by Peter Cummins

It was another day of great cricket at the ongoing Fifteenth Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes, being played out at the Chiengmai Gymkhana Club Cricket Ground, with two undefeated teams, the Darwin Dilettantes and the Gloucestershire Gipsies, going automatically into the Cup Division. The fast and furious opening game set the pattern for the rest of the day, with John Magner taking a walk at an undefeated 31, allowing the Jack Frost team to beat the Drifters. It was a performance that they could not repeat, however, for the 'Frosties' went down in a later game, to the Bangkok Warathais who were, no doubt, better acclimatized to Chiang Mai's vigorous 'apres cricket' night-life, after their long preparations for such a social siege, at their home base in Bangkok's Soi Cowboy.

In another memorable game, Mike Maher's Perth Postels, with a fine 31 ret. by Kenny Jackson, demolished the Ashwell Crusaders, in spite of a 30 ret. hit by former England Captain Mike Gatting. Perhaps this was a belated 'reckoning', for Mike's England captaincy, when they won the Ashes from the Aussies, some 15 years ago in Australia.

The Warathais, too, making 97 runs in their game against the Shanghai Steinlager Cavaliers, set the tournament innings record which is going to be very difficult to beat.

Meantime, there is a big Castrol banner set back above the eastern boundary of the ground which has a clear message for all: hit me and you win. Castrol, as well as Coca Cola, has long supported the Chiang Mai Sixes and, more recently, also the promotion of junior cricket in Thailand, known during this tournament as the "Third Sixes Sawasdee Cup". Any batsman who, during the course of a game, can belt a ball into the 2ft. X 4 ft. green banner, with a huge black number Six in the middle, will not only win the "Castrol Big Six challenge", but will actually win twice. The prize, Castrol announces, is Baht 5,000 for every score: Baht 3,000 for the successful batsman and Baht 2,000 donated to the advancement of cricket among Thai children, the "Sawasdee Cricket Programme."

Sound easy? Just ask the Aussie Sawasdee coach, Eric Little, who had the aim, the speed and the timing. But, oh dear! he could not quite 'lift' the ball to hit he banner, just passing under it. Like boxing, there was no second prize.

But, there has been ONE winner, so far - and a few other near misses. Alistair Field (good name for a cricketer, that!) of the Lords Taverners, made no such concessions and hit the banner right in the hole of the six.

RESULTS

CUP, BOWL, PLATE GROUPS

• Jack Frost 50-0 (John Magner 31 ret.) beat Drifters 43-2
• Warathais 97-1 (Ian Liddell 31 ret.) beat Shanghai Steinlager Cavaliers 73-2 (P. Howard 30 ret.)
• Perth Postels 72-2 (Kenny Jackson 31 ret.) beat Ashwell Crusaders 57-1 (Mike
  Gatting 30 ret.)
• Silver State 51-2 beat Pathan CC 48-4
• Warathais 61-2 beat Jack Frost 58-2
• Gloucestershire Gipsies 68-3 beat Stockton Seagulls 64-2 (Warren Pugh 35 ret.)
• Warathais 61-2 beat Jack Frost 58-2
• Darwin Dilettantes 67-2 (Roger Weckert 33 ret.) beat Silver State 53-0
• British Airways Dragons 54-1 (Richard Lewis 32 ret.) beat Pathan CC 2-41
• Kiteboys 49-3 beat Darjeeling 48-3
• Lysaght Southerners 69-0 beat Kirby Vampires 66-0
• Darwin Dilettantes 54-3 beat B.A. Dragons 45-2

SPOON

• Pectels 69 41-1 beat Bangkok Postels 40-4
• Wombats 72-1 (Ken Dashwood 33 ret.) beat IOS Malakos 49-2
• IOS Malakos 49-1 beat Irish Pub Gang Green 48-1.