Back once again by unpopular request, the famed Southerners of Bangkok are becoming more cosmopolitan all the time. This year we only have two Australians turning out for the club, which is something of a relief for the rest of us. The rest of the team is made up of a Kiwi, a Springbok and, shockingly, two players from the Northern hemisphere: a Thai and an Englishman. All that's pretty irrelevant, though, as we’re more interested in getting to the bar on time.

Andrew Spedding
Softly spoken most of the time, Speddo has been known to become something of a monster after a few beers. It's just as well that he's the asset he is on the cricket field. Deceptive skiddy left-arm bowling and the ability to knock a few quick runs ensure that he's a welcome fixture in the middle. Just remember to get his nickname right - it's most definitely not a brand of embarrassingly tight swimming trunks.

Vaughan McClear
There has been talk for some years that Vaughan is no longer up to the job, but the fact that most of it comes from the man himself means he's generally ignored and told to stop whingeing and get on with it. One of the men at the centre of cricket in Thailand, he can hold a bat pretty well and still manages to crouch down behind the stumps from time to time. He's still getting himself into trouble with the birds at the Busstop, so some fresh blood at the CM6s will suit him fine (although most of the girls up there know him anyway - forewarned and forearmed).

Chanchai Asavasirisin
A stalwart of the Southerners for many a long year, Channers is the team's Thai representative, and can generally be counted on to be thoroughly useless when needed to translate. Too many sessions in the gym have led to suspicions that he's all brawn and no trousers, but he still has his day with the bat from time to time. His new skills behind the wicket in the Bangkok league have meant that his deceptively slow bowling hasn’t been seen as often as previous seasons, but he still manages to down more than his share of beer.

Rex "Hunt" Macaskill
Appearing suddenly from the depths of the dark continent this season, the affable South African has shown the ability to drink quite a lot and complain about hangovers. A few good knocks with the bat suggest that he could be ready to come alive for the tournament; as the only Springbok in the Southerners cricket club he may feel he has something to prove.

James Moss
" In the Safari (or whichever) Bar we stand, tequila slammers in our hand…" - if you see a bunch of pissed-up cricketers standing in a pub declaiming these lines, the chances are that in the midst of them will be the man whose taste for tequila is legendary, James Moss. Kiwi Mossy has had a quiet season, with appearances being few and far between, which suggests that he has been saving himself for the CM6s: expect explosive pace with the ball (not necessarily in the right direction) and big swings with the bat.

Corin James
The only Pom to travel as part of the Southerners this season, Corin is famed for bowling an 18 ball over at the start of a game last season - his excuse was that he hadn’t got pissed the night before and so was able to see the wicket too clearly. Hopefully multiple nights on the piss should bring him up to speed for this tournament. Comparisons have been made with Bob Willis, but that may have more to do with his curly hair than any bowling prowess or love of woolly jumpers.

Prashant Nandha
The Fijian quick who is on his fifth trip to Chiang Mai jetting in from the land of the Rising Sun. A friendly character nicknamed "pompous" not for any indication of a haughty attitude but for the name of the sports bag he turned up with one night to cricket training at the British Club to howls of laughter from his team mates. A player who possesses loads of natural cricketing ability, most of which Pompy has successfully hidden for his entire career with the Southerners. Always in the thick of late night activities with that trademark broad grin on his face. Almost impossible to get out of bed in time for those dreaded early starts at Chiang Mai.

David Kenwery
This is dk's fourth Chiang Mai tour of duty but the first one since 2001. Has been resident in Puerto Rico since 2000 trying to get the skytrain built in San Juan. Rumour has it that he has found the "chicas bonitas" and the food (in particular the rice and beans) in Puerto Rico much to his liking since leaving Thailand. dk has gone on to international representative status by debuting for the powerhouse St Martin national team versus Puerto Rico when one guy was refused a visa into the US. He made a glorious 0 not out that day and further performances on par with that effort can be expected.

Leigh Whitten
Leigh took the Bangkok cricket and social scenes by storm a few years back winning friends and influencing people with his inimitable persuasive style. At a pinch he will trot out his sales pitches of Jerry Maguire and "show me the money". A true stayer in the late night stakes, on the cricket field Leigh's talents have in the past gone underestimated and unappreciated. Funny how it only takes one ball for it to all end in tears.

Pete Sheehan
This brawny product of Broken Hill arrived in the early days of Southerners in the mid 90's when our side was merely a rag tag collection of soused expat reprobates who did not know which end of a bat to hold from the other. And in the time since, nothing much has changed. Affable Pete personifies his years of cricketing nous by positioning himself in the closest fielding possie to the esky. Watch out for his deceptive leggies that have been known to ruin many a promising innings. If you are not careful Pete will then ruin your beer in the bar telling you repeated yarns about it!