Round 5 of the Pattaya-RST Indoor Cricket League – 23 Nov 2020
Round 5 of the Pattaya-Rugby School Thailand Indoor Cricket League was played at Rugby School Thailand, Banglamung. The 5th round determined the final placings and thus which teams would compete for the finals.
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PCC had no right to win this match. The Warriors bowled extremely well but gifted the match to PCC with some erratic fielding in an extended last over and PCC won on the final ball by three runs.
Himmet and Socrates took the crease for the first 3 overs. Moderate progress was made but Matt Harkness bowled Himmet in the first over for 11 runs. Wez Masterton tied the batsmen down with 3 dot balls but still leaked wides for 9. Simon Weatherill made the most progress by having Socrates run out twice but at a cost of 15 runs off the over. 35 runs had been added but 15 removed in penalties for lost wickets, resulting a very mediocre start for The Warriors.
In the next 3 overs, Ramesh (15) and Sunil (8) added runs steadily, but Sunil was bowled by Bernie Lamprecht and Matt Harkness in consecutive overs which limited their overall progress. 41 for 5 after 6 overs was a rather disappointing score, but defendable.
Chetan (19) and Sadesh (16) changed all of that. They attacked the PCC bowlers (Wez Simon and Trevor) and added 40 rounds for no loss, aided by some poor fielding by PCC which leaked a couple of boundaries. The Warriors completed their innings with 81 for 5 which was not an assured victory and they would need to defend with skill.
PCC opened their batting with Wez Masterton and Bernie Lamprecht. They faced the pace and accuracy of Socrates, Himmet and Sadesh. Runs were hard to come by and Wez only managed 4 whilst being caught by the wicket keeper, Chetan. It was probably the best catch of the tournament. Bernie was held in irons by 10 dots but did manage to hit 2 boundaries by virtue of some poor fielding. 13 for 1 after 3 overs was not a good start.
Simon (13) and Trevor (9) did well against the same bowlers as they retained their wickets and added 31 with the help of a few extras. 3 runs ahead after 6 overs and nothing in it.
The final batting pair of Luke Stokes and Matt Harkness needed to retain their wickets and not take any risks. Well, that didn’t happen. The pace and swing of Sadesh bowled Luke and Matt in one over. Now PCC were in dire straits and staring defeat in the face. Chetan went for 18 runs and provided a ray of hope, but could PCC pull off a miracle by scoring 26 off the last over?
Sadesh bowled. Some runs and a no-ball full toss which bowled Luke, was a real let off for PCC. Another no-ball with byes, followed by some panic-stricken fielding resulted in a 9-run hit from Luke. A tie with 2 balls to go. Nail biting stuff. A dot and 3 off the last ball. PCC win by 3 runs and secured 4th place in the tournament and a final play-off against LOTB.
Other matches on the night were RST Vipers v RST Pythons, Pythons won by 13 runs. RST Cobras v Lords of the Beers (LOTB), LOTB won by 12 runs. RST Vipers lead the league table with 116 points, RST Pythons are second with 97, LOTB are third with 95, PCC are 4th with 90. Warriors are 5th with 79 and finally RST Cobras with 61. The finals – 1st v 2nd, etc., will be on 30 November.
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