Horseshoe Point in Pattaya was the venue for a friendly game played on Sunday 16 January between Southerners B team and Pattaya Cricket Club.
The Southerners team was complemented by some good cricketers from Asian Stars; Dimple, Manoj and Khuram, along with Vinit S, from Indorama. As it turned out, Pattaya CC did a great job of selecting a team closely matching ours in ability. Everything was very well organized with Pattaya providing everything to make the day the success it was. From the pleasant location, to drinks and sandwiches at lunch, to scorers, supporters, and the two umpires who did such a good job.
Play started at about 1pm with Southerners batting first and scoring 160. Runs were scored by Dimple opening with a good partnership between Graeme and Trent followed by Giles and then Andy doing well in the later stages. Pattaya were never too far behind the required run rate and threatened to get the runs at some stages but finished up 7 runs short on 153.
The Southerners bowled well with Andy, Khuram, Manoj, Dimple, Vicky, Trent, and Gordon all taking wickets. Fielding was mostly good with Vicky and Gordon both effecting run-outs from the deep. Gordon’s direct hit from deep square leg barely had enough force to knock the bails off, but made up for it with pinpoint accuracy. The real highlights however were the stunning one-handed diving catches from Nadeem and Graeme’s burst of brilliance towards the end of the innings. Perhaps they were inspired by Mrs. Gai’s enthusiastic cheering from the boundary…
The game was played throughout in a very friendly but still competitive atmosphere. Everyone had a great time and at the game’s conclusion our captain, Nadeem, gave a good speech. Then he and Simon from Pattaya exchanged club caps in mutual appreciation for a job well done. Simon indicated that due to the day’s success, Pattaya are keen to play us again before too long, next time probably in Bangkok. That is surely something to look forward to.
Words: Andy Leicester
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