Phuket Cricket: ICC on a roll, youth team crushes Laguna

PHUKET: In round 8 of Phuket’s Outrigger T20 cricket league, ICC took on Patong in the morning session, while the Youth side faced Laguna in the afternoon session.

In the morning match, Patong’s total of 136-5 was comfortably chased down by ICC who reached 139-3 in the 17th over. In the afternoon encounter, the Youth side amassed the league’s highest innings total this season with 202-3 which proved too much for Laguna who could only manage 154-8 in reply.

In the morning match, after winning the toss, Patong chose to bat and set a target, but lost opener Mike Khan (7) early being stumped for his second innings in a row. However, fellow opener Imtiyaz Mushtaq (53) was in good form and he combined with Paddy Morton (30) to post a solid 79 run partnership to bolster the innings until Morton was run out with the score on 89.

Dave Thomas (22) then took on the anchor role along with Neil Quail (9) to take the Patong total to a defendable 136-5 from their 20 overs.

ICC, who were coming off a victory against the Youth side the previous week, were looking to consolidate their second place on the league ladder with back-to-back wins.

However, they too suffered the loss of an early wicket with opener Deepak Mehra (3) having his stumps skittled in the 3rd over. Shah Ullah (24) and Ali Khan (41 of 20 balls) then got the innings back on track. When Khan fell in the 8th over with the score on 61, Arif Mushtaq (46 not out) then combined with Ullah for a 56 run partnership, taking their total along to 117-3 before Ullah was dismissed in the 15th over. Mushtaq then combined with Balesh Dessai (10 not out) to guide ICC home reaching 139-3 in the 17th over.

In the afternoon match, the Youth side were looking to set a solid target for Laguna when they chose to bat first after winning the toss. Best (27) and fellow opener Tristan Sheridan (88) did exactly that, with a 61 run partnership, before Best was dismissed in the 7th over. Youth captain, Pao (15) then combined with Sheridan to add a further 29 runs before he fell in the 10th over just before the drinks break with the score on 90-2.

A missed stumping and a dropped catch of Sheridan cost the Laguna side significantly, as Sheridan powered on with a display of hard hitting and excellent running between the wickets with partner Andrew McMillan (41 not out). Sheridan finally fell in the 20th over just 12 runs short of his century. However, by then the damage had been done, with the Youth side amassing a total of 202-3 from their 20 overs, the biggest innings total of the season.

Laguna coming off the back of three defeats, again got off to a nightmare start, losing opener Darren Shaw for a golden duck in the first over and then fellow opener Damian Clowes (4) in the 2nd over. With their tails up, the Youth side were looking assured of victory unless one of the Laguna batsmen could produce a remarkable innings.

Manish Sadarangani (58) tried his utmost despite a pulled muscle suffered during his innings. He combined for a 41 run partnership with Pir Sami (17) until Sami was run out in the 8th over with the score on 47-3. Stuart Reading (18) and Sadarangani then put on a 43 run partnership, but with 13 runs per over required after the 10 over drinks break, it was always going to be a near impossible task. Waqar Bhat (24 not out) tried his best, but it was all to no avail as Laguna could only manage 154-8 from their 20 overs.

The league table sees ICC in clear second place ahead while Laguna, Youth and Patong are battling it out for a top 4 spot to gain a semi-final berth.