25th Chiang Mai Sixes see great start by Thai Thevada

The San Miguel Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes began with the traditional reception at the Pornping Hotel on Saturday evening. After heavy overnight rain, the round robin group stage of the tournament started on time with a convincing win by the Floggers and Robbers from Zimbabwe over the local Stuffed Beavers. 2011 Plate winners the Zoombar Drifters’ score of 71, followed up by good fielding, produced a comfortable win over the local Gymkhana Cavaliers - the Drifters are one of the three teams to have competed in all 25 Sixes.  A local Chiang Mai battle saw the Irish Pub held to 41 by 2011 Bowl winners Thai Thevada, whose great catching by Jun and Pong and 2 clean bowled wickets, was followed by excellent batting to see the game won after only 3 overs. However, the young Thai lads need to watch their occasional sloppy fielding. Darjeeling from the UAE, another team that has attended all the Sixes, made a great start against the Australian Clifton Hill Tomcats, with tour virgin Brian Sholtze retired on 31 and 88 scored in total.  Similarly great fielding saw them defend their score easily. An all- Australian encounter saw the Clifton Hill Straycats, despite only having 35 to beat, engage in some spirited running to beat the Black Swans. 2009 and 2010 Cup winners from Bangladesh, the Bashundhara Cricketeers, restricted the Chiang Mai Warriors to 38 with tight fielding and had no trouble winning. The Darwin Dilettantes from Australia easily overcame Blythswood from England and, as they won in 3 overs, picked up a vital bonus point to enhance their chance of doing well in their group. A very even contest saw the Australian Bangkok Postels beat the Taranaki Taverners from New Zealand. The English Armadillos’ impressive 79 proved way too much for Almar from South Africa to get near, thus earning the winners a bonus point. The Awali Taverners from Bahrain managed to score 63 which Sa Pa from Vietnam tried hard to match, but to no avail.  In another all-Australian battle, the ever friendly Yarrambat, making a very welcome return to Chiang Mai, just could not reach the boundary enough times as they attempted to eclipse the very respectable 75-2 target set by the Lords Taverners. However, they certainly hit the Boundary Bar very effectively afterwards. A local English derby between two past Cup winners saw the Surrey Vagrants hold the Gloucestershire Gipsies to 45-2, and then go on to win after boundaries in the final over. The Greek Ios Malakas’ total of 51 proved too much of a gap for the Stuffed Beavers to fill, and in the final game of the day the Tokyo Dingbats beat the Floggers and Robbers. 

All proceeds from the Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes go towards promoting the game at the junior level in Thailand. The action continues daily this week from 8.30 or 9.00am until dusk with the finals on Saturday 7th April.  Entry to the delightful 114-year-old Chiengmai Gymkhana Club is free and a large variety of excellent food and drinks are available. Free buses will be provided throughout the day from central Chiang Mai to get you to and from the Sixes - for more information, check out www.chiangmaisixes.com.