After a season which saw the team win the Border T20 Cup and finish fourth in East League Division 3, there was plenty to celebrate at Selkirk Cricket Club’s annual awards ceremony, held in the clubrooms last Friday night.
All-rounder Greg Fenton picked up no fewer than three awards – for most league runs (542, av. 36.13), most league wickets (29 at 12.66), as well as being voted the Selkirk players’ ‘Player of the Year’.
The ‘best fielder’ trophy went to Todd Dekker, the talented wicket-keeper having taken 22 catches and made two stumpings.
This year a new award – for the ‘Magic Moment of the Season’ – was introduced by club president John Smail. It was quite a year, so three players shared the award: Blaine Gillie for hitting the winning runs off the final ball against Marchmont 2; Bob Wilkinson for taking two wickets in the final over to snatch victory against Tranent & Preston Village 2; and Michael Gillie who, at the age of nine, took four wickets for nine runs in a T20 match against Hawick & Wilton at Buccleuch Park.
Other trophy winners on the night were Shaun Wilkinson (young player of the year award) and Kenny Paterson (most improved player award), who received the biggest cheer of the night, after a season that saw the 56-year-old open the batting, and amass 236 runs, including an unbeaten knock of 51.
Special presentations were made to Todd Dekker and his wife Georgia. The popular Australian couple are returning to Melbourne after a two-year stay, and go with the very best wishes of everyone involved with Selkirk Cricket Club.
The 2025 awards were presented by Eleanor Heard, mother of Selkirk captain Daniel. She in turn was presented with a bouquet of flowers by Katie Gillie, the daughter of Selkirk player Blaine Gillie and his wife Rachel.
In 2026 Selkirk Cricket Club celebrates its 175th anniversary, with plans already well in hand to mark this special milestone.
Report and photos by John Smail.
Editor’s Note: John Smail has modestly failed to mention that the final highlight of the night was his 15-minute video compilation (‘The Good, The Bad, and the Pure Dead Brilliant’) of a selection of his great photos capturing some of the best (and worst!) of the action during the season, and including footage of the last gasp heroics enabling Blaine Gillie to get the runs needed to triumph over Marchmont 2.