No reprieve

Roger Graham • Published 29 Jun 2009 14:00

Heriots 185 for 2wkts; Greenock 179 all out.

greenock"s seventh defeat in eight league outings kept them firmly in second bottom spot of the Premier League.

There was to be no lifting of the cloud of despondency that hangs over Glenpark this season in suitably Stygian conditions in Edinburgh on Saturday.

Leaving Inverclyde in sunshine and arriving at the capital in a misty gloom seemed all too appropriate for what was about to unfold.

A persistent drizzle led to a delayed start, a shortened 32 overs per side match finally getting under way at 3.45pm.

Heriot"s had first use of the pitch on a playing area dramatically reduced in size, one boundary in particular being chopped by a good 25 metres.

Openers Knox and Ashraf set off at a startling pace, the opening attack of skipper Craig Wright and Willie Rowan, followed by Richie Berrington, suffering, Rowan doing better than the other two in difficult circumstances. An excellent bowler, Wright is clearly not fully fit and looks a shadow of his usual self at the moment. By the end of 10 overs it was 64 for nought.

The appearance of spinners Dougie Wylie and Cameron Borgas, in 11 and 14 overs respectively, gradually impaired the hosts" expansive progression. The first breakthrough came in 16 overs when Ashraf skied a Borgas delivery back to the bowler and was easily held, the total being 91.

Greenock were fighting back well and when Jonathan Hempsey took the second wicket, Borgas taking a fine catch at long-on in the 25th over, it was 125 for two and it was back to much more like normal cricket. However, with the spinners" spells ended, after seven overs each respectively, the carnage resumed once more.

Richie Berrington returned to bowl offspin and he came in for particular punishment, but no one escaped Heriot"s late rally which saw them post a final tally of 180 for two.

Greenock opened with Richie Berrington and Chris Hempsey, the latter clearly being seen as a pinch hitter in the shortened game.

It was asking a lot of an inexperienced youngster and in the event the gamble failed. He was caught to a simple take at mid-on in Eddington"s opening over, a dismissal which brought Cameron Borgas to the wicket.

He gave a simple catch to mid-on, with the total 18, which was put down, playing and missing at Farrell"s next ball, adding to the jangling of the visiting supporters" nerves.

The recovery began, however, and after eight overs it was 46 for one and the target was well within the visitors" grasp.

Even when Berrington fell to a catch behind off Eddington, having hit 22, it was 50 for two with plenty of batting to come, on paper at least.

Keenan Bowers arrived to join Borgas, but he did not last long, being caught and bowled by Farrell, just nine having been added to the total.

That brought skipper Craig Wright to the wicket with Greenock needing a period of consolidation. By the end of 16 overs it was a healthy 83 for three.

Wright was bowled in the 19th, with the hundred up, and that gave Greenock supporters the chance to see new Aussie overseas amateur Adam Lockhart-Strauss. Having been denied entry under tight new immigration rules at the start of the season, his re-application was successful and he arrived in time to make his debut.

He showed enough to suggest he will be a useful addition to the side. With nine overs remaining Greenock required 63 runs to win with six wickets in hand. That would be a winning position for any normal Greenock side, but these are not normal times for the Glenpark club. They also had seen a similar position blown away the previous week at Clydesdale.

Lockhart-Strauss had just reached the boundary on the leg side in 25 overs when he holed out the very next delivery to mid-on and it was 133 for five. Two runs later Shailesh Prabhu was bowled, to be followed nine runs later by Willie Rowan, going for a big hit on the wrong ball, after hitting a four, and having his stumps shattered.

Borgas and Ryan Begley seemed to have regained control in the rapidly fading light and, with three overs remaining, it was 154 for seven.

With two overs and two balls to go 19 were needed. Greenock"s ability to finish off a game is dire at present and Begley chose the wrong ball to lash out at, being clean bowled.

The rest was horribly inevitable. Dougie Wylie was caught behind the very next delivery, his first ball. One over to go, 10 needed. Jonathan Hempsey was bowled last ball by Van Neikerk six runs short.

HERIOT"S

S. Knox.........................................................80

Q. Ashraf c & b Borgas..................................59

C. Goddard c Borgas b J. Hempsey..............12

S. Litster not out............................................25

Extras 18

Total (2wkts) 185

Bowling: C.M. Wright 6-0-47-0; W. Rowan 6-1-24-0; R.D. Berrington 4-0-46-0; R.D.G. Wylie 7-0-26-0; C.A. Borgas 7-0-22-1; J.P.C. Hempsey 2-0-16-1.

FOW: 1/91 Ashraf; 2/125 Goddard.

GREENOCK

R.D. Berrington c Litster b Eddington............22

C.J.C. Hempsey c Goddard b Eddington........0

C.A. Borgas not out.......................................84

K. Bowers c & b Eddington..............................4

C.M. Wright b McCraw...................................18

A. Lockhart-Strauss b Innes..........................15

S.S. Prabhu b McCraw....................................0

W. Rowan b Innes...........................................5

R.G. Begley b Farrell.....................................11

R.D.G. Wylie c Litster b Van Neikerk..............1

J.C. Hempsey b Van Neikerk..........................1

Extras 19

Total (10wkts) 179

Bowling: A. Eddington 7-0-38-3; C. Farrell 6-0-34-2; A. Van Neikerk 6-0-31-1; P. McCraw 7-0-33-2; J. Innes 6-0-37-2.

FOW: 1/2 C. Hempsey; 2/50 Berrington; 3/59 Bowers; 4/100 Wright; 5/133 Lockhart-Strauss; 6/135 Prabhu; 7/146 Rowan; 8/176 Begley; 9/176 Wylie; 10/179 J. Hempsey.

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This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 29 Jun 09

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