Nine members of the Pattaya Cricket Club (PCC) made the trip to Koh Chang to compete in the 5th International Beach Cricket Tournament from 23rd-26th August 2019. Simon Philbrook (captain) and Dave Samways were experienced beach cricketers, whilst Clive Rogerson, Bernard Lamprecht, Trevor Moolman, Ian Liddell (Reds), Gavin Perfect, Wesley Masterton and John Harvey were beach cricket virgins.
12 teams from Koh Chang, Phuket, Pattaya, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Lamphun and Malaysia competed in two divisions where each team played 5 games. After the preliminary games each team from Division A played their correspondingly positioned team from Division B for one of the six trophies – a toothpick, a chopstick, a spoon, a tea cup, a plate and the winner’s cup. PCC gained second place in their division having won 4 of their 5 games, only being beaten by the Black Parrots from Bangkok. PCC’s second place play-off was against The Lamphun Kids.
The threat from the well-schooled and highly skilled youngsters was not lost on PCC, who, bowling first, managed to keep the lid on their usual prolific scoring to 45 off the first 5 overs. ‘Reds’ managed a wicket maiden, the only one of the tournament, but a final catastrophic over where 20 extras were conceded left a challenging 65 against a quick and accurate bowling attack.
PCC’s batting started slowly, but by the 3rd over was on track for a tight finish. Tight bowling from Lamphun Kids continued to hamper Pattaya’s premier batsmen and that combined with a dubious runout, led to a defeat by 17 runs. So, PCC finished 4th – a creditable effort from a team of superior years.
The final was conducted between the Black Parrots and the British Club A from Bangkok. It was a low scoring match where many wickets were taken in a nail-biting finish, with the Black Parrots being victorious.
