Portcullis Cricket Club

Portcullis got back to winning ways and edged a low-scoring thriller against Banchory, securing a hard-fought 2 wicket win.

After being put in to field, Jaimin led the attack superbly with 4-23 off his 8 overs, backed up by the rest of the bowling attack and some great catches prevented Banchory from building any significant partnerships -Ankush and Vinay finishing with 2 wickets each.

The chase in true Portcullis style was anything but straightforward with wickets falling regularly, but Andy Burr held his nerve with an unbeaten 27 to drag us over the line.
Shoutouts to Owen and Faraz for showing some dig in the chase.

Player of the match - Jaimin Panchal for his 4 wickets and dismantling of the Banchory top order.

Viva Portcullis
🟢⭐️🟢⭐️🟢

🏏 Team News 🏏

Portcullis CC struggling on recent form the selectors had no option but to pick the strongest team in their quest for a win.

Ross returns to skipper the side 🫡
Kannan will boost the batting, bowling and fielding 😉

We always love playing at the picturesque Burnett Park so come and support the troops 😍

Viva Portcullis

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🏏Team News🏏

The selectors have named their strongest possible team this weekend 💪

They face the roaring Tigers who have looked good at the start of the season 🫨

Make sure to get down to support the lads as they face off against an ex-PCC player and the rest of the Tigers 🐯

Viva Portcullis
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🏏 Team News 🏏

Dynamic Duo Ross and Jake are back in to keep everyone under control 🫡
Faraz will be smashing it to all corners on the artificial wicket 💥

It’s looking to be about 1 degree warmer this weekend so come down and support the team 😎

Viva Portcullis
🟢⭐️🟢⭐️🟢

Comprehensive win for the first game of the season!
Here are some of the highlights from the match.

Shout out performances from Jaimin and Vinay for their 4-14 and 3-27, which was ably supported by all the bowlers. Some interesting catching technique from our WK, but got all three that came his way. Safe hands Sai taking two more, and the crucial catch by Aarif in the end when Mannofield were trying to take the game away.
120 all out in the 36th over, great effort.

Owen continued his great run of form from last season, gave us an excellent start with cracking boundaries. When he departed at 27, we had a moment losing 3 wickets in about 3 overs, but Aarif took it up patiently with Sai Sudhir to guide the innings forward. A good catch at mid-on got him for 20. Both Sai and the new man in crease Manoj watched the turning deliveries, left the ones as needed.
Once both settled in with pace of the wicket, trusted themselves with their shots to see us through just after the drinks break. Nice to see the lads playing longer innings and taking responsibilities.
Glad to get the maximum points before any drizzle.

Bowled, fielded and batted smart overall…

A2Z Player of the Match: Manoj Thala Gubbala for his catches and finishing 😎

Viva Portcullis
🟢⭐️🟢⭐️🟢

Cricket is back (sort of) 😬

Portcullis troops have been back training for the upcoming 2026 season 🫡

A set up at Countesswells nets with 2 lanes has allowed us to keep involved the winter 🙏

The guys looked fired up in the nets and it’s already looking good for 2026 🔥

We have more nets booked for the upcoming weeks so let us know if you are interested in coming along ❤️

Viva Portcullis
🟢⭐️🟢⭐️🟢

💃🏻Portcullis End of Season Dinner 💃🏻
Another club dinner another fantastic night.
The staff at Light of Bengal were great hosts as always and the food was top notch 🔥

Here are the 2025 award winners:

🍻 Social Award: Ross/Jake joint winners
Picked by the previous winner Ronnie. The award was shared by two guys who have been doing a fair bit of organising for the club and socials have been included in that.
Ronnie highlighted their importance to keeping the club going strong 🤝

💭 Field of Dreams: Sudhir
With the award being repurposed to an outstanding performance rather than a bit of luck it had to go to Sudhir’s match winning knock against Huntly in the crunch part of the season🌟

🏏 Batsman Award: Faraz
On his Portcullis debut season Faraz has been Mr Reliable with the bat. Always the calming influence at the other end of the crease and always playing and planning the match situation 😎

☄️ Bowling Award: Andy Burr
Another debutant welcomed into the club and has shown what he can do with the ball. Starting the season with a 5for he continued aggressive bowling throughout the season setting the tone we needed at the top ☝️

🫡 Captains Award: Aarif
In his new role opening the batting he has got us off to quick starts which has been a welcome change to previous seasons. Always playing with a smile of his face he’s a top team player and great guy to have around 😊

🏆 Most Valuable Player: Jaimin
Well deserved MVP this season. Even missing a few matches due to injury he has been up at the top of the MVP table all season.
His bowling went up another level this year and formed a great bowling partnership with Burr. Although being asked to bat in various positions he always found a way to score runs with some big scores and a fair few not outs 🫡

Thanks again for all the support this season and keep an eye out over the winter for socials/activities and nets 🙌

Viva Portcullis
💚⭐️💚⭐️💚

💃🏻Upcoming End of Season Club Dinner 2025 💃🏻

After a rollercoaster season it’s time to take stock of some of the high points 💚

To celebrate the season our club dinner will be held at Portcullis favourite Light of Bengal this Friday 17th of October 😍

Current players, ex-players and social members are all welcome so send a message if you are thinking of joining us 🫶

There are plenty awards up for grabs including: Top Batter, Top Bowler, Field of Dreams, Captain’s Award, and the Most Valuable Player 🏆

Keep your eyes peeled for the award winners and photos next week 📸

Viva Portcullis
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🏏 Weekend Wrap Up 🏏
Tight games: Not another one 😮‍💨

Knight Riders won the toss and interestingly chose to bat second 🤔
Knight Riders bowled well getting the ball to do a bit early on even on the artificial pitch.
However, PCC batsmen didn’t do themselves any favours by not rotating the strike 🥲
Jason played some nice shots early on but never really got in.
P Man played the rebuilding role well but didn’t take the chance to kick on later in his innings.
Jaimin, Faraz and Andy rotated played some shots to get us to decent score after being 32 for 5 at one point.
However, ending up on 118 with 5 overs to spare is not what our batting has been like this season ☹️

After a tasty tea the guys knew what they had to do; be aggressive in the field and build pressure bowling tight 💪
From ball one guys were behind this idea making sure there were no easy runs on offer.
Jaimin was asking a lot of questions of every ball and Andy Burr should have had a few more wickets if things had gone his way 🧐
Faraz and Kannan kept the same pressure right through then Het Owen and Jason all chipped in as well.
The team catching was also on point 🎯

In such a tight game the main difference between the teams was the extras (44) especially towards the end of the game when given wides can make a huge difference 🤔

Overall, though still proud of everyone but especially the guys that were asked to bowl long spells in the hot sun 🌞

A2Z Player of the Match must go to Jaimin again.
Unreal 5for bowling spell and looked good with the bat before the innings concluded prematurely 🙏

Viva Portcullis
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🏏 Team News 🏏

Portcullis are looking to extend their end of season winning streak after another tight win last week 😬
It could be another thrilling finish against tough opponents Knight Riders 2nds 🫨

With skipper Ross away it’s up to Jake to lead the troops and with some regulars away there have been numerous changes 👋
However, the selectors have named another strong team 👏

With only 2 matches left hopefully we can get the same support we received last week 🙌
We think the match will also be live streamed on the Knight Rider Youtube channel for those who can’t make it down 📺

Who will get the penultimate A2Z Accounting Solutions Player of the Match?