Even before a ball had been bowled, the omens were hardly promising for Selkirk in their East League Division 3 match against RHC 3 at the Gyle on Saturday.
Having won the toss and put the home side in to bat, Selkirk skipper Daniel Heard dislocated a thumb during pre-game catching practice. He spent the next three hours at the nearby Western General Hospital, having the damaged metacarpal bone reset and the torn skin stitched.
To their credit, RHC agreed one of their players could deputise in the field for the visitors’ injured captain – a gesture much appreciated by the Souters.
Brothers Greg and Michael Fenton spearheaded Selkirk’s bowling attack, but found openers Yassar Ali (52) and Kakail Nuristani (55) in top form, repeatedly exploiting the ground’s short boundaries.
The home club’s lower order batters were no less effective, with the third half-century of the match being scored by N. Shaik. Other useful contributions came from Aziz (28) and Follows (33) taking RHC’s total to 251/9 at the close.
Greg Fenton (3/45), Bob Wilkinson (3/55), Rory Banks (1/41), Michael Fenton (1/46) and Blaine Gillie (1/62) were the visitors’ wicket-takers.
Chasing such a big total, Selkirk got off to a solid enough start through Greg Fenton (16), Kenny Paterson (12) and Todd Dekker (17).
However, when they departed Selkirk wickets began to fall at regular intervals. Only spirited knocks by Michael Fenton (41) and his brother Darren Fenton (32*) kept the scoreboard ticking over.
Even so the Souters were still 53 runs short of the RHC total when the team’s final wicket fell in the 36th over. H. Sultani (3/34) and S. Faizi (2/46) were the pick of the home bowlers, Selkirk ending their innings on 198/9.
Showing no ill-effects from his earlier hospital visit, Daniel Heard insisted on assuming umpiring duties within five minutes of returning to the Gyle – a captain unwilling to let responsibilities slip through his fingers, however painful.
Match report and photos by John Smail.