“Sweet sixteen” - a good age to arrive at even for
something as ordinary as a cricket tournament! A sure testament to the
popularity of a successful event program, as well as the pleasure enjoyed by
participants in visiting and revisiting Chiang Mai. It will be the sixteenth
birthday of Chiang Mai’s longest running international sports event, one
of the world’s most popular six-a-side-cricket tournaments, when Chiang
Mai Sixes takes place from Monday March 31 to Saturday April 5 at Chiengmai
Gymkhana Club.
The
Ladies Challenge teams, both seen here in 2002 team attire, will be
continuing their ‘grudge’ match-up, with the local Chiang Mai Chassies
hoping to repeat their victory of last year over the visiting World Women
Dixie Belles. (Photo courtesy of Geoff Thompson)
For the 28 teams in this year’s 16th Chiang Mai
International Cricket Sixes tournament, the event’s social /holiday side
is equally as popular a part of the program as the sporting competition
itself. The Sixes has over the years developed into more of a “festival”
event than simply a cricket tournament.
Mike Gatting, the former England test match captain who
played here in 2001 and 2002, understood and applauded the concept, “This
tournament is about making friends,” he said, “and I’ve enjoyed myself
immensely.”
Teams that participate from many parts of the globe are
very likely to be returning for their fifth or sixth visit to Chiang Mai. In
fact, 5 visits is the average among this year’s teams, ranging from 3
teams that have played in all 16 tournaments, to this being the first time
for another five.
The Sixes veterans include the Wombats from Australia
(who last year reached their very first final in sixteen enjoyable years
when they were runners-up in the Sixes Spoon competition). They are matched
in number of appearances (only!) by the Drifters from England who have in
the past won top honours with the Sixes Cup, and who this year take the
field with a local bar sponsorship as the ‘Stairway to Heaven Drifters’!
Darjeeling CC from Dubai are the other founder member and
past winners of both the Sixes’ Bowl and the Plate.
First timers welcomed this year will be 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.
Medals
and Ice Cream go down well with young players in the 3rd Sawasdee Cricket
Cup. Here Eric Little, coaching coordinator of the Chiang Mai Schools
Cricket Alliance dishes out the ices to a team of Thai school cricketers.
(Photo courtesy of Geoff Thompson)
All in all, teams representing 14 countries will be
gathering in Chiang Mai for this year’s Sixes - apart from regular entries
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 (otherwise known as
Wombatland).
The Chiang Mai interest in tournament honours is carried
in the Cup/Bowl/Plate competitions by two teams. The local tobacco industry
team comes up with a new name for itself each year. Several of the team hail
from Zimbabwe and have this year called themselves rather poignantly, Out of
Africa. There’s also CMW Warriors whose local affiliation is with Chiang
Mai Oriental Collection Co. Both teams are expected to give a good account
of themselves in the competition.
In the more social cricketing Spoon competition, Chiang
Mai is again represented by two teams. The Irish Pub has a team calling
themselves “The U.N. Irish Pub - Gang Green” with perhaps only one
‘Oirishman’ among them. The Gymkhana Cavaliers this year have begun to
take on a Sawasdee Cricket look, with several Sawasdee coaching volunteers
among their ranks. Boasting two out of the six teams in the Spoon
competition, there is surely hope that Chiang Mai could bring home the
ladle.
There are in fact several competitions at the Chiang Mai
Sixes - the Sixes Cup of course is the original and still ‘main’ event.
That will be defended this year by last year’s winners Lords Taverners
from Perth, Australia, who also celebrate their tenth year in the
tournament. In fact 22 of the 28 teams begin the tournament competing for
Cup honours.
However, after Round 1 they are divided up - top teams
into the Cup Division, runners-up compete for the Bowl, and the rest
play-off for the Plate.
In addition to this, the Sixes caters for the more
socially minded, and older cricketers, with the 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 the week, from April 1 to 5, a
separate 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, softball 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 as
well. The 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’s Challenge’ Cup is played
for, as the best of two matches between two teams made up of guest
‘star’ professional and ex-professional cricketers. Last year a team of
Sri Lankans, including ex-test match stars Amal Silva and Roshan Mahanama,
won the Challenge Cup, and as we went to press it looked likely they will be
returning again this year thanks to Sri Lankan Airlines’ support.
Other ‘stars’ expected this year include Tom Hogan
and Trevor Chappell of Australia, Kenny Jackson from South Africa, and Kim
Barnett of England.
One other addition to this year’s event will be a
‘hardball’ cricket match between two representative teams of players
drawn from schools in the junior, Sawasdee Cricket program. This is intended
as an exhibition of the progress being made in the long march to make
cricket a Thai sport - as graduates of the Sawasdee program are introduced
to the full adult sport of cricket. Most of this entire program reaches its
climax with finals matches on Saturday April 5.
On the social side of the Chiang Mai Sixes, a pretty full
program is once again planned. There’s a week of organised social evenings
including a teams’ pub & restaurant ‘crawl’ to patronise
establishments who support the Sixes with advertising, a Star’s Forum
night when the pro cricketers tell what it’s like playing at the top
level, a Quiz night, and even a Fancy Dress party catered with four whole
barbecued pigs ... known as a Pig Picking.
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.
Crickets start at 8:30 a.m. 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 p.m. Entry to watch the Sixes at Chiengmai Gymkhana
Club’s grounds is free of charge, but please note, there is security
screening in operation at the Sixes this year, so please be prepared for a
check at the gate.
