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A Winning Final Day For
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| Finals day at the
Chiang Mai Cricket Sixes is traditionally a big social day, with some pretty
good cricket to accompany it. However this year, spectators at yesterday's
finals of the 15th Chiang Mai Sixes enjoyed a day when Sixes Cricket was
clearly the big winner. Socializing was temporarily interrupted while everyone
watched a Spoon Final contested by a Wombat team, a Star's Challenge match
with full professional style and skill, and two of the most exciting trophy
finals, for the Bowl and Cup, ever seen in Chiang Mai.
In the Spoon Final, former champions the Ios Malakas (48 for 2) needed just 4.1 overs to overtake the modest total of 46 for 3 put up by the Wombats team. Both teams of self-confessed 'social sportsmen', appeared a little hobbled by the week's exertions. But this was a special final for Chiang Mai Sixes devotees - the first ever for the Wombats in all of their 15 years participating (and losing happily) in every one of the Chiang Mai tournaments! The Stars Challenge Trophy was played over 2 matches between a Sri Lankan All-Star team, sponsored by Sri Lankan Airlines, versus a Rest-of-the-World Stars team including Mike Gatting, Trevor Chappell and Tom Hogan . (The first match , played on Wednesday last, was won by the Sri Lankans). Yesterday, the Rest-of-the-World team, helped by a quick-fire 35 n.o. from South Africa's Meyrick Pringle, edged the victory. However based on average run rate for the two matches , the Sri Lankans (including ex-test stars Amal Silva and Roshan Mahanama) won the trophy for the second year in a row. As in the first match , the standard of cricket was genuinely high and entertaining, including some outstanding hitting from Sri Lanka test -hopeful and current A team player Ruchira Pallyaguru. In this year's Chiang Mai Sixes Plate Final. Last year's winners the Kirkby Vampires from England took on their compatriots the Ashwell Crusaders with ex-England Captain Mike Gatting in the side. The Crusaders coming to Chiang Mai fresh from a recent tournament victory at the Sarasota Sixes in Florida, restricted the Vampires to only 49 for 3 in their innings. This was never really going to be enough, and the Ashwell Crusaders's opening pair of Adrian Cade (30 n.o.), and Gatting (24n.o) comfortably took their side to victory (54 for 0) in just over 4 overs. The Final of the Bowl , was a real thriller featuring the Kiteboys from the UK , a new team at the Sixes, and certainly the youngest group this year, versus second year Sixes's participants from Bahrain, the Warbler Bunny Club (formerly Awahli Taverners, until they found nightlife in Chiang Mai!). The match started disasterously for the Kiteboys with the Warbler Bunnies' guest star Malintha Warnapura hitting 34 off the first over from Nick Knight . Although Malintha then retired, not out, this wasn't the end of the Kiteboys's misery, as a further 14 runs came off that first over. The Warbler Bunnies were thus 48 for 0 after one over, and the Kiteboys looked out of it. However with their star back in the tent, and some tighter bowling from the opposition, the Warblers were held to a more reasonable 46 off the remaining 4 overs. Nevertheless, with a total score of 94 for 2, the Warbler Bunny Club looked well set to win the Bowl. The Kiteboys had other ideas. Their own guest star James Bryant , from South Africa, hit a sparkling 34 n.o., most coming off the first over from an unlucky Bob Phillips, to set up the Kiteboys run chase. Needing 19 per over to win, the Kiteboys continued to hammer the Warbler's bowling, but in losing two middle-order wickets cheaply, the game appeared to swing back towards the team from Bahrain. At this point, with the full attention of the Sixes's crowd of spectators now given to the match in progress, the Kiteboys' captain Bill McFadden and his brother Sam came together at bat. Still needing over 30 runs to snatch the win, the McFaddens continued the onslaught. Remarkably , Sam (25n.o) and Bill (18n.o.) took the Kiteboys to their Bowl-winning total 98 for 2 wickets with 2 balls of the Warbler Bunny Club's last over to spare. The excitement of the Bowl brilliantly captured the essence of Sixes's cricket and set the stage for the main event , the Chiang Mai Sixes Cup. This year's finalists were relative newboys to Chiang Mai, the Gloucestershire Gipsies from England, and long-time Sixes's contestants Lords Taverners from Western Australia. Both teams had disposed of some stiff competition on their road to the Final. Earlier in the day, the Taverners with guest star Tom Hogan, had overcome an experienced Almar CC from South Africa. The Gipsies had edged out a strong Perth Postels side of fellow Australians (including guest star Kenny Richards). The Cup Final began slowly, thanks to some economical bowling by the Gipsies. Lords Taverners who have been losing finalists in Chiang Mai in other years, but never a winner at this level , were restricted to a modest 64 runs for 3 wickets (including 24 from Glen O'Brien). The Gipsies who had been hitting scores of 70 to 80 all week and needing only 13 runs an over, must have felt fairly confident of passing the required total of 65 to win. The Lords Taverners, captained for the first time by Sixes's regular Damien 'Nutsey' O'Hara, had also defended some fairly modest totals all week and clearly felt equal to this task. Nevertheless the Gipsies took 11 off the first over and looked to be more or less on target. A mean second over by O'Hara however yielded only 6 runs and the Gipsies' openers Briars and Mustow were falling behind the pace needed. Tom Hogan's third over for the Taverners gave the Gipsies renewed hope and their score up to 40 runs. However the over ended with the first of two scintillating catches by the Taverners' Al Field, who plucked a certain six out of the air on the long-on boundary to dismiss Mark Briars. However , with two overs to go and 25 runs needed, the Gipsies now looked on course for the Cup. The Taverners needed some top defensive cricket - they got it in the next over by Graeme Wicks.First of all, Al Field juggled and held a second terrific catch to dismiss Keith Mustow , and then wicket keeper Cameron Stirling held on to another difficult skier to catch a former Sixes player of the tournament Paul Lazenbury. With only 7 runs coming off the over and the loss of the 2 wickets, the Gloucestershire Gipsies had the wind taken out of their sails, and still needed 18 runs to win off the final over. They nearly made it too. A couple of mighty blows brought 10 runs from the first two balls and suddenly it was a gettable 8 needed from 4 balls. Al Field as bowler this time, stayed in control, and allowed the Gipsies only 6 runs more to finish 2 short of target on 63 for 3. Winners of the Cup at last, the popular Lords Taverners, and a great contest between two very sporting teams playing some great cricket, closed the 15th Chiang Mai Sixes on a very high note Earlier in the day, in a Cup competition game between the Slammers and Stockton Seagulls, with only pride to play for (as both teams had already failed to quualify for the semi-finals), the Castrol Big Six Challenge sign was hit twice, for only the third and fourth times in the whole week . Tony MIller of the Seagulls, and then Meyrick Pringle, South African 'star' playing with the Slammers, both hit sixes into the sign, and both donated their full 5000Baht prizes to help fund development of children's Sawasdee Cricket in Chiang Mai. Infact all 4 of the cricketers hitting the target Castrol sign donated all of the monet to the children's cricket effort ( Al Field of the Lords Taverners and Ruchira Pallyaguru of Sri Lanka hit the Big Six earlier ). In the annual, Ladies Challenge match the two colourful teams fought out a close game in which the local Chiang Mai Chassies prevailed for the second year over their rivals the World All-Star Dixie Bells. SUMMARY OF RESULTS - Sat April 6th
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