Selkirk Cricket Club

Selkirk had a confidence boosting victory in their first ESCA Division 2 fixture at Philiphaugh yesterday. It was to be a low scoring affair in the damp conditions with a drizzle persisting throughout the day.

Selkirk won the toss and elected to put Edinburgh CC 2nds in to bat. Bowling was accurate from the start and not having had any warm up games the visitors looked vulnerable early on.

M.Fenton (2-10) and D.Heard (1-12) kept the scoring down and had three wickets between them in the opening 8 overs. The visitors steadied through W.Ulah (21) and D.Choudry (7) and were hopeful of some respite with the change of bowlers. However, at first change, D.Gardiner was even more miserly and in his fourth over he removed the stubborn Choudry. A.Ashraf was run out next ball when Ulah stood his ground rather than accepting the captain’s invite for a quick single.

At drinks Edinburgh were struggling at 38-6 but Annand (12) looked capable of supporting Ulah to build a score they could try and defend. Although progress was still slow, Annand had picked a couple of wider balls from Paterson to cut to the boundary taking the score past 60. However, the Selkirk veteran got his revenge when Annand was caught off of his bowling by B.Gillie.

All figures were good for the home bowlers, not least of all the captain G.Fenton (2-3) who brought himself on for a couple of overs and removed the top Edinburgh scorer Ulah. Paterson (3-28) had a good shout for bowler of the day as he took the last wicket to end the innings at 67 runs scored.

With the bat Selkirk showed intent from the first ball with G.Fenton taking a quick single. H.Murphy was to prove immovable on the day and held up his end while the captain and M.Fenton scored quickly to bring the game to a quick close. G.Fenton (24) holed out to H.Butt at mid on in the 6th over and M.Fenton (25) similarly mistimed a shot to W.Ulah in the 11th over.

By then Selkirk were only 3 runs short of their target. H.Murphy (7*) and B.Wilkinson (0*) were very tentative in their approach to getting these runs. The visitors will be very frustrated by their inconsistent bowling and the extras conceded on the day (11). It was perhaps unsurprising that the total reached 68 with a ball beating the batsman but also the wicket keeper for a single bye.

Selkirk take a trip to Dunfermline and Carnegie CC on Saturday 6th May for their next fixture and return to Philiphaugh for a Thursday evening game on 11th May against Manderston CC.

Thursday after school cricket (hard ball) is up and running – we are still missing some of our indoor group!

Friday cricket (soft ball) starts next week – 3 to 4pm (5-8 year olds), 4 to 5pm (8-11 year olds) =for more info visit our junior cricket page.

Selkirk CC, on tour for the first time in decades, succumbed to a 10 run defeat at the hands of Chatsworth CC. The game was lucky to go ahead following significant rain through the week but the hosts put in the hard work to prepare the ground for their first fixture of a busy year.

Selkirk won the toss and elected to bowl. There was little early reward for the effort of the bowlers. The pitch was proving difficult for scoring. In the 7th over the host’s opener Buchan (2) fell LBW to G.Fenton bringing ex-Selkirk player John Everitt to the crease. Everitt almost fell first ball to Fenton when he edged behind but Purves let the ball go by and to the boundary. This was the first of four boundaries for the batsman as he raced to 20 runs. On a day where only three players reached double figures this was a key contribution to the outcome.

Wickets were now falling at regular intervals but coming in at number 7 Powell stuck it out almost to the end of the 30 overs and added 13 runs to the score, only being outscored by Everitt (23) and Extras (16). With the total at 77, Powell was out to the catch of the day taken one-handed by a diving K.Toor at midwicket. Chatsworth were all out for 78.

It was a day for sharing bowling duties throughout the team and B.Gillie (2 for 3) was the pick of the bunch. M.Jaffray playing his first game for Selkirk took 2 wickets for 9 runs and finished off the Chatsworth innings by bowling the host’s captain B.Khan.

Set a modest target of 79 for victory Selkirk were quickly disabused of the notion that this would be easy. The top six batsmen all failed to get to double figures as they struggled to predict the pace and bounce of the pitch. G.Fenton (9) and M.Fenton (6) both lobbed catches to grateful fielders and H.Murphy and K.Toor fell LBW in consecutive balls to the man of the match K.Rowney (4 for 9). Rowney was only deprived of the hat-trick by a dropped catch in the slips.

Selkirk’s man of the match was Bob Wilkinson who top-scored on the day with 27 runs, no mean feat in the conditions, and was the only visitor to hit a boundary. Everitt followed his important contribution with the bat with a direct hit from the outfield to remove Purves when Selkirk were looking likely to reach their target. Heard showed some resistance with the bat but he was clean bowled by J.Pack, who took 2 wickets in four balls to finish off the Selkirk innings.

Selkirk kick off their league season next Saturday with a home fixture against Edinburgh CC at Philiphaugh.

IT’S fair to say Selkirk Cricket Club aren’t often stumped when it comes to sponsorship ideas.

For the 2023 season, the Philiphaugh club has broken new ground by having both sets of match day stumps sponsored by local firm Allied Surveyors Scotland plc.

In a further vote of confidence, Selkirk companies South East Heating Services Ltd and Bankend Services Ltd have renewed their sponsorship of the team’s playing kit and the club’s umpire coats respectively.

“We’re delighted to have these three sponsors’ backing for the season ahead,” said Selkirk Cricket Club’s chair, Neil Gentleman.

“Their generosity has given everyone at Philiphaugh a big boost, while the contributions made by our other sponsors are also greatly appreciated.

“Some 21 of our match balls have been sponsored this year, a club record, while other organisations and individuals have kindly sponsored individual players as well as playing equipment. We can’t thank them enough.”

Selkirk’s team play in East League Division 2 this year, their highest ever ESCA ranking, and on Saturday open their campaign against Edinburgh CC at Philiphaugh.

For those who requested cards when they paid for membership your card can now be picked up behind the bar or will be sent to you shortly. If you have paid your membership and not already requested a card please email membership@selkirkcricketclub.co.uk.