The stakes for Selkirk at Philiphaugh on Saturday couldn’t have been higher – lose to fellow strugglers Westquarter & Redding and they’d be relegated.
That said, having their backs against the wall seems to bring out the best in Selkirk’s players, and so it proved again on Saturday – the Souters snatching a dramatic victory in the final over.
“Perhaps the best game of cricket I’ve seen at Philiphaugh,” is how former Selkirk CC chairman Chris Highton described a truly epic contest.
The victory lifts Selkirk off the bottom of the Division 3 table, and a win over Marchmont 2 in next weekend’s final fixture could see them avoid the drop, although this will depend on how other results go in their own league, and in leagues above them. Whatever the outcome, on Saturday’s showing this never-say-die Selkirk team aren’t going down without a fight.
Put in to bat, openers Greg Fenton (32) and brother Michael (10) got the home innings off to a solid start, but at 47-2 it needed other Selkirk’s batters to follow suit if a realistic total was to be achieved.
Step forward Rory Banks and Ewan Torrance, both of whom got their heads down to steady the ship with a crucial 64-run partnership.
Not for the first time this season, the 20-over drinks break triggered a breakthrough for the fielding side – Torrance (30) falling victim to Umar Salik’s third ball. But
Banks maintained the momentum by compiling a fine half-century, his 53 runs taking him past 3,000 career runs in the East Leagues – a remarkable milestone.
Blaine Gillie (19) added more valuable runs to the home total, before two run-outs took the gloss off Selkirk’s innings, which ended with the home side 168 all out.
Salik (4-23) was Westquarter’s top bowler, well supported by A. A. Shehnaz (2-25).
In reply, Westquarter openers Richard Tressider (51) and Adham Aslam (33) were well up with the required run rate after 17 overs, that is until home skipper Daniel Heard decided to toss the ball to second change bowler Rory Banks
In 1993 Shane Warne may have bowled the ‘ball of the century’ to dismiss Mike Gatting, but Rory Banks can lay claim to having bowled the ‘over of the season’ at Philiphaugh on Saturday – dismissing the visitors’ top three batters to record a triple wicket maiden. The roar this produced from the home support echoed right around the ground, and from this moment onwards the on-field drama only intensified.
Skipper Zulfiqar Chaudhry (22) held his nerve to keep the scoreboard ticking over, with the home players desperately trying to remain positive as the visitors’ total crept past the 140-run mark. But that old cricketing adage, ‘catches win matches’, never rung truer as Michael Fenton’s athleticism saw him take four brilliant catches to put the pressure right back on the visiting batters.
Resounding cheers then rang out as Bob Wilkinson and Ewan Torrance both snapped up sharp chances, leaving Westquarter’s last men at the crease needing eight runs off the final over for victory.
to dismiss A. A. Shehnaz
In that over, Greg Fenton’s first two dot balls were followed by a quick single, with the ‘coup de grace’ eventually coming after his fourth delivery. Wicketkeeper Mikki Badenhorst took Shaun Wilkinson’s clean pick-up and throw one-handed, before whipping off the bails to run out the scrambling Umar Salik.
It brought the curtain down a riveting contest, with both sides having to handle huge swings of fortune at different stages of the afternoon.
Unsurprisingly Rory Banks (4-22) took the Roy Owen ‘Selkirk Man of the Match’, while Selkirk’s other wicket-takers were Liam Skeldon (2-21), Greg Fenton (2-29) and David Gardiner (1-38).
The focus now switches to Selkirk’s final league fixture against Marchmont 2 at Philiphaugh on Saturday, August 22nd, when the fate of both clubs will be decided.
Match report and photos by John Smail.