The final matches of the first half of the Pattaya-RST Indoor League were played a Rugby School with PCC playing RST on 26 Sep 2022. Both teams had won a match each and were looking to solidify their positions in the League.
PCC, who had Luke Stokes back in the team as a batsman-wicket keeper, won the toss and decided to field first. Tom and Lucy opened the batting against Amit. A quiet first over, but Habby turned up the volume in the second by bowling Lucy and Tom in consecutive balls, but no hat-trick. Jainish was equally devastating has he had Lucy caught by Habby and Tom bowled for just 2 wide balls conceded. -2 for 4 after 3 overs and a great start for PCC bowlers.
John and Mark were the next pair to face Trevor’s first over of off-spin which yielded 10 runs. Animal’s bowling had John caught by Habby again and Amit gave away 10 but a direct throw from deep had John run out as they had advanced the score to 17 for 6 after 6 overs. The final three overs were batted by Dehann and Will.
Dehann’s cricketing debut started with the sound of bails falling off stumps, courtesy of Habby with his 3rd wicket of the evening (plus 2 catches). Will picked up runs from Habby and Jainish to top score with 13, but fell twice in the final over to Trevor. The last ball of the match was a smart catch from Luke, which made up for the one he missed earlier. So, RS completed their innings on 28 for 9.
After a quick turn round, PCC sent out Trevor and Animal to face Tom who bowled a very tidy over with quick left arm in-swingers. Only 4 from the over. John’s bowling was no quite so accurate but he induced Trevor into a risky single which resulted in a run out via a good throw from Lucy. Lucy bowled 5 dot balls to Animal and only gave away 4.
A slow but better start from PCC who finished the first 3 overs on 11 for 1. Luke and Habby were next. Habby took most of the strike and even managed a 6 with the help of 4 overthrows. Tom was getting the ball to swing a great deal and sometimes too much get an LBW decision. It was John that made a breakthrough when Habby nicked a ball behind which was snaffled by Mark for a total of 16 runs.
Luke played nice shots for 13 and PCC advanced to 40 for 2. RST needed wickets if they were going to win this match and the umpire was not helping by refusing Tom’s LBW appeals. Jainish and Amit faced the final 3 overs and just needed to bat sensibly, but RST were not going to let them off the hook.
Lucy struck first when Amit was very well caught at mid-on by John. Dehann took a sharp caught and bowled to dismiss Amit again, but Jainish was scoring freely. However, Jainish did not escape without loss as he was superbly run out by Lucy with a pick-and-throw from square leg at just one stump. He was then bowled by Tom for 17. PCC complete their innings on 48 for 6 and a win by 20 runs. The result allowed PCC to leapfrog RST on the table and take 2nd place.
In the other match of the evening, Ali Baba battered SRF with 103 for 2 through aggressive batting and fast running between the wickets. SRF were restricted to 39 for 8 and a loss by 64 runs.
Positions at the halfway stage of the league. Chances for revenge will be available in the second half.
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