Selkirk got back to winning ways in tonight’s Border T20 Cup match at The Green, defeating St Boswells by six wickets to maintain their unbeaten record in the competition.
Blaine Gillie and Greg Fenton respectively celebrate their three wickets and 57 runs.
The home team won the toss and decided to bat, but might well have been regretting that decision after being reduced to 19-5 after eight overs.
Selkirk’s opening bowlers Blaine Gillie (3-11) and Daniel Heard (2-8) did the damage, helped by a much improved display in the field. Five catches were taken in all, as the Villagers ended their 20 overs on 83-7. Selkirk’s other wicket-takers were Jamie Hughes and John Henderson.
In reply, the visitors took just 12 overs to pass the St Boswells total, Selkirk skipper Greg Fenton giving a masterclass in attacking batting with a superb knock of 57.
Rob Needham was the home side’s best bowler, taking three wickets in a single over to reduce Selkirk to 78-4. It was left to Ian Gardiner to see the Souters home, striking consecutive fours off his first two balls to seal victory.
There was little for the locals to cheer at Philiphaugh on Sunday as Clackmannan County put the souters to the sword with a stomping 165 run win, reducing Selkirk to their lowest total of the year of 62.
The club would like to thank former Selkirk player George Thomson for kindly sponsoring the match ball for Sunday’s fixture
Selkirk won the toss and elected to bowl. An opening maiden and a wicket in the second over appeared to bode well for the hosts. Clackmannan lost another wicket in the fourth over and runs were hard to come by.
Daniel Johnson joined the opener Tariq Mehboob at the wicket and the score began to move, Johnson (32) eventually succumbing to Blaine Gillie. Mehboob powered on and was ably assisted by Moon Sharif (31) and Rohit Gangwani (16) as the score moved past 200 and the opener completed his own century. The visitors also took great advantage of the scruffy fielding with at least six drops on the day. Mehboob carried his bat to finish 134 not out and Selkirk were set the intimidating target of 228 runs for the win.
The Clackmannan bowlers made short work of the top order with Rizwan Ashraf the pick of the bunch taking 5 wickets for the loss of only 7 runs. The visitors gave a lesson in catching as they took almost all of their opportunities. Only Gregor Robbie (10) and Iain Purves (14) finished on double figures as the hosts were bowled out for 62,
A SPECIAL ceremony took place before the start of Selkirk’s match against Westquarter & Redding CC at Philiphaugh on Saturday, when a bench in memory of George Oliver was unveiled by his widow Anne.
Mr Oliver, who died last June at the age of 95, was known as Selkirk’s ‘Mr Cricket’. He was the Selkirk club’s most passionate supporters, attending his first match as a 10-year-old in 1936, and rarely missing a home fixture over the next 86 years.
George would always sit in the same spot on the ground’s southern boundary wall, just a short distance from his and Anne’s home in Ettrickhaugh Road. The new memorial bench has been placed on the exact spot.
Saturday’s unveiling was jointly carried out by Selkirk CC chair Neil Gentleman and Mrs Oliver, watched by members of the Oliver family, friends, neighbours and Selkirk players.
Anne Oliver sits on the new bench beside her daughter Joyce, flanked by grandsons Blaine (left) and Fraser Gillie. Also pictured is Blaine’s wife Rachel, and their children Michael and Katie.
Selkirk got back to winning ways on Saturday with a convincing 8 wicket victory over Westquarter and Redding. It was just what the team needed following some narrow losses and a frustrating tie through the week. In a series of 5 matches against teams above them in the league this was a vital success.
Selkirk captain Greg Fenton pictured at the coin toss with Westquarter & Redding CC skipper Umar Salik prior to Saturday’s East League Division 2 match at Philiphaugh.
The visitors won the toss and elected to bat first and opened with Richard Tressider and Zulficar Chaudhry. Michael Fenton opened the bowling with a wide but then had Chaudhry caught brilliantly at second slip by Blair Amos. Tressider was joined by Adham Aslam and they settled the nerves and began to score some boundaries the pick of which being a square cut by Aslam off of Fenton’s bowling. Kenny Paterson replaced Fenton from the wall end and Aslam (17) mis directed a full blooded swipe straight back to the bowler Paterson instinctively held on.
Paterson (3-16) then took 2 wickets in consecutive overs, including the opener Tressider (15) who was beginning to build the confidence which had helped him score 50 runs the previous week. At the other end Greg Fenton (2-14) also chipped in with a couple of wickets which saw the visitors at 57 for 6 wickets after 22 overs. Westquarter and Redding needed a partnership of substance to set a reasonable target for Selkirk and Umar Salik (19) and Cameron Graham (32) gave the visitors some hope.
Graham was timing the ball beautifully and the lanky Salik was proving adept at finding space for quick singles. The pair pushed the total to three figures with 6 overs remaining but Salik succumbed to the deception of Blaine Gillie, swiping the ball into the grateful hands of Bob Wilkinson at mid-wicket. Michael Fenton returned to remove Graham, Kenny Paterson taking the plaudits from the large crowd at Philiphaugh with an assured catch on the deep mid-wicket boundary. Gillie (2-16) and Fenton (3-46) combined to finish off the tail with Selkirk set 117 runs for the win.
Greg Fenton and Kenny Paterson opened the batting for Selkirk and took a measured approach initially with just a couple of flashes of the bat from Fenton for boundaries from opening bowler Imran Mazhar. The Selkirk pair were running well between the wickets and Fenton was punishing the bad ball, pick of which being a one bounce four to square leg off a full toss from Cameron Graham. It took another bowling change to get a reward and in the last ball before drinks Paterson didn’t fully commit to his shot and popped the ball up to the grateful fielder at cover. However this was Selkirk’s biggest opening partnership in Division 2 so far.
Michael Fenton came to the crease full of intention as ever and looking to score all the time, kicking off with a 5 as the visitors began to look scrappy in the field. It took a patient 84 balls for the opening pair to get to 50 but the next half century came quickly with another partnership of 52 achieved with a thumping 6 from Greg Fenton over the fence at long on. This was both the shot that saw the team past 100 and gave Fenton his second half century in league games. It proved to be Fenton’s last scoring shot of the game as he fell the next ball but this in turn set up a fitting finale.
Blaine Gillie joined Michael Fenton at the crease and they worked together to take Selkirk past the total, Fenton taking the score to 117 by smashing the ball back over the bowler’s head for four. Prior to the game a bench was unveiled to commemorate the life of George Oliver, arguably the team’s greatest ever supporter having been watching them at Philiphaugh since the 1930s until his death last year. That Saturdays game was finished off by his grandson (Gillie) and his favourite current player (Michael Fenton) was a fitting tribute to the man.
Selkirk have a rare common riding week fixture at home next Sunday with the visit of high fliers Clackmannan County who will be buoyed by a 96 run victory over Kelso at the weekend.
In one of the most exciting finishes seen at Philiphaugh in many a year, honours were shared in Thursday night’s Border T20 Cup match between Selkirk and Kelso.
Needing seven runs off the final over to overhaul the visitors’ total of 140, the result hung in the balance right up to the last ball, with the Souters still requiring three runs for victory.
Gregor Robbie, brought into the home side as a late replacement, managed to hit two runs from a well-struck shot to mid-on, thereby ensuring the game ended in a tie.
Australian wicket-keeper Jackson Recourt top-scored for Kelso with a fine knock of 63, well supported by Callum Dedekind (39no).
The highlight of the night for the home team came in the fourth over of Kelso’s innings, when Selkirk’s under-14 captain, Gregor Borthwick – making his senior debut – took an incredible catch on the extra cover boundary to dismiss Kelso opener Jono Connelly (who on Sunday scored a century against Elgin).
Daniel Heard took two wickets for Selkirk, with Michael Fenton and John Henderson taking one apiece.
In reply, Selkirk openers Greg Fenton (45) and Kieran Toor (16) got the home team off to a flying start, with solid backing coming from Michael Fenton (26), Blaine Gillie (24) and Ian Gardiner (15).
Thirteen-year old debutant Gregor Borthwick is pictured being congratulated on making his Selkirk debut by skipper Greg Fenton.
