GREENOCK get the chance to put their promotion push back on track tomorrow after last weekend’s disappointing loss to Stenhousemuir.

The local side have a second successive home match at Glenpark, this time against Coatbridge side Drumpellier.

Last weekend’s reversal might in time prove positive for the Greenock team.

It will have made the players consider where mistakes were made during the game and what tactics to employ in future to try and make sure totals are chased down.

This weekend's visitors have made a good start to their own league season and Greenock will need to be at their best to make sure of a win.

The Coatbridge team easily beat Poloc in their opening league match away at Shawholm and followed that up with another straightforward win at home against Irvine.

However, that initial fine start was abruptly halted when they were themselves then very soundly beaten by Stenhousemuir away at The Tryst. And last Saturday, at Renfrew, a good batting performance got the Lanarkshire team back to winning ways against a side who made them work hard for the points.

Gordon Shaw and Chris Keltie were their two top run scorers against Renfrew, each with half centuries as the team won by seven wickets.

And with low scores which were easily chased against Poloc and Irvine in their first two matches, their full batting line-up has had only one chance to show what it can do.

That opportunity was a couple of weeks ago. But Drumpellier were easily brushed aside by Stenhousemuir.

Only four of the top five batters got into double figures and the last six in the batting order could only manage 12 runs in total as the side slumped to 126 all out chasing Stenny’s 210 for six.

It is perhaps the Drumpellier bowling about which Greenock must take most care.

Nicolas Austin, Supeshala Jayathilake and Jordan Pryde have been their attack’s most dangerous bowlers. Between them the trio have accounted for 25 out of the total of 36 wickets which the team has taken in the four league matches so far this season.

Last Saturday, Greenock’s winning run in the league was halted when the team failed to chase down what to many would have seemed a total (157), at Glenpark, which was well within its capability to score in the second half of the match.

But following a good start to the innings, the Greenock batsmen became over defensive for a substantial period in the middle of the innings and runs dried up.

So much so that the three runs per over run rate required at the start of the innings had risen to more than six runs needed per over with just 10 remaining.

The necessary run rate then grew to what became an impossible 12 runs per over with just one wicket and four overs of the innings to go.

A valiant last wicket stand led by team captain Greg McDougall took Greenock to within 15 runs of the Stenhousemuir total. But it was not enough. The post-match analysis would not have been difficult to pin point what would have been needed to take the team to victory.

Aussie amateurs Tom Nicholson and Ryan Walker have been key players for Greenock in the league matches to date. The duo have gained success with both bat and ball in the four First Division games played.

Walker is top of the First Division bowling stats with 18 wickets. Nicholson is close behind in fourth top spot with 11 wickets. Nicholson is also second top of the batting stats with 239 runs at an average of 79.67.

In most matches, Gregor Chambers and Sam Sanghera have opened the bowling for Greenock and generally have bowled tidily but with only a little success in terms of wickets. Chambers, with his pace, has been accurate and quite economical but only has two wickets to his credit. Sanghera has been more successful with five wickets to his name.

Walker and Nicholson have been used very successfully as the first change bowlers and have regularly gained the wickets which have disrupted the innings’ of Greenock’s opponents and/or been instrumental in winning the match.

But cricket, many would argue, is a game about scoring runs. In the WDCU First Division, the team with most runs is the winner. So Greenock must focus on building large challenging totals if batting first and having the right tactics to chase down a total when batting second.

Tomorrow Greenock team captain McDougall will want to see his team bounce back from last weekend’s result.

Glenpark supporters too will be keen to see a positive all round performance that puts the team back on track to regain a top spot in the league.

Greenock’s team for the match against Drumpellier at Glenpark tomorrow will be from: GJ McDougall, HR Briggs, GM Chambers, LC Fischer-Keogh, CJK Hempsey, JPC Hempsey, TJ Nicholson, JM Nowell, SS Prabhu, SS Sanghera, E Stewart, RA Walker. Scorer: R McGregor.

The match at Glenpark will start at noon.

l Greenock Cricket Club is sponsored by Cleaning Supplies 4U