This year the cricket world's most popular amateur tournament of its kind, celebrates a 15" consecutive year with what is expected to be the biggest event yet. The six a side tournament is scheduled to run for 6 days from April 1 - 6, 2002. As usual, the normally sleepy, pastoral setting of Chiang Mai's 104 year old Gymkhana Club in northern Thailand, will again spring into life as the tournament venue.

Over 300 cricketers, friends and family members, are expected to descend on Chiang Mai, with the record 30 teams scheduled to take part this year. New club teams apply from all over the world, and are invited to the event each year (6 new teams this year), but the majority taking part have become regular annual participants. The teams this year will come from the UK (8), Australia (8), Thailand (7), Malaysia (2), and Bahrain, China, Dubai, Philippines,and South Africa (1 team apiece).

Running in tandem with the main event, on an adjacent field, will be the 3d Sixes Junior Cup. This competition for local school teams is part of a successful on going programme started 2 years ago and funded entirely by donations from Chiang Mai Sixes's participants, to introduce a junior form of cricket into Thai schools.

Chiang Mai Sixes always attracts a handful of guest stars who play with the club teams, and usually enliven the already active social scene.One star it is hoped will be returning this year is former England & Middlesex captain, Mike Gatting who captured the flavour of the annual event after playing last year, said Gatt: "this tournament is about making friends, and I've enjoyed myself immensely!".