Mission accomplished

Pre-season there was a lot of internal debate on the direction of the club, much of it centered on our participation of league cricket on both Saturday and Sunday and the format of the latter. By a narrow Brexity margin we agreed to continue in the Middx and Essex Invitational Sunday League which has a timed format. This is where the team batting first can bat up to 50 overs and the remaining time is then allotted for the team batting second (more often then not, less overs than the first innings). You only win if the opposition is all out in the second innings. In previous years bore draws were common, particularly frustrating was the imbalance in overs between innings and the turgid sight of watching a team play for the draw for an entire innings. 

Inspired by the Bazball approach to test cricket , Pacificos decided to unleash their own version of it on the unsuspecting MEIL this season with a no holds barred 'in it to win it' mentality. Its principles were as follows , firstly - bowl the overs quickly (which requires discipline from the bowlers - wides and no balls to a minimum - and alacrity between overs to fielding positions) so we could have maximum time in the second innings if we fielded first and plenty of overs to get an opposition out if we batted first. Secondly - to score quickly aiming at a run a ball over the innings. Finally and most importantly, not fear losing to go for the win. 

Our second game in the league (back in June) against these same opponents set the tone for the season and did much to help buy-in from our players to this approach. Pacific CC declared in the 22nd over on 178-4, meaning the oppositon had 70 overs in their innings to chase it down , yet we still managed to win by 28 runs in the 41st over.

Now onto our final game of the season which was scheduled at the same time as our nearest rivals Hadley Wood Green who at the beginning of the day were only 2 points behind us and playing South Loughton CC. This meant only a win would guarantee our first ever title.

On what looked like an uneven pitch the toss was crucial and having won it, Rizwan unsurprisingly elected to field , happy to chase whatever JCC posted to go for the win.

Steady opening spells by Ali and Shahid only resulted in one wicket but crucially Pacific CC controlled the run rate with accurate bowling and excellent fielding , particularly from Dan H. The introduction of Jithin resulted in a further breakthrough leaving JCC on 58-2 off 23 overs at the drinks interval. 

Immediately after drinks the game took on a different complexion as Mohan (5-28) and Jatin (3-21) bowled in a lethal partership, aided by sharp catches - and took the remaining 8 wickets for 29 runs in 11.3 overs. 

88 to chase to win the league, surely a Paddington Rabbitesque collapse couldnt happen twice in one season? Of course not!! Mutz and Tristan went out and smoked the ball to all parts scoring 26 off the first 3 overs before Tristan fell (which illicited a rather brave/foolish send off from a young chap 1/8th his size) . Dan H and Rohan carried on the good work and despite losing a couple more wickets, saw us home in the 16th over to ensure a thumping victory by 7 wickets and the league title (and thus ensuring Hadley Wood Green's 6 wicket victory over South Loughton was rendered irrelevant) 

8 completed games , 5 wins ...2 draws (both 10th wicket nailbiters) and the 1 loss meant we had the most wins in the league. So what does that mean for next season's Sunday cricket....who will win the debate in the winter , the leavers or the remainers. Whatever the outcome , one thing is sure. It will be as Champions we decide!!

 s://www.the-traps.com