Ferguslie eye Clydesdale scalp after cup success
Having won the Rowan Cup on Thursday, Ferguslie must quickly re-focus as they make the short journey to Titwood to face unbeaten leaders Clydesdale.
Having won the Rowan Cup on Thursday, Ferguslie must quickly re-focus as they make the short journey to Titwood to face unbeaten leaders Clydesdale this afternoon.
A convincing eight-wicket win over Stirling at Whitehaugh ended a 61-year hoodoo since the Paisley club last won cricket’s oldest T20 competition.
But player-coach riyaad henry insists the celebrations have been cut short as his team, lying second in the table, bid to cut the gap at the top.
With two defeats in their opening six games, victory today would be insufficient to overhaul Dale but it would be a clear indication that Ferguslie can push for more silverware this season.
Henry said: “It’s massive for the whole club to have won the Rowan Cup and I think it will help with the momentum we have been looking for.
“Clydesdale are a good team and have made a great start but we believe we can be the first to beat them. We feel good and confident as I’m sure they do and it will come down to who does their job best on the day.”
Clydesdale, who had a Richie Berrington century in last week’s win over Greenock, also have a Scottish Cup semi-final to look forward to following a comfortable victory over lang side on Sunday.
However, the league is the priority for now and, despite the unavailability of Berrington today, skipper Paddy Barbour is backing his men to continue their winning run.
He said: “We won a couple of games without Richie at the start of the season and the most pleasing thing about our campaign so far is the number of players who have been chipping-in with important contributions. I also think there is more to come from us and probably a few bats men–myself included–who feel they should be scoring more heavily.
“We know fergus lie area dangerous team with some in-form players so it could be a really tight game and hopefully we come out on top.”
A Ferguslie victory would no doubt be welcomed by the chasing pack, among themc ham pions Uddings ton who have found form in spectacular fashion.
A fort night ago mo awa is produced the batting display of the season, scoring 217 albeit in an abandoned match, while last week Niall Alexander returned bowling figures of 7-5, with neither performance likely to be bettered throughout the remainder of the campaign.
Bryan clarke, the uddings ton captain, would no doubt settle for a solid team performance and another victory when West of Scotland visit Bothwell Castle today.
West, victors over Stirling a week ago, are seeking the consistency that would lift them towards the top half of the table.
Prestwick are another team who maybe keeping one eye on events at Titwood though their trip to Dumfries will present its own challenges, not least the potential backlash from a side dismissed for just 30 a week ago.
Langside and Poloc, with just one win apiece, will see their southside derby as an opportunity to ease relegation fears – even at this early stage of the season. Stirling will look to bounce back from their Rowan Cup disappointment when struggling Greenock visit New Williamfield.