The Roon’d-up: Winning run ends at Meikleriggs
The Roon’d-Up is our regular summary of events on the field at West over the 2026 season. We’ll cover all the results as well as outstanding and notable performances throughout the season to keep you up to date on the latest events on at Hamilton Crescent.
Friday’s rain wrecked this weekend’s schedule, with both Allied Vehicles West of Scotland and the Partick XI off, but two games survived.
Saturday
After three consecutive victories, the Hamilton Crescent XI finally tasted defeat in Championship Division Two, going down by three wickets to M8 Driving Ferguslie 2nd XI at Meikleriggs. Having been asked to bat, West made a blistering start thanks to the continued good form of opener Shaheer Hussain, who struck 59 from just 60 balls. Supported by Rehan Mirza “Cobra” Ahmed (24), the pair shared an opening stand of 105 that appeared to have laid the foundations for a commanding total. However, a dramatic collapse saw West lose four wickets without adding to the score, halting their momentum. Vice captain Manish Kaushik then dug in with a composed 38 from 53 deliveries to help steer the innings towards respectability, but West were eventually dismissed for 159 in 34.2 overs. Ferguslie approached the chase with patience, keeping pace with the required rate while weathering regular breakthroughs from the visitors. Shaheer completed an impressive all round performance with figures of 2 for 25, but an unbeaten 68 from Gregor Preston-Jones proved decisive as the hosts reached their target with three wickets in hand. Hamilton Crescent now sit sixth in the Championship Division Two table.
Sunday
The Sunday XI were also defeated with a Hillhead XI claiming a five wicket victory in warm conditions. After choosing to bat first, West made a promising start as Thomas Kitchen and Athsham Hussain shared an opening partnership of 50. However, a bizarre run out at the non-striker’s end brought Hussain’s innings to an abrupt end and stalled the early momentum. Nakul Jain contributed 23 runs, but West were hampered by another run out, this time of John McDermott, who had looked well set on 25, as the hosts were eventually bowled out for 138. In reply, Hillhead were made to work for their runs through a disciplined opening spell from youngster Sam McMillan, well supported by Jain and Kitchen. The visitors’ openers laid a solid platform with scores of 30 and 21, while the highlight in the field came when Rizwan Hussain produced a brilliant low catch off the bowling of Athsham Hussain. However, an unbeaten 37 from Mark Forbes guided Hillhead to victory with wickets and overs to spare.
