It will be the sixteenth birthday for Chiang Mai's longest running international sports event, one of the world's most popular amateur cricket tournaments, when the Chiang Mai Sixes takes place from Monday March 31 to Saturday April 5 at Chiengmai Gymkhana Club. The "Super Sixes" as they are coming to be known by those who play the game, offer up an annual festival of off-the-field fun and a packed schedule of fast-paced six-a-side cricket matches.

In these 16th Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes, 28 teams representing 14 different countries have entered. Apart from the bulk of the teams coming from Australia , England and Thailand, there are teams from China, Bahrain, Dubai, Greece, Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Africa, Spain, Wales, Zimbabwe, and the just marginally mythical Kingdom of Bullengarook (home of one of the tournament's three ‘founding-member’ teams, the Wombats). The other teams back for their 16th year out of sixteen are the Drifters from England (winners in the past of the Sixes’Cup), who this year appear with local bar sponsorship as the Stairway To Heaven Drifters. And Darjeeling CC from Dubai in the U.A.E., who have won both the Sixes’ Bowl and Plate trophies in previous appearances. While most participating teams have played the Chiang Mai Sixes several times, each year new teams are invited to compete. This year's newboys include Javea Wanderers from Spain, Lamma CC from Hong Kong, Worcester Police and Yes-No-Wait-Sorries both from England, and a ‘sub-division’ of the Darjeeling team called the DCC Bulls Brothers.

Each year a number of professional and ex- professional cricketers play as guest ‘stars’ with some of the teams - tournament rules allow "one current first class or retired international player" per team. Thanks to the sponsorship of Sri Lankan Airlines, this year ‘stars’ include a group of Sri Lankans led by ex-test opener and wicketkeeper Amal Silva who scored a century in his country's first ever test match victory (vs India in 1985). Joining him will be two other famous Sri Lankan test match opening batsmen, Sidath Wettimuny and from more recent times, Roshan Mahanama. Wettimuny played in the very first Sri Lankan test teams in the 1980's and famously scored 190 at Lords on their first tour to England in 1984. He has subsequently served as an international match referee and more recently as Chairman of Selectors for Sri Lanka. Mahanama is perhaps best remembered for his 225 scored against India in a drawn test in Colombo in 1997. He and Sanath Jayasuriya (who scored 340) put on 576 for the second wicket, a world record partnership for any wicket, in a Sri Lankan first innings total of 952 (the 4th highest test innings score ever). Silva and Mahanama although playing in tests almost a decade apart, have in common that they both have at one time opened for Sri Lanka with Wettimuny. Also expected from Sri Lanka is B.C. Cooray, former international test umpire who replaces his compatriot K.T Francis who was on last year's Chiang Mai Sixes Umpiring Panel. Making up the Sri Lankan party are former first class pro's and Sixes regulars Lanthra Fernando and Hemel Mendis, and first timer Carman Mapatuna.

Additional ‘star’ performers are expected to include Tom Hogan one time Aussie test spin bowler and another Chiang Mai regular. Also from Australia, Trevor Chappell , youngest of the three Chappell brother who played for their country. As we went to press, Kenny Jackson was making valient efforts to make another appearance in Chiang Mai from South Africa, and from England, current Gloucestershire county captain and one-time test batsman Kim Barnett will play with the Yes-No-Wait-Sorries team. Also expected from England is former county player and now coach of Gloucestershire Andy Stovold, who when he retired back in 1990 had amassed over 17,000 first class runs to his name.

There are in fact several competitions going on at the Chiang Mai Sixes - the Sixes Cup of course is the original and still ‘main’ event. It will be defended by last year's winners, Lords Taverners from Perth, Australia, who also celebrate their tenth year in the tournament. After a Round 1 play-off, teams are divided up - top teams into the Cup Division, runners-up compete for the Bowl, and the rest play-off for the Sixes’ Plate. In addition to this, the Sixes caters for more socially minded, and older cricketers, with its Spoon Competition, in which 6 teams are entered and play round-robin for two berths in the final. That, however is only the main course. During Sixes week, from April 1 to 5, a seperate and complete additional tournament will be played, on two small adjacent fields, for the 4th Chiang Mai Sawasdee Cricket Cup. This event is played among local primary school teams and is the result of a year-round program to introduce cricket into Thai schools. That program is run by an independent body called Chiang Mai Schools Cricket Alliance (CMSCA) and now has about 40 schools playing a junior, soft-ball form of cricket known in Thailand as Sawasdee Cricket. The CMSCA sprang into life funded initially by Chiang Mai Sixes’ participants who still ‘do their bit’, although more official Asian Cricket Council (ACC) support now helps push development work as well. The Chiang Mai Sawasdee Cup is the Chiang Mai Sixes season-ending contribution to the junior program.

If those two tournaments are not enough, the Chiang Mai Sixes cricket festival also offers a best-of-three-matches, Ladies Challenge competition. This is hard fought each year between a local team of mostly cricketing wives calling themselves the Chiang Mai Chassies vs a 'rest-of-world' team of visiting ladies known as the World Women's Dixie Belles. Also this year, as a first time experiment, there will be a six-a-side Over-65's match between some Local Oldies vs a Wombats Select oldies team - if they survive it may catch on ! Each year too a ‘Star' Challenge’ Cup is played for as the best of two matches between two teams made up of the guest ‘star’ professional and ex-professional cricketers.In this match-up the Sri Lankan Airlines pro's are expected to defend the trophy they won last year vs a ‘Rest-of-World’ pro team.

Finally, this year's festival of cricket in Chiang Mai will present another ‘first’ - a ‘hardball’ cricket game between representatives of Thai schools in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. After Sawasdee Cricket, junior Thai cricketers are ‘graduating’ to the regular ‘hardball’ version of the sport. The Bangkok vs Chiang Mai match is intended as an exhibition to show sponsors and potential sponsors of Thai cricket development the progress now being made in Thai schools in both cities. It will be an opportunity also for Mr. Ashraful Huq, the newly elected Chief Executive of the Asian Cricket Council who will be visiting the Chiang Mai event, to see for himself how development is progressing.

On the social side of the Chiang Mai Sixes, a full program is always planned. A week of organised social evenings includes a Star's Forum night when the pro's are invited to tell what it's like playing cricket at the top level. There's a Quiz night, and even a Fancy Dress party hosted by Chiengmai Gymkhana Club and catered with four whole barbecued pigs ...known as a Pig Picking, courtesy of local tobacco company STEC. Meanwhile, back at the cricket ground (Gymkhana Club), beer, ice-cold, is the refreshment of choice for many teams during and after a hot sporting day. And this year's Sixes official and very popular beer sponsor is Heineken. A full menu of soft drinks and alcoholic beverages is served all day at the Sixes’ Bar including the excellent Boncafe coffee, the Sixes’ cola of choice Coke, and the children's favourite Milo. Snacks are sold courtesy of a sponsorship from market leader Frito Lay, and Northern Farms will have their usual stand selling tasty cooked lunches, ice creams and more. There are also Sixes’ souvenirs and tournament programs on sale. Cricket starts at 8:30AM every morning with a full schedule of 13 to 14 matches each day (the average Sixes match lasts about 40 minutes), finishing around 5:30 PM. Entry to watch the Sixes at Chiengmai Gymkhana Club's grounds is free of charge, Please note, security screening will be in operation at the Sixes this year, so the organisers ask for cooperation with checking at the entrance to the cricket and other events.