The five match Tests series between Scotland and England Under-21 was rocked by the decision of Glasgow promoter Brian Sands to apply to pull the plug on the final Test at Ashfield scheduled for Sunday 19th September.
This decision has long been expected in Scotland and is almost certainly down to the reluctance of the Glasgow promotion to stage an international match in which the home side is dominated by Edinburgh riders (with a few from Berwick and Workington thrown in for good measure).
Newcastle managed to stage a Test match without a single home rider on either side. Workington seem likely to have only one of their own riders involved, Barry Campbell for Scotland, since the injury to England rider Grant MacDonald, yet have not threatened to scrap their match.
Scotland team manager, Bert Harkins, described the decision as a "great pity". The series is finely balanced at 1-1 with the Scots, without top rider James Grieves, winning easily at Berwick but being turned over at Newcastle. Scotland are hot favourites to win the Armadale Test but will have their work cut out at Workington to cope with the English big track specialists. The loss of the Ashfield Test which could go either way may leave the series undecided.
Harkins commented in Speedway Star:
"The fact that there are no Glasgow riders in the Scottish team appears to have had a strong bearing on Brian's decision, but as there are no Scottish riders in the Glasgow team, I cannot use a Tiger in the national squad."
This point is no longer true given the recent reinstatment of Stuart Coleman in the Glasgow lineup. Since Scotland now only have seven fit squad members competing, Stuart Coleman will probably be competing with the recovering David McAllan to take a place in the team should anyone else suffer an injury. The seven fit squad riders are: James Grieves, Kevin Little, Ross Brady, and Blair Scott (Edinburgh); Scott Lamb and David Meldrum (Berwick); and Barry Campbell (Workington). Stewart McDonald plus fringe squad members David McAllan and Wesley Waite have been sidelined with injury although McAllan is on the way back. Harkins added:
"I sympathize with his dilemma of not having a home rider in the Test team, but instead of thinking of the Scotland team being made up of riders from Edinburgh, Berwick, and Workington, why not publicize the riders' home towns? That way you would have James Grieves of Paisley, Kevin Little of Kelso, and Scott Lamb of Linlithgow."
"Following the hard work in getting Scotland to the bottom rung of the international ladder last season, it will be a great pity if one of the two Scottish tracks opts out of the series."
"Brian Sands is from Edinburgh and was a Monarchs supporter before rescuing Glasgow. By contrast, I am from Glasgow and was a Tigers fan as a schoolboy before riding for the Monarchs, so surely the fans can put away their differences and support their national team?"
Unless Glasgow can be pursuaded to relent, the only hope will be for another track such as Sheffield to take over the fixture. Meanwhile, attempts are being made to raise sponsorship to allow a junior Test match to go ahead at Linlithgow. Harkins added:
"Edinburgh promoter John Campbell is trying to organize a Scotland v England Under-19 Test match at Linlithgow, so our national team is beginning to awake after a long slumber."
This will presumably involve a Scotland Under-21 or Under-23 team. Currently eligible for an Under-21 Test are Blair Scott, Ross Brady, Barry Campbell, and David McAllan. In addition Steven McAllister and Robert McNeil could be added. The injury to Ryan Milburn would make it difficult for Scotland to put out a competitive seven-rider Under-21 team. If this was raised to an Under-23 team, this would bring David Meldrum and (when fit) Wesley Waite into contention.
Harkins will continue to argue for the reinstatement of Scotland into the international speedway community. With Britains' team in the World Team Championship unambiguously styling themselves as 'England', the arguments for keeping Scotland out of the competition appear rather tenuous.