Despite ending up on the losing side, Selkirk’s Ewan Torrance would undoubtedly have picked up the ‘Man of the Match’ award in Saturday’s East League Division 3 game against Westquarter & Redding at Bailliefield.
Having flown into Edinburgh Airport from Chicago that morning after a business trip, the 34-year-old all-rounder insisted he was still available for selection and headed straight from the airport to Westquarter’s Bailliefield ground.
En route he learnt that, after a late call-off, Selkirk were a man short, so he rang his father Iain, an ex-Dollar player who now lives in Perth, to ask if he would consider filling in. The answer came back ‘Yes’, with the 62-year-old RAF pilot driving down from Perth and arriving at the ground shortly after the match had begun.
Battling jet lag after a sleepless flight, Ewan opened the batting for Selkirk, epitomising that much-quoted proverb – ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going’ – by patiently compiling Selkirk’s first half-century of the season.
The previous weekend against Livingston 2, Selkirk had been skittled out for 42. However, with Kenny Paterson (22) and Ewan Torrance (51) putting on 38 for the first wicket, the visitors now had a secure foundation on which to build.
Rory Banks (19) and Mikki Badenhorst (11) kept up the momentum, but thereafter wickets began to fall at regular intervals, with Selkirk ending their innings on 137-7.
When Westquarter took the crease, Selkirk made an early breakthrough after Daniel Heard (1-37) bowled opener Sharma for six.
There followed a solid second wicket stand of 76 by Chaudhry (39) and Aslam (46), swinging the game decisively in the home side’s favour (a series of dropped catches doing little to help the Souters’ cause).
It was left to Harris (13*) to hit the home team’s winning run in the 37th over, with Westquarter finishing on 140-6 to win by four wickets.
Selkirk’s other wicket-takers were Ewan Torrance (2-17), David Gardiner (1-15), Rory Banks (1-25) and debutant Kieran Westlake (1-29).
This Saturday, June 20th, Selkirk travel to take on Marchmont 2 at Cavalry Park.
Match report and photos by John Smail.