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Recent History
Scotland made a comeback into the international speedway community in 1998 with a three match Test series against a very strong England Under-21 side.
The matches were held at Armadale, Shawfield, and Shielfield Park. While Scotland, inspired by a James Grieves maximum won the first match of the series at Armadale, England levelled at Shawfield two days later. The decider was held at Berwick later in the summer after the first attempt to hold it was rained off. England clinched the series with a win around the big Shielfield circuit.
Fixtures for 1999
This year sees an expanded Test Match series of five matches between Scotland and the England Under-21 (or Under-23) side. Newcastle and Workington have been added to the three 'Scottish' venues used in 1998.
The Test matches will be held over two weekends, one in July and one in September.
First Test: Shielfield Park, Berwick: Saturday July 17th: Report
Second Test: Brough Park, Newcastle: Sunday July 18th: Report
Third Test: Lothian Arena, Armadale: Friday September 17th: Report
Fourth Test: Derwent Park, Workington: Saturday September 18th: Report
Pool of Riders
The Scotland squad that did so well in 1998 has lost one rider: Kenny McKinna. Since then a number of riders have emerged or enhansed their standing. For example, Ross Brady has come from nowhere and is now near to Premier League heat leader status while David Meldrum is not far behind.
The core of the squad is provided by Edinburgh who had six Scots in their starting line-up with James Grieves, Kevin Little, Ross Brady, Stewart McDonald, Blair Scott, and David McAllan. Berwick contribute Scott Lamb, David Meldrum, and Wesley Waite. Other eligible riders in the Premier League are Barry Campbell (Workington) and Stuart Coleman (Glasgow). Also, there is Linlithgow rider, Steven McAllister, who is signed to Wolverhampton, and has made a Premier League appearance for Stoke. Since then David McAllan, and Wesley Waite have suffered serious injuries and Stuart Coleman has been dropped.
That gives eleven riders with Premier League experience (including two with recent Elite League experience) and a likely squad of eight or nine for the 1999 series. There are also two promising 15-year-olds riding for Linlithgow in Robert McNeil (Glasgow) and Ryan Milburn (Edinburgh) who could feature in the squad within the next couple of years.
James Grieves, Scott Lamb, and Kevin Little are the probable heat leaders. Ross Brady, Stewart McDonald, David Meldrum, Barry Campbell, Blair Scott and Wesley Waite (if fit) will compete for the reserve and second string places, possibly on a track by track basis.
More recently, Mick Powell has been added to the Scottish pool. Mick, although born in Australia, has a British passport and has Scottish grandparents. His wife is Scottish and he has lived in Scotland for ten years during which he has exclusively ridden for Scottish teams: Edinburgh Monarchs, Glasgow Tigers, Scottish Monarchs, and now Berwick Bandits.