PETER CUMMINS

CHIANG MAI : The second day of the 21st San Miguel Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes, being played among 36 teams at the beautiful 110-year old Chiengmai Gymkhana Club ground, started with a blast.

Massive hitting by former Aussie star Trevor Chappell and Ravindra Pushpakumara, of the Warathais and the Tokyo Wombats teams, respectively, had balls sailing high over the press stand, fortunately landing on the roof of the cricket nerve centre, managed by two of the beautiful cricket-loving wives, Renita Bromley and Norma Gough who looked askance at the flimsy rattan roof. But, it held!

Meantime, the late afternoon matches on Sunday, which finished in a Gobi-like storm of swirling leaves and low visibility, saw a close finish between the Surrey Avos (83/2) and the Floggers and Robbers (80/3), likewise the Udon Thani Richmond Steakies (55/0; W. Leigh Whitten, 29 n.o.), just holding off the Wombats (53/0).

The last game, where the players almost needed miners head-lamp lights to peer through the swirling foliage, even produced the first day's highest score: the Stuffed Beavers (93/4) demolished Blythswood (67/0).

In the opening round of Day Two, Armadillos (46/0) def. Romany (42/1); the Warathais (74/0) soundly defeated the Tokyo Wombats thanks to Chappell's efforts as reported above. Yet another deadly struggle saw the Tokyo Wombats (66/2) beat the Taranaki Taverners (65/2).

Mike Maher's Perth Postels 68/0 , Brett Baston 32 ret.) defeated the Silver Stars (62/0). A very close encounter took place between the home-towners the Gymkhana Cavaliers (51/0) in defeating a determined Wombats (50/0), with a similar close game between IOS Malakos (50/2), one run ahead of Blythswood (49/1); the Shanghai Hot Dogs (84/2, Justin Fish/Martin Hill, 30 n.o.) defeated Lord's Taverners (80/2).

By mid-afternoon, the Gloucestershire Gipsies had racked up the day's second-highest score, an even 100 (Stephen Pope, Dean Morrison 30 n.o.) beat Almar which also scored highly (85/2, Terry Eksteen, 29 n.o.); the colourfully-named Irish Pub Gang Green (57/0) just scraped in ahead of the Silver Stars (56/0).

The Perth Postels entering the fray again (96/0, Sauran Chatterjee, 32 n.o., Brett Baston knocked another 30 n.o.), outplayed the Awali Taverners (47/1).

Then came the equal-best score of the day, with the Surrey Avos (104/0, Graham Crawford, 30 n.o.) inflicting a crushing defeat on the Sugar Shack Postels (42/0).

And still the close games persisted, with the just-arrived Cricketeers (52/0) beating the Drifters (51/1).

The Southerners (43/0 beat the Shanghai Hotdogs (41/2). It seemed, however, that Surrey was becoming the buzz-word around the Gymkhana ground. For it was the Surrey Vagrants, equalling the Surrey Avos score (104/0, Mark Higgs, 30 n.o., Steve Naylor, 32 n.o.) thrashing Yorkshire Puddings (35/0).