Selkirk succumbed to a three wicket defeat on Saturday on a day when they were hoping to bounce back after a disappointing visit to Edinburgh last week. With 17 wickets falling for 133 runs, a high individual score of 21 and only five batsmen in double figures it was a day for the bowlers.
Tranent and Preston Village have had some success at Philiphaugh and having won the toss and electing to bowl they made immediate inroads with Kapil Rana removing Iain Purves for no score in the second over. Greg Fenton (18) and Michael Fenton (13) steadied and were not overly troubled by the opening bowlers. Bowler Dominic Da Silva (4-29) arrived late for the game and Selkirk supporters probably would have preferred he was a bit later as he was immediately brought on to bowl and had success in his second over, Greg Fenton lobbing the ball to mid on.
Bob Wilkinson (7) played defensively to Da Silva but raised spirits with a boundary to mid wicket as Selkirk creeped in to the 40s. This proved to be one of only two boundaries for the hosts as Selkirk lost three top order batsmen with the score at 45. Michael Fenton and Wilkinson will both rue injudicious shots but Rory Banks, playing his first game of the year, found it difficult to accept an LBW decision which meant he was done without scoring. There was little resistance after that and there were almost as many extras as there were runs from the lower order. With no partnerships of any note Selkirk were bowled out for 66 runs with 10+ overs outstanding.
League leaders Tranent and Preston Village were understandably confident of a quick victory and Selkirk were needing to take all their chances and get some early success. The opening batsmen for Tranent and Preston Village, Ragesh Kullyamarathingal (21) and Rajesh Choudhary (14), both looked confident and capable but Michael Fenton (4-29) was presenting problems. In turn Kullyamarathingal and Choudhary both missed balls on the stumps and were given out LBW. At this stage the openers had quickly racked up 37 runs so the visitors had plenty of time and wickets to finish the job. That Selkirk bowlers Michael and Greg Fenton (3-13) made them sweat was testament to their efforts and suggested that there was always going to be a low scoring win for either side on the day. As it transpired the Selkirk total was insufficient for making the result any closer as S Bappidi (12) took the score past 67 with a shot for two through mid wicket and a single to backward square leg to finish.
Selkirk have another home fixture next weekend with the visit of local rivals Kelso, where a victory for either side will raise one above the other as the two sides sit in joint fourth position in Division 2. Kelso have Scottish Cup business on the Sunday so there is an early start of 11am for the Saturday fixture.