PDCC avert crisis, take control

Arriving at Kianawah Park, the old stomping ground of the Doctors, the sun was shining and the birds were singing. It was a perfect day.

It was made even more perfect after Captain Corrigan was able to win another toss in as many games. With a very different team to last week, and a batting depth that couldn’t be argued with, he sent Macgregor Masters in to the field.

The first ball of the day set a precedent for what was to come as Douglas scorched one through an empty cover for four off Barrows. However, the case law was soon replaced with a newer standard as Douglas chopped the ball on to his stumps playing a pull shot.

This new standard was in fact the old PDCC standard as the loss of Douglas was quickly followed by an inswinger from the Masters’ left arm opener, Way. Within the first five overs the Doctors were down three wickets as Panju played all around another one of Way’s balls leaving the PDCC on 3/20.

A mini fightback then ensued as Perera came to the crease, glancing one of his legs to the boundary to start his innings, however the resistance soon ended when he was trapped in front of the stumps off one of Way’s that held its line.

This brought together Chaudhary and Shahid, old housemates reunited on the pitch. With the Doctors in a very precarious position of collapsing, the two went against the trend of the Doctors of old and rebelled, then consolidated and finally excelled.

The two saw it out to drinks, with Chaudhary on 49 at the time, before making his half century the first ball back, while Shahid played the role of the guide.

Chaudhary was the first to make it to his century, having some help along the way from some poor catching standards. He went big one too many times however, hauling out to long on for 104, looking for another six.

Shahid took off where Chaudhary finished and continued to propel the innings this time with John Cross filling the new aggressor’s old position.

Shahid surpassed Chaudhary’s score and continued, accumulating and blasting his way along. There was a minor moment of angst as Cross was run out in controversial circumstance. Being dismissed after assuming the ball was dead and beginning to speak to the bowler before having his bails dislodged.

However, this only added to the fuel of the PDCC train as it ploughed forward. Out came Corrigan and the batting show continued. Shahid amassed his 150 and the Doctors made it to 350 before he was caught at point.

With a little over 30 minutes of play left in the day, the tail stood by the captain as the final overs were bowled and 400 was reached off the penultimate ball of the day, before Corrigan was dismissed trying to break the Doctor’s highest innings total.

The Doctor’s showed amazing depth in their batting and that they weren’t reliant on just one batsman game in, game out, but rather there was a group that could stand up on any given day. Now the attention turns to the bowling effort next Saturday, with the potential for more points to be acquired.