Pacific succumbed to only their 4th 10 wicket defeat & the 1st since 22/8/97
when on tour against Broadway & Horton in Somerset. This was achieved by
Pacific's inability to make a breakthrough & Miles Picknett & Mark Bullock
putting together their unbroken partnership of 162, reaching the target with
3 overs to spare. Bullock & Picknett forged as solid a partnership as
Pacific had faced all season & with Picknett adding an unbeaten half century
to his 5 wicket haul earlier, thoroughly deserved his man of the match
award.
A delayed start of 45 minutes due to rain did not deter Pacific Captain,
Peter Hollman from batting first. But the sodden outfield & damp pitch meant
scoring freely was difficult. President, John Hill's side was packed full of
batting & lacked recognised strike bowlers, but ultimately, this worked in
his favour as medium pacer Dougal DeKeller, & the spin trio of Joe Phelan,
Miles Picknett & Guy Wiehahn all delivered the ball without pace; thereby
forcing the batsman to create shots.
Nevertheless, Pacific's anchor innings
was built around the Captain & opening bat's Peter Hollman's 75. Around his
innings, there were several modest partnerships, 45 with Jim Davies (19) &
37 with Ted Szuman (15), but modestly it was case of wickets going down as
the new batters struggled with the conditions & either being bowled playing
across the line or getting caught.
Pacific's five pronged pace & seam attack did not break through & Bullock in
particular cut & pulled freely with only the occasional half scare. Although
Darryl Roberts 8-3-15-0 was by far the most economic & Mike Alexander did
his best to contain, nothing went Pacific's way as the odd miss hit or edge
went for runs & mistimed shots dropped safely. That said there were no
dropped chances & given that the ball was so wet that there was no
deviation, the pair did all that the President could ask.
Summary 2001
14 wins 11 draws & 10 defeats.
The target of 20 wins was not sadly achieved, but despite that, the win loss
ratio is good & only 10 defeats in 35 matches is also a solid return.
Additionally, 3 winnings tours incl. the 1st ever 100% in Cambs last month
was a highlight. The 2nd division evening VPCCL title - unbeaten, again a
highpoint. Plus there was the winning of the Lindridge -McDougall Memorial
Cup & making 2 finals - the Islington 6 aside tournament in May & the
Middlesex Cricket Board 200 over KO Barnet Final against Mill Hill.
Notable match winning contributions throughout the season - David Murray the
only centurion back in April against Chats Palace, Tim Mileham's 4-26 v
Chigwell, Darryl Robert's 42* v Palmerston, Jim Davies's 47* v UCS Old Boys
in Hampstead, followed by the following week with 39* with a broken thumb &
Arjen Knottnerus' 48* in the same game. On tour in June Dave Murray with
4-36 & an unbeaten 50 v Devon Dinosaurs. Then Porlock & Leon Yates 63*,
followed the next day by Matthew Ralph 's 6-32 - a devastating spell & the
best figures of the season. Marcel Boonaert's superb spell against Archway
Graces of 4.5 overs 5 wickets for 15 runs when the game should have been
lost. V UCS Old Boys a fine team performance spearheaded by Matt Ralph's
opening spell of 3-21. At Radlett, it was Leon Yates again with 77 around
which the total was built, while back in S Cambs Jim Davies picked up 2-23
off 14 overs & scored 41 & 39*. Then just last week, Miles Picknett's 84*
was the foundation but Lucius Faisal's 3-23 & Marcel Boonaert's 24* where
key features.
So many highpoints overshadow the occasional low. Statistically the best
season for 5 years, but more importantly the emergence of several new key
players that are match winners which bodes superbly well for the future. I'm
already looking forward to 2002.
Between now & then Pacific will be competing in the MCB Indoor 6 a side
tournament commencing later this month.
Thanks for all your support - your interest & coverage has been much
appreciated. At the same time I hope the reports have been of sufficient
quality.
Best regards PH
PCC: 160-9 (AO). P Hollman 75. M Picknett 10-0-41-5. G Wiehahn 12-0-43-3.
P XI: 162-0 M Bullock 68, M Picknett 52.
