Deepak Khatri and Anuj Kumar thrilled the assembled crowds once again with the bat for the champions, with Matt Kohler retiring undefeated in the reply for Patong to collect the Man of the Match gong.
Special mention must go to Saju Abraham of Patong who bowled brilliantly throughout the tournament and restricted the big hitters to take one for nine from his over, after coming on with the scoreboard reading a staggering 63-0 after just two overs!
The win rounded off a magnificent display from the club based in New Delhi, containing young lady players from India and South Africa in their sides who exhibited exhilarating cricket throughout the tournament, playing the game in tremendous spirit.
The seventh staging of the 7s, was once again at the Alan Cooke Ground in Phuket and organised by the Asian Cricket Sixes Tour (ACST), forming part of the Phuket Cricket Week, established in 2004, and including the Phuket International Cricket Sixes.
The Cup semi-finals saw Tripathi destroy any hopes of Hong Kong side Discovery Bay Sea Eagles, with Patong White defeating UAE Falcons in dramatic style; chasing down their target off the final ball of the match.
Earlier in the day each of the top six sides played an extra game each to formulate the final standings and deciding which competition they’d compete in for honours. Those matches saw the eventual champions defeat Patong Blue, UAE Falcons beat Discovery Bay Sea Eagles, while Patong White saw off the challenge of Tripathi Orange.
The second tier Bowl was a similar tale to the premier final, as the sister clubs of the Cup finalists fought it out. A predominantly female Tripathi Orange team outgunned Patong Blue as Vikas Rana and Sudhir Tyagi bludgeoned the hosts attack to all parts before Karen Woest took two wickets to add to her excellent catching throughout the event to win the Player of the Match plaudits.
However, local cheer came in the final of the Plate as Village Cricket Team overcame the CBB Postels by eight runs in a fitting triumph that was dedicated to Village’s recently deceased clubmate George McCready and the desperately missed Tookta Supattra, who contributed so much to cricket in Phuket for many years.
Mark Whetton batted in fine style in the final to win the Man of the Match Award after Omer Cheema had taken three wickets in an over in an earlier Postels game. Gulshan Youth of Bangladesh had been eliminated following the group stage.
The plaudits of Player of the Tournament went to outstanding quick bowler Lokender of Tripathi, with local umpire John King being awarded the prestigious ACST Spirit of Cricket Award.
ACST Chairman, Michael “Cat” Maher reflected on the previous three days while relaxing with the teams. “What another wonderful Phuket Cricket Week we have enjoyed, with the Thalang 7s rounding off proceedings in fine style.
“The ACST is proud to have attracted such a great cross section of teams. I’d like to thank all the participants as well as the committees of the ACG and PCG for their valuable assistance. I would also like to thank our valued major sponsors, The Tourism Authority of Thailand, The Arinara Bangtao Resort, Tripathi Group and Asia Escape Holidays.
“This has been a truly brilliant event to round off another wonderful Phuket Cricket Week.”
The next ACST event will be the very special ACST 50th Anniversary Tournament. The details of the event, will be announced shortly.