Selkirk finished off their league campaign mid table with a loss in East Lothian yesterday. They will miss out on the Bass Rock CC hospitality next year as the North Berwick side finished the day as Division 3 champions.
The souters won the toss and elected to bat and relied on Greg Fenton (63) to ensure they had something to bowl at. No other batter really got going and the excellent work of the North Berwick keeper (Joe Rose) was a stand out on a day of variable fielding. Fenton himself had been dropped twice on his way to 50 but this score saw him tied for 3rd in the league stats. The Selkirk captain Michael Fenton was disappointed when caught on the boundary by the only player tall enough to prevent the 6. However the runs he scored meant that he finished in 5th place in the stats and almost doubled his return from last year.
The innings petered out after Greg Fenton eventually succumbed and Iain Banks was last out to Tom Cullen who finished with the best bowling figures on the day with 4 wickets for 14 runs.
With their openers having amassed over 1300 runs this year there was a need for early wickets to make a game of it. Unfortunately for the souters this didn’t happen and Michael Fenton shortened his run up for the artificial surface and found some form but no success.
It really took the introduction of Kenny Paterson and Blaine Gillie to introduce some uncertainty to the batting. In a parallel universe somewhere Paterson took 3 wickets in his second over but in North Berwick yesterday he had zero returns with three opportunities flashing by. The sorest of these was an edge dropped behind off the bat of George Salmond, the ex Scotland player who finished the season with 846 runs at an average of 84.60.
Despite these earlier missed opportunities, Selkirk efforts in the field were largely commendable, exemplified in one play by the youngest player Shaun Wilkinson when he dived full length in the covers to stop a drive heading for the boundary.
Salmond finished unbeaten on 46 but his partner Nick Murden, who had survived a couple of scares to pass 50, was the only batter out, Gillie eventually getting through.
Selkirk finish off their season with a Captain Vs Presidents game on 31st August and then the second visit in two years by the MCC who will bring a strong squad of players to face Selkirk (+guests) on the 7th September.
Selkirk were well supported by family and friends at the game yesterday, giving it a home match feel. Thanks to all supporters who attended.
