The Forecast: New leaders visit Hamilton Crescent
The Forecast is series of weekend previews for the 2026 season. We cover team selection, form, fixtures and who to look out for in the weekend’s fixtures! We hope to not have to cover the rain!
Saturday
Allied Vehicles West of Scotland v M8 Driving Ferguslie 1st XI
Fresh from defeating Clydesdale at Titwood last Saturday, Allied Vehicles West of Scotland host the new league leaders M8 Driving Ferguslie on Saturday. While Moneeb Iqbal was providing the heroics on the southside, Ferguslie were comfortably defeating GHK at home, chasing down their 119 target in just 18.1 overs. Taimoor Ahmad (3-18), Satvik Varunkumar (3-20) and Daoud Tahir (3-35) all posed a threat with the ball whilst Adam Tahir scored 58* to see the chase home. West will hope for better than their defeat on Gameweek 5 when DLS gave Ferguslie the spoils as Meikleriggs. First ball at 12pm at Hamilton Crescent.
Bothwell vs Partick XI
Meanwhile, the Partick XI travel to South Lanarkshire to face Bothwell looking for revenge of their own. Our 2nd XI was defeated by just 27 runs at Hamilton Crescent in the previous meeting between these sides back in May, as a batting collapse couldn’t see them to an achievable 174 target. Whilst Partick were overcoming league leaders Titwood by just 7 runs last weekend, Bothwell beat GHK Strathclyde by 27 runs with runs from Ahtsham Hafiz (65) and Ryan Dunne (35) complemented by Yash Bajaj’s 5-44. A challenging game awaits Chris Ross’s side.
Hillhead 2s v Hamilton Crescent XI v 'Vigilant' Nunholm Dumfries 2nd XI
Our 3rd XI make the shorter trip to Hillhead this weekend looking to extend the confidence gained from victory over Nunholm on Saturday. Hamilton Crescent knocked the Dumfries side off the top spot in Championship One with a disciplined batting display seeing them to their 210 target with just a few balls to spare. It’s proved a challenging season so far for Hillhead’s 2nd XI as they sit 8th in the table following a 24 run defeat to Mearns last weekend. Darshan Chatrathi was the pick of their bowlers that day, taking 3 for 23, so will be one to look out for on Saturday.
Sunday
West of Scotland Women v Carlton Women
West’s Women’s XI return to Premier League action this weekend with their third game in a row against league leaders Carlton at Hamilton Crescent. Abbey Gore’s side will be looking to put two previous defeats to the Grange Loan side behind them as they look to overturn the form book. West now sit third in the table behind the visitors and Stewart's Melville Women after a recent turn in their fortunes. Carlton will look to the likes of their captain Samantha Evans, who scored runs last time the teams met in league action, as they hope to reinforce their leaders status. Play starts at 1pm.
Hillhead v Sunday XI
Meanwhile, the Sunday XI continue their recent rivalry with Hillhead as they visit Hughenden looking to extend their recent good form. Our Sunday side were victors last time out, defeating Ferguslie comfortably at Meikleriggs, but it was Hillhead who ran out winners the last time these two teams met. As always, the team will be made up on promising youngsters, Saturday players looking for more game time and old timers looking to re-live past glories. I’ll let you judge which category your writer fits into….
