Selkirk Cricket Club

SELKIRK slumped to a 72-run East League Division 3 defeat at the hands of Drummond Trinity II in Edinburgh on Saturday.

An East of Scotland Premier League fixture was being played simultaneously in front of the impressive pavilion at Goldenacre, and one difference which stood out was the different sounds emanating from each of the pitches. In the premier league contest, cries of ‘catch it’ were inevitably followed by raucous shouts of acclaim. In the Division 3 match, however, increasingly despondent groans could be heard as fielders spilled the ball. The hosts missed a few chances, but the visitors were profligate.

Selkirk can probably reflect that, despite dropped catches, they probably edged the first 20 overs of this match. R. Banks (3-21) had taken three wickets in his first four overs and A.Murphy (2-31) was also getting some reward for his efforts having taken 2 wickets in his first three overs. Ironically there were three good catches taken, two by G.Fenton and a sharp catch taken at first slip by J.Hughes. The souters had some regrets but with Drummond Trinity at 56 for 6 they were in a strong position. The hosts rallied after drinks and consecutive partnerships of 37 and 34 for the 7^th and 8^th wickets enabled them to get to 142 from 36.5 overs. R.Banks took an excellent catch running round the boundary to remove the final wicket. Batting down at No.8, Dawood Khan top scored with 28. 

The hosts made a similarly positive start to their turn with the ball with the erratic Khan (2-21) taking both G.Fenton and M.Fenton with two of his better balls which nipped away, both batters edging to the wicketkeeper for 9 runs. R.Banks was the only Selkirk player to get to double figures on the day and probably regretted the choice of shot at an unremarkable delivery from Pamarthi (2-13). At drinks Selkirk were at an almost identical position to their hosts, struggling at 57 runs for 6 wickets.  

However, whereas four lower order batsmen had all reached double figures for Drummond Trinity, the Selkirk tail added just 8 runs. Having scored 25 with the bat, and taken three catches behind the stumps, A.Fraz took off his wicketkeeping pads and bowled what was to be the last over, consisting of: two wides, two dot balls, two runs off the bat and two wickets. Fittingly the last play of the game included a large shout from the Drummond Trinity players to ‘catch it’. S.Babul positioned himself under the high ball and took the catch with ease. Catches win matches.

Selkirk Travel to Melrose on Wednesday evening for a Border 20/20 fixture and return to Philiphaugh on Saturday for the visit of Division 3 top points scorers Broomhall.  

Selkirk secured a seven wicket victory over local rivals Hawick on a bright Thursday evening at Philiphaugh. The hosts won the toss and asked the teries to bat.  

The visitors never quite got going but hirpled to 60 runs with the final wicket falling on the penultimate ball. The top bowling figures went to Kieran Toor (3-6) taking all of his three wickets in four balls. Blaine Gillie (2-9) removed Hawick top scorer E.Alexander (16) with his first ball of two interesting overs, taking his second wicket with a ball which pitched in front of his feet and looped underneath the bat of G.Welsh. The souters captain G.Fenton dropped a difficult over the shoulder catch early in the innings but made up with it with a hat-trick of catches in the deep. He was however upstaged for stylish catches by Toor who took a diving one handed catch fielding at point.  

In reply the Selkirk captain opened the innings with a flicked six to the leg boundary. It provided notice of a blistering captains knock by G.Fenton (44), including 4 sixes, which took the game beyond Hawick. R.Pringle proved difficult for the Selkirk top order and took two wickets for 5 runs. However the game was gone for the visitors and M.Fenton(7) finished it off with a 4 hooked to the mid wicket boundary.  

Being Selkirk’s only fixture against Hawick & Wilton this season, the Ronnie Simpson memorial trophy was up for grabs. Having spent the year over at Buccleuch Park, it was satisfying to see the Fletcher statuette returned to the Philiphaugh trophy cabinet in this the club’s special anniversary year.

SELKIRK – G. Fenton, K. Paterson, M. Fenton, B. Wilkinson,  I. Gardiner, B. Gillie, A. McNeil, A. Beveridge,  A. Murphy,  J. Hughes, K. Singhtoor.

Selkirk cricketers host Hawick this week on the back of a frustrating performance against Tranent and Preston Village on Saturday. A 23 run loss doesn’t sound too bad but having reduced their visitors to 46 runs for 7 wickets there was an expectation for those watching that there was going to be an early successful conclusion. However, the East Lothian side hirpled through the full 40 overs, losing their final wicket on the last ball, to set a modest target of 101 for the souters.

The stand out bowler for the third week in succession was Daniel Heard (3-25) but nobody failed with the ball and Greg Fenton 2-11 and Rory Banks 2-10 will have been pleased with their performance. Ganti achieved an unlikely half century having first been injured early in the innings and then being dropped in single figures.

In 150 years of cricket at Philiphaugh the batting performance of the souters on Saturday wont rank high and ultimately decided the outcome of this fixture. Five batsmen failed to score and the lower order added few runs.

More than any other sport, cricket is a game with multiple individual opportunities to have an impact and having failed with the bat Patel stepped up with a match winning performance with the ball. His accuracy was highlighted by 4 bowled dismissals to finish with 5 for 23 from his 8 overs, including a double wicket maiden to conclude the match. He was also involved in the dismissal of Selkirk’s top score M.Fenton (27) taking one of his two catches for the day.

Selkirk’s innings was ended in 25 overs. They will need to dust themselves down and refocus for the Teries visit on Thursday evening and then a Saturday league fixture at Goldenacre on Saturday.

SELKIRK kicked off the new season with a record-breaking run chase at Philiphaugh to defeat Marchmont II by six wickets in the clubs’ East League Division 3 fixture.

It looked an unlikely win at the close of the first innings, with Marchmont posting a total of 176 for six on a damp wicket and slow outfield.

Collier (79) was in imperious form, thumping five glorious 6s, the pick being a flick off the pads to the rugby field fence. He was ably assisted by Chetty (43), who nurdled and sliced his way to a fair share of their 109 partnership.

Some late wickets improved Selkirk’s bowling figures, with Dan Heard (3-37) the pick of the bunch. While there were a handful of dropped catches, the ones that did get taken proved vital at the end of the visitors’ innings – a one-handed wonder catch from Bob Wilkinson at deep mid-off shifting the match’s momentum.

Steady rain continued to fall over the tea break and looked likely to disrupt the game. However, the Edinburgh side were understandably confident of getting a positive result and play resumed in the trying conditions. 

Michael Fenton, standing in as captain for his brother Greg, began steadily and didn’t flinch when losing his opening partner. In came Ian Gardiner, elevated to No.3, and the two batsmen put their heads down to ensure the home team’s score kept pace with visitors’.

It looked increasingly likely the pair would see out the innings, scoring off almost every bad ball. Fenton duly notched his half-century, with Gardiner understandably devastated to be dismissed for 30, just two runs short of a century partnership.

Fenton continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over, and received good support from Bob Wilkinson, who showed intent by sending his first legal delivery to the boundary for four.

Marchmont’s fielders were having as much trouble with the wet ball and tricky underfoot conditions as their hosts had, spilling several catches and being dogged by misfields.

The game was finely poised when Fenton was bowled for 75 by Alfie Hall (2-34. However, when Blaine Gillie joined Wilkinson the pair continued to score with little difficulty, and it was Gillie who hit the winning run with a pull shot to the leg side.

Selkirk travel to Haddington this coming Saturday, where they will hope to back up this excellent opening victory – their highest run chase at Philiphaugh in 10 years of East of Scotland league cricket.

Thanks to our match sponsor Karen Graham.

WITH the 2022 season now under way, Selkirk Cricket Club received a timely boost last week when two local businesses stepped forward with sponsorship deals.

SELKIRK CRICKET CLUB GRATEFUL FOR SPONSORS’ SUPPORT

South East Heating Services Ltd has donated a brand new set of cricket kit to the club’s 1^st XI, while Bankend Services has supplied two new umpires’ jackets.

This is going to be a special season for Selkirk Cricket Club, as it marks the 150^th anniversary of the club’s move to its Philiphaugh home.

“We’re hoping it will be a memorable year,” said Selkirk Cricket Club chair Neil Gentleman, “and we are very grateful to South East Heating Services and Bankend Services for their generous support.

“A number of special events are taking place to celebrate the anniversary, including a cricket festival for primary school children in June, and the launch of an inter-house cricket competition at Selkirk High School.

“A special dinner is also being staged at the club in September, while each team visiting Philiphaugh will be presented with a commemorative plaque.”