PCC’s first season ended in a dead rubber as they were not going to the finals, but it was a chance to gain some street cred at the end of a disappointing and frustrating season. Bangkok Blues needed a win to improve their position in the Final 4 and managed to squeak a win with 8 balls to spare chasing 175 by Pattaya.
Andy lost the toss as usual and was asked to bat which is what he wanted. PCC opened with Luke Stokes and Mike Gerits against Jandre Coetzee and Vichnath Singh. The bowlers got the better of the first 5 overs by restricting PCC to only 18 runs and unfortunately for BBCC, they dropped Luke in the second over and he went on to score a magnificent 94 not out as he retained his position as the leading run scorer in the Premiership. The bowling change brought on Ashish Dey who got punished by Mike and the run rate increased, aided by some misfields, but Vichnath continued to be very economical at 4 per over. PCC reached 55 by the 10th over and retained their wickets until Mike had a dance down the track and was stumped for a fine 44 off Austin Lazarus , 85 for 1 in the 13th over. Mike Flowers took the crease. Drinks arrived at 15 overs with the score on 98/1, some 10-15 behind par. Mukesh struck immediately after drinks when Mike was bowled for a duck and Harry went out at No4 with the score on 102 for 2. There was a slight delay as BBCC wanted to change their keeper but as he was uninjured, he had to put his kit back on. Kamlesh joined the bowling attack as BBCC stifled PCC for just 33 runs in the next 5 overs to reach 131 in the 20th. Luke was scoring most of the runs as his supporters rotated the strike until Jandre bowled Harry for 11 at 151 for 3 in the 23rd. Sadish was quickly dismissed for 5, caught by Sreekanth off Mukesh, whilst Luke continued to hit out. Luke survived a run out appeal on his way to 94, but was unable to reach 100 before the 25 overs were completed. 175 for 4 was a defendable score but also chaseable. Most of the BBCC bowlers took wickets and were economical, Mukesh being the best at 2 for 31 off 5 overs.
BBCC opened with Preetam Jena and Mohnish Devdiga against Andy Emery and Harry Archer, as Andre Human was still recovering from his damaged thumb. The batsmen started well but Mohnish fell into a trap set by Harry as he hoisted a ball to Long-on and it went straight to Mike Gerits, out for 10 and a good start. However, Preetam and the new batsman, Sree, took a liking to the bowling and made good progress with 38 for 1 by the 5th over and added another 40 runs for the next 5 overs. However, they did lose two more wickets, namely Preetam, LBW to Aditya for 28 and Mukesh got an edge down the leg side to Mike Flowers for 4. 78 for 3 after 10 overs enabled BBCC to make significant headway against PCC at the same stage. The bowling needed to be tightened up and the extras reduced – yes, that old chestnut again. Things improved considerably for PCC when Terry Paiva and Adam Hitchcott were brought into the attack. Arpit was LBW to Terry in his first over for 14 at 101 for 3 and Jandre was caught and bowled by Terry for a Golden Duck to leave BBCC on 101 for 5 in the 13th. Adam, not wishing to be outdone, had Austin LBW for a duck in the 14th over and the teams went for drinks with BBCC at 111 for 6, some 13 runs ahead. It was going to be a close finish. Unfortunately for PCC, wickets ceased to fall whilst Sree and Usman took control with their bats. A few loose overs from Adam, Andy and Aditya which included more wides and No Balls, released the pressure. Sree finished with 83 not out and Usman with 21 not out with 8 balls to spare and thus a win by 4 wickets. Terry Paiva was the pick of the PCC bowlers with 2 wickets for 26 off 5 overs.
The MotM was Sree for his 83 not out.
As a round-up of PCCs first season in the Premiership, they found it tough and unforgiving. You have to play at your best all the time and the margins of a victory or a loss are small. With more emphasis on tighter bowling and fielding, PCC could have won 5 of their 8 matches and kept them in contention for a place in the final 4. PCC has a great team spirit and can do better and we hope they will next season.
Although this BCL season is over for PCC, there are still other competitions which will involve PCC in the off-season, the International & National 6s at Chiang Mai, the 8s and the Koh Chang Beach Tournament, so stay tuned.
PCC would like to thank the support provided by their sponsors, the Outback bar, the Magic Bar and the PSG.
