Tennant tells his Prestwick men ‘title has to be earned’

Prestwick stand just three games from glory but coach Andy Tennant says feet will stay firmly on the ground as the Ayrshire side close in on an historic first Western Premier title.

Greenock travel to the Henry Thow Oval this afternoon to provide the latest challenge to Prestwick’s aspirations and, given that the visitors are still fighting for top-flight survival, Tennant knows his troops may need to dig as deep as they frequently have already this season.

The latest demonstration of their resolve came a week ago when they recovered from a terrible start to beat derby rivals Ayr.

Tennant said: “The guys have kept finding ways to get the job done and they just need to keep doing that for three more games. We know the season will end soon and hopefully there will be a reward but it will have to be earned.”

Prestwick cannot afford to take anything for granted against a Greenock side who, despite their lowly third bottom position, have recorded wins over Ayr and Uddingston, two of the top four.

Greenock must combat the threat of Indian allrounder Sachin Chaudhary who is Prestwick’s top performer with both bat and ball, boasting 485 runs and 26 wickets.

That haul is matched by the visitors’ Australian pace bowler Kyle Scrimegour, while countryman Julian Hulbert, with just two wickets fewer, is another obvious threat to Prestwick’s hopes.

A Greenock win would almost guarantee topflight cricket at Glenpark next season while opening the door for Ferguslie and Uddingston to make a late surge for the title.

Second-top Ferguslie are without their leading wicket-taker Haroon Tahir for the visit to Dumfries, who all-but secured their top-flight status by beating Greenock last week.

Uddingston, having survived a scare against East Kilbride, can stay in the hunt if they win at rockbottom Kelburne, where the hosts must win their three remaining games to have a chance of staying up.