabbed the next wicket when he had the Ayr professional, Kenroy Peters, caught by Flack for 16 with the total on 140. Wickets now began to tumble as the Ayr lower order was unable to cope with the Greenock bowling.

Flack returned to have Scott McElnea caught by Bandekar and the Indian took a second catch when Borland fell to Smit without scoring. Bandekar then bowled Bhandari and the final wicket fell at 169 when Jonathan Baines was caught by Smit off the very first ball bowled by Greg McDougall.

Ayr had done what Greenock have been guilty of in the past, by failing to bat out their overs, and their last wicket fell in the 38th over; a criminal waste of 12 overs but Greenock were not complaining. For Greenock, Neil Flack was the most successful bowler with 3 for 24 in his 10 overs while Bandekar took 2 for 49 and Laurens Smit 2 for 19. Greenock fielded well and took a number of good catches with just one opportunity being passed up.

Before the game, Greenock would have been happy to be chasing just 170 but, having seen the way that the pitch behaved in the Ayr innings, that total looked a more challenging target. Harry Briggs fell early on, bowled by Peters for just 1 and Neil Flack had a huge stroke of luck when, on just his fourth ball, he was dropped at second slip by Scott McElnea off a straightforward chance. Flack would go on to make Ayr pay dearly for that mistake.

Jack Griffiths came in at first wicket down. He has recently moved into the area from Ludlow, where has has been a consistent scorer for his local team, and looks to be a decent acquisition. Together with Flack he batted solidly to provide a platform for victory and it was a bit of a surprise when he was caught behind for 18 with the total on 49. He should be a decided acquisition for Greenock in the coming weeks, although his work may restrict his appearances.

Bandekar and Flack continued to bat steadily and took Greenock within sight of three figures when Bandekar was dismissed for 13, caught by Khan off the bowling of Hafeez. Flack had by now reached his half-century but he was caught by Peters off Hafeez for 56 and Greenock were now 103 for 4. Flack passed the milestone of 3,000 runs for the club in his innings and he certainly made the most of his earlier good fortune.

The pitch was becoming increasingly tricky to negotiate and Hafeez took his third wicket when he had Jonathan Hempsey caught by Simpson for just 5. When young Ewan Stewart was run out without scoring at 118, Greenock’s position was somewhat precarious. Greg McDougall joined Laurens Smit in the middle and the two of them now put together what would be the match-winning partnership.

With 17 overs left and 52 needed, they proceeded slowly at first, but overs 38 to 40 yielded 26 runs and now there were just 15 required for victory. Just when it seemed these two would see the team home, Smit was caught for a very fine 41 but Rod Mountford strode to the crease and quickly hit the winning boundary. Greg McDougall was undefeated on 16, an innings the value of which in the circumstances was more than many a bigger knock.

Greenock’s win was warmly welcomed by their supporters and especially by the club’s sponsors who had gathered for the annual Sponsors’ Day. The support that they give the club is warmly received and officials were delighted that they were on hand to see such an important win.

The significance of this win was underlined when news came through that the match at Hamilton Crescent had been abandoned because of a dangerous pitch. League rules state that in such a case, the home team will be deducted 25 points and, if that happens, then West of Scotland will be firmly involved in the relegation struggle. And Greenock next play West at Glenpark this coming Saturday. There is all to play for.

Glenpark XI Win A Run-Fest At Irvine

Greenock 2nd XI (Glenpark) overcame Marress (Irvine’s 2nd XI) by 103 runs on Saturday in a high-scoring match. Glenpark scored a massive 324 for 8 with Sehmat Pandher scoring 68, Jamie Nowell 47 and the evergreen Peter Robertson 36. Pandher also took 4 for 38 as Marress were restricted to 221 for 6 in reply.

Hillend XI Scrape Home

On Sunday, the Hillend XI played a Renfrew Development XI and, in a terrific high-scoring game, won by just 1 run. Rod Mountford scored 82 and young Cameron Calder reached his maiden senior 50 as Hillend totalled 233 for 4. Renfrew fought hard in their reply but the young Hillend attack kept its nerve and restricted Renfrew to 232.

Greenock Cricket Club is sponsored by Cleaning Supplies 4U

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