Greenock Cricket Club see off GHK in style

Put in to bat by Glasgow High Kelvinside (GHK), Greenock proceeded to score over 300 runs from their allotted 50 overs and in reply GHK were all out for 141 after 29.4 overs.

Saturday’s score was Greenock’s highest in a league match since Saturday June 14 2008.

On that occasion, playing in the Scottish National Cricket League (SNCL) Premier Division as it was then, Greenock scored 348 for the loss of four wickets against Uddingston at Glenpark.

Greenock’s professional, New Zealand test opening bat Tim McIntosh, scored 155 and Richie Berrington, now Scotland’s most capped international, scored 118. Uddingston were well beaten, ending the match on 209 for nine.

Greenock opened their innings against GHK with in-form Tom Nicholson and Jamie Nowell.

The pair made a quick start by scoring four boundaries in the first two overs and had 31 runs on the board after just four overs.

The runs kept coming as the pair punished any loose balls and by the end of the ninth over Greenock were on 64, a scoring rate of just a little more than seven runs per over and on target for a large innings total.

The partnership was broken in the 16th over with the score on 85 when Nowell was adjudged LBW to Aziz Numan for 27.

Nicholson and his new batting partner Harry Briggs settled into a more cautious period of batting and in their first four overs together added just six runs. During this interlude, Nicholson reached his 50 from just 60 balls faced.

Greenock’s first hundred came up during the 22nd over and the runs kept flowing. In the 27th over a major change in the pace of run-scoring occurred with 26 runs coming from change bowler Azam Iqbal’s first over.

Nicholson was the aggressor, hitting four boundaries and a maximum six out of the ground.

The Australian amateur brought up his century with the third ball of the 30th over, but with the last ball of the same over was bowled by Khizar Ali.

He had scored 101 from 103 balls faced and hit 15 boundaries and one six.

At Nicholson’s dismissal, Greenock’s score stood at 158.

With wickets in hand, and the opposition bowlers and fielders trying hard to stick to their task, Greenock set about building as large a total as possible.

Ryan Walker joined Harry Briggs and the pair quickly established a good understanding with their running between the wickets and began to score freely.

The team’s second hundred runs came up in the 39th over when Walker hit a boundary from the bowling of Adil Hussain and the pair brought up their own 100 partnership in the 46th over.

But in the same over Briggs was returned to the clubhouse when he was bowled by Aziz Numan for 61 with score on 259.

Walker and Gregor Chambers plundered the final four overs of the innings adding 50 runs to take the Greenock score to 309 for the loss of three wickets at the end of the 50 overs.

Walker was unbeaten on 67 from 54 balls with nine boundaries while Chambers compiled 22 not out from just 13 balls and with three boundaries to his credit.

After the break between innings, GHK set about their task with the clear intent of scoring as many runs as possible. Opening batsman Asad Izaz hit a boundary from just the third ball of the first over and followed up with another couple of boundaries in the fourth over.

It took until the 10th over with the GHK score on 29 before Greenock made a breakthrough. Team captain Greg McDougall picked up the wicket of Adil Hussain (nine) when Walker took a good catch at mid-wicket.

It was McDougall who achieved a second wicket when Asad Aziz was adjudged LBW for 18 in the 12th over. And, with no further runs added to the score, Chambers picked up a deserved wicket when Shakeel Ahmed hit a towering shot and was caught by Nicholson at extra cover.

However, from 29 for three GHK’s fourth wicket partnership between Muhammad Nadeem and Zishan Iqbal showed that the Glasgow side were not going to go down easily. The pair enjoyed a 12 over partnership during which they took their team’s tally to 118, scoring 15 boundaries along the way.

Their run fest was ended when Briggs did well to take a fine catch at mid-on. Nadeem smashed a delivery from Nicholson which was headed for another boundary only for Briggs to hold on at the second attempt. Nadeem scored 40 from 35 balls with nine boundaries.

And, as often happens after a good partnership, another wicket was captured immediately. It was a similar dismissal to the previous ball with Briggs taking a second catch in consecutive balls from Nicholson to dismiss new batsman Zahid Mirza.

GHK were now 118 for five after 24 overs.

The remainder of the Old Anniesland side’s batting order were not long in being dispatched with the remaining five wickets falling for another 23 runs in the space of just under another six overs.

Zishan Iqbal, who had formed the fine fourth wicket partnership with Nadeem, was the sixth wicket to fall bowled for 37 by Walker.

The match ended in the 30th over when Nicholson picked up the wickets of Khizar Ali and Azam Iqbal in consecutive balls.

Nicholson took four wickets for 34 runs from 6.4 overs, Walker three for 33 from five overs, McDougall two for 25 from six overs and Chambers one for 31 from 10 overs.

l Greenock Cricket Club is sponsored by Cleaning Supplies 4U.