A tricky trip awaits Greenock

William Dick • Published 2 Jul 2010 14:00 0 Comments

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TOP SCORE: Andy Hislop hit 43 last week and Greenock will hope for more of the same.

GREENOCK start the second half of their SNCL campaign tomorrow when they travel up the M8 to face Clydesdale at Titwood.

The Glasgow side got the better of things when the teams met at Glenpark on the opening day of the season.

Since that 43-run defeat, Greenock have continued to struggle, managing just one victory in nine matches.

Their latest defeat saw them dismissed for 131 by Uddingston last week but club president David Campbell insists there are positives to be taken from an apparently hopeless situation.

He said: "It has been a tough time for the lads but they must keep their heads up and not lose heart. We have to accept we are building for the future and the guys should be trying to improve every time they go on to the field.

"There have been some encouraging individual performances but we need to try to put things together as a team if we are going to start winning matches on a regular basis."

One of the brighter aspects of last week's loss was the performance of opening batsman Andy Hislop, who returns to the club where he came through the ranks as a junior.

Hislop, also rated one of the best wicket-keepers in the country, hit a dogged 43 against Uddingston.

Campbell added: "Andy will take confidence from that and hopefully build on it against his old team. But we need our top batsmen to be going on and making bigger scores.

"If a couple of guys had gone on and made half-centuries last week we might have scored 231 instead of 131 and that would have made us competitive. I think we need a bit more grit."

Greenock are again beset by selection problems, with all-rounder Richie Berrington and coach Tony Judd both on Scotland duty at the World Cricket League in Holland.

Youngster Alex Baum is again on trial with Durham Academy while Sailesh Prabhu remains sidelined through injury.

However, on the plus side Dougie Wylie returns and Clydesdale, who suffered a shock defeat at West of Scotland a week ago, are also without two of their star players in Majid Haq and Omer Hussain.

But Campbell cautioned: "We are still the underdogs. Clydesdale have some quality players and will be determined to bounce back from that defeat. But hopefully we can make a real fight of it."

This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 02 Jul 10

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