irvine v partick

Marress rout was revenge



IRVINE celebrated an unlikely victory after a resounding bowling performance routed Partick in a crucial Western Union match on Saturday at Marress.

Division one is very tight at the bottom with four teams battling to avoid the drop and Irvine had the added incentive of seeking payback for an embarrassing defeat earlier in the season. Victory carried a higher than usual premium.

Winning looked unlikely after the home side's batting effort could only struggle to a paltry 109 total. It was a different story with ball in hand however as opening bowlers Drew Parsons and Ruchin Filander set about the Partick batsmen with resolve, bowling with pace and accuracy to ensure that the Glasgow side were immediately struggling to reach their undemanding target.

Some nerves were apparent in the field though as three separate catching chances were put down and it looked as though Irvine could not defend their small total.

Parsons eventually made the first breakthrough and facing spin bowling accuracy from the other end from new Pakastani recruit Mohammed Nawaz, Partick started taking risks with their running and lost another wicket to a direct hit run out as Irvine's fielding confidence started to rise.



The match turned with a smart bit of thinking from Filander who, fielding close to the bat, was too sharp for his opponent with another run out to keep the Irvine charge going.

Mark Hughes made the next vital contributions, first taking a well judged high catch off the bowling of Filander and following up with a first ball dismissal of the next Partick batsman to take Irvine to the brink of victory.

Filander created yet another run out with a more conventional piece of throwing from the outfield leaving the way clear for Parsons to return and claim the matchwinning final wicket with an assist from keeper McPhee. Partick bowled all out for 85, giving Irvine an exhilarating victory by 24 runs.

Captain Stuart McCallum summed up the effort: “Our bowling pulled us out the mire today and it would be nice to get some decent runs on the board for a change. I'll take the victory though and work on improving for next week”

Next week Irvine play misfiring Hillhead at home with a 1pm start, seeking to turn around another heavy early season defeat in the corresponding fixture and on Sunday travel again to play East Kilbride in the Scottish Trophy in yet another match affected by the weather.