PATTAYA, Thailand – Pattaya CC needed to maintain a winning streak and had the opportunity despite Luke Stokes and Ryan Driver being unavailable. The match against Bangkok Blues CC, with their 100% record, was played at HSP on a cloudy Saturday morning at 0830 on 17 Feb 2024. It was one of contrasting halves where BBCC started poorly and recovered well, whilst PCC started well and faded at the end to lose by 10 runs having leached 34 extras, dropped two catches and missed a run out opportunity.
Wez Masterton and Shantanu Tambe conducted the toss with umpires Tamim Chowdhury and Dharmesh Mer which Wez won and decided to bowl first. Preet Singh and Andre Human opened the bowling against Gaurav Singh and Rakesh Yadav. The bowling was quick and results soon arrived with Andre’s 4th ball removing Rakesh’s leg stump for 2. Vinay Rao replaced Rakesh but runs were hard to get and Preet struck in the 5th over when Gaurav, 5, skied a ball to Steve Christie (Crunch) at mid-wicket, 13 for 2.
The 6th over saw Crunch bowl his left arm off-spin where Vinay skied a ball to long off and down Habby Singh’s throat for 4. Habby joined the attack but was very loose and giving away boundaries and No Balls whilst Crunch was giving away wides. Vinay’s departure saw Kamlesh Singh at the crease and he steadied the rather rocky BBCC ship which was at 25 for 3. Crunch dismissed Captain Shantanu, bowled for 12 in the 10th over and PCC were containing Division A’s top team at 56 for 4, but the tide started to turn.
With Crunch, Habby and now Max Burzler giving 10 runs per over, BBCC were gaining a foothold, but still losing wickets. Some smart field placement by Wez saw that Max was under attack and he placed himself at long-off where he immediately caught Kamlesh for 34. In Max’s next over, Wez caught Mohnish Devadiga for 4, but Maz’s 2 overs had cost 10 runs in extras, 77 for 6 in the 14th over put PCC in a very good position, but after drinks it all changed. Adnan and Vivek’s partnership added 69 runs in 7 overs and that changed the complexion on the match.
Late wickets were taken by Preet who dismissed Adnan, bowled for 28 and Abhishek Singh caught for 2 by Max at cover in the same over. Terry Pavia got the last wicket of Nagendra Yadav for 12 caught by Andre at Long-on, to conclude the match at 171 for 9 from 25 overs. Vivek remained not out for 33. PCC’s best bowler was Preet who took 3 for 17 from 5 overs, whilst Habby and Crunch had difficult days with 50 for 0 and 39 for 2 respectively.
PCC were missing 2 very good batsmen but the chase was feasible if everyone played their part. Wez and Andre opened against Vivek and Mohnish Devadiga. A steady start but a stunning one handed catch low down from Vivek had Andre caught and bowled for 3 in the 3rd over, which brought Preet to the crease. He and Wez went on the rampage with Wez taking Abhishek Singh for 21 in one over as he raced to 50 in 25 balls, only to be caught by a superb catch from Captain Shantanu racing at full speed around the Long-on boundary for 52. 76 for 1 from 8 overs was a magnificent start but could PCC keep up the momentum?
Jainish Parikah went in but committed the cardinal sin of not playing himself in and got caught on the boundary by Naegendra Yadav for a duck off Kamlesh. Habby joined Preet and the run rate slowed as spin from Kamlesh and dibbly dobblers from Ajay Tak started to squeeze PCC. Preet got frustrated and got stumped for 21, 91 for 3 in the 11th over. Max joined Habby and defended his wicket well in order to pinch hit and give Habby the strike. At drinks, PCC were 17 runs ahead with a decreasing run rate whilst BBCC increased theirs at the point. It was going to be tight. Habby eventually fell in the 18th over to Shantanu’s bowling, caught by Kamlesh for 25 and Max followed very shortly after for 10, out LBW to a ball that clearly came off the bat. 127 for 6 in the 19th over.
Andy Emery, in at 8, kept the tail end together, but runs, in particular boundaries were in short supply as the spinners kept it tight. Simon Philbrook (out of retirement) was stumped off Ajay for 7 and Crunch was run out for 1 by a good throw from Adnan and Terry Pavia was caught and bowled by Kamlesh for 4. Andy finished 16 not out but ran out of overs and PCC lost by 10 runs at 161 for 9. The difference between the teams was too many extras by PCC and better fielding from BBCC. Kamlesh Singh was MotM with 34, 2 for 24 and 2 catches.
This was Captain Wez Masterton’s last match with PCC for the foreseeable future as he is moving to New Zealand. Pattaya CC would like to thank him for his superlative efforts with the bat and ball over several years and his captaincy in more recent times. He has been a stalwart of the club and his efforts have filled the trophy cabinet. It has been a pleasure and we all wish him well in the future.
PCC would like to thank their sponsors, the Outback Bar, the Magic Bar, and the Pattaya Sports Club for their support and assistance. If there are any persons of any ages and abilities out there in the Pattaya area who would like to get involved with cricket, please visit our website, our Facebook page, the Outback Bar (the PCC home base) or contact Simon Philbrook at [email protected]
