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Outstanding Thailand crowned
ACC women’s premier champions
Thailand’s women took the ACC Women’s
Championship title again this year.
Richard Lockwood
Thailand’s women cricketers have won another major competition as they
beat China by seven wickets at the Royal Chiang Mai Golf Course Ground
to complete a perfect record of five wins out of five and to be
deservedly crowned as the first winners of the ACC Women’s Premier. This
is a major achievement as this was a new competition played by the six
leading teams in ACC women’s cricket over a longer distance and so
Thailand have now won competitions in 40-over and 25-over formats, as
well as also making a name for themselves on the world stage in the ICC
World Twenty20 Qualifier in Ireland. More than ever they now deserve to
be recognized as one of the major teams in the world of women’s cricket
and they will now have another chance to play in an ICC qualifying
tournament.
Thailand and China had both won their first four matches in the ACC
Women’s Premier 2014 which had been played on the three idyllic grounds
that Chiang Mai is lucky to possess, so the last match of the
competition between the best two teams was expected to bring the
tournament to a fitting conclusion. In the event Thailand dominated the
match even though China’s openers Sun Mengyao and Zhang Mei shared a
steady partnership of 39 and their second wicket did not fall until the
score had reached 57.
But Thailand bowled with such an impressive level of accuracy that only
18 runs came from the first ten overs without any extras being conceded
and the wickets began to fall. Sornnarin Tippoch took two for 16 in her
eight overs, Nattakan Chantam and Ratanaporn Padunglerd also claimed two
wickets, while Chanida Sutthiruang and Nattaya Boochatham conceded less
than two runs an over. China were restricted to only one boundary in
their entire innings as they were dismissed for exactly 100 in the 39th
over.
Thailand were looking to be positive in their response as Nattakan
Chantam was promoted to open the innings and she immediately cut
off-spinner Zhou Haijie for four behind point. She then pulled China’s
fastest bowler for six on to the nearby golf course and followed with an
off-drive for four and hit another boundary off the leg-spinner Han Lili
to race to 27.
Although she was then stumped with the total on 33, she had done her job
and taken the match away from China. Nattaya Boochatham came to the
crease at number and quietly made an unbeaten 23 to steer Thailand to
victory to confirm her reputation as a high quality player in the longer
form of the game.
Nattaya Boochatham played
3 masterful innings in this competition and could easily have been given
Batter of the Tournament although that was awarded to Hong Kong player
Yip Sze Wan.
Naremol Chaiwai also made 27, and did a good job in
opening the innings without having the power of Nattakan or the finesse
of Nattaya. It was appropriate that captain fantastic Sornnarin Tippoch
scored the winning runs as Thailand reached 101 for 3 to win by seven
wickets.
Nattakan Chantam was named player of the match, Sornnarin Tippoch bowler
of the tournament and Chanida Sutthiruang player of the tournament as
Thailand dominated the awards ceremony. Hong Kong’s Yip Sze Wan was
chosen as batter of the tournament but this could have easily have been
given to Nattaya Boochatham as she played three masterful innings in
this competition.
Thailand had been surprise winners of the ACC Women’s Championship last
year but this time they had proved themselves to be the best team in the
competition by a considerable margin and they are now ready to move on
to even better things.
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Afghanistan develops cricket relationships in Thailand
Traidhos President Lynda
Rolph, and David Buck, Director of Cricket at Traidhos Three-Generation
Community for Learning along with Marketing Team Leader Nuj Nirunvichaya
welcomed Afghanistan Members of Parliament and officials from the
Afghanistan Twenty 20 Cricket Federation as they arrived in Chiang Mai to
investigate how international friendship can be developed through cricket
relationships. The members of Parliament are interested in education
opportunities in Thailand, especially for girls.
Japanese footballers offer
scholarships to Thai students
Toyota Motors and members of the Nagoya Grampus Eight, a Japanese
Association Football club playing in the J League awarded 100,000 baht
in scholarships to Chiang Mai University. Here Mr. Kazumasa Kume,
Manager of Nagoya Grampus Eight (3rd Left) presented the 100,000 baht
check to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Siriwut Buranapin, Dean of Faculty of Business
Administration, Chiang Mai University (2nd Right) for the project
“Improving the Quality of life and scholarship students”. The check was
presented as the team travelled to practice at Alpine Golf Resort Chiang
Mai in early February.
Prem student wins golf
scholarship to the USA
After viewing his tournament victory in April 2013 in Washington DC,
where he won the Junior World Qualifier, college scouts later flew to
Las Vegas to watch Prem Tinsulanonda International School Grade 12
student Chayutpol (Smart) Kittirattanapaiboon play. His six years of
hard work with Director of Golf, Spike Collier, at the Three-Generation
Golf Academy (TGGA), has paid dividends, as the University of Hawaii, a
NCAA Division 1 school, awarded him a golf scholarship of nearly 50% to
play for their golf team and continue his studies after he graduates
from Prem in June. Golf Academy Team Elite member, Tapat (Es)
Wittiyakom, who graduated from Prem last year received an academic
scholarship at one of the top engineering schools in the USA - Rose
Hulman Institute of Technology. Due to his high-level golf skills he was
instantly accepted on their golf team and currently ranked as their
second seed player.
Lanna tested by Juniors but go top of the league
Formot from Mae On returned from the
National Youth Championships to play a quality innings against the men
Richard Lockwood
Chiang Mai Lanna Cricket Club were given a tough test by their
junior team who were full of confidence following their success in the
National Youth Championships at Lopburi but the seniors achieved their
third victory of the season to go to the top of the Chiang Mai Senior
League.
Lanna Seniors won the toss and chose to bat on a lovely sunny morning
after players from both sides had travelled out to Prem to allow the
Thailand Women to practice at Gymkhana. Father and son Richard and Simon
Cowles opened the batting but Cowles senior who was visiting from New
Zealand suffered the disappointment of being caught behind for nought 16
years after his last innings when he had scored 96.
Cher was back to his best as he bowled an excellent opening spell but it
was Chanchai who took the second wicket as Chris Coombes also edged
behind. Martin Cardno counter-attacked with three fours in an over but
was bowled by Cher as a short ball shot along the ground. Richard Cowles
was also bowled by Cher for who finished with figures of 3 for 17 and
when Adam Green was run out for 3 Lanna were in trouble at 57 for 5 and
the boys were sensing another victory.
But there is no substitute for experience as Pete Warner and Richard
Young came together with years and years of playing club cricket in
England. Young finally missed a straight ball from leg-spinner Bunchuai
who took a second wicket as Tim Jones was out second ball to leave Lanna
on 82 for 7.
Warner was content to push the ball in to the gaps and to wait for the
bad ball as he had faith in Lanna’s long batting line-up and he was
proved correct as Paul Johnson hit 16 from just 8 balls with a six and
two fours and Nithi hit a six and a four in his 15 as he helped his
captain add 45 for the ninth wicket.
Warner was last man out after being run out for 27 from 50 balls as he
gave the boys a master-class in how to build an innings without any
risk. He had come to the wicket at 50 for 4 and 97 runs were added while
he was at the crease but a total of 147 was by no means a winning score
if the Juniors batting well.
After Chairman David Holt had provided another splendid lunch, Bunchuai
faced first ball after being named batsman of the tournament and also
having scored 48 against the women on the previous day but cricket is a
great leveller and Paul Johnson bowled him an unplayable delivery which
crashed into his stumps.
Nought for one but Formot now had a chance to make a name for himself
after often batting down the order in recent matches. Formot is a young
batsman from Mae On who has always looked a player of high class and
once he had successfully kept out a few balls he began to unleash some
wonderful cover-drives as he and Chanchai brought up the fifty in the
11th over.
Chanchai’s concentration wavered after the first drinks break and he was
bowled by an in-swinger from Tim Jones who had been unable to control
his line but the bowler then took another wicket next ball in exactly
the same fashion. Cher now joined Formot and the total mounted quickly
as the boundaries continued to flow as Nithi bowled erratically and
Richard Young struggled with his off-spin.
With the score on 95 for 3 after 17 overs, only 52 more runs were
required but Young again showed the virtue of experience by reverting to
much more accurate medium pace and Cher was bowled for a swashbuckling
23. Por didn’t last long but with Formot still at the crease Lanna
Juniors still had a chance of victory although Martin Cardno was now
bowling straight and full and Formot was finding him difficult to get
away. His patience finally ran out and he was bowled as he played across
the line but his innings of 47 from 64 balls with 7 fours had been
extremely impressive after he had come to the crease to face the second
ball.
The end of the innings came very quickly as the last six wickets fell
for just six runs as Lanna Juniors missed the extra batting strength
that Choo or Boom could have given them. The senior team’s victory by 32
runs may look fairly comfortable but the comparative scores after 20
overs (seniors 108 for 8, juniors 111 for 5) tell a very different
story.
The adults had come out on top on this occasion and their three
victories may well be enough to win the league but the juniors have
given an extremely good account of themselves this season and Formot had
shown with his innings that along with Bunchuai, Cher and Chanchai, he
was more than capable of playing for Thailand in the future.
The seniors then spent a couple of hours in the tranquil setting of Prem
drinking beers and reflecting on another successful weekend for Chiang
Mai Lanna Cricket Club. The boys and girls of the junior team had
celebrated their success at the National Youth Championship with a party
at the Sukontha Buffet on the Saturday evening and now the men were
within touching distance of winning the league trophy for themselves.
For further information on all local cricket please look at
www.lannacricket.org
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FIM Motocross Grand Prix Returns to Thailand
FIM Motocross Grand Prix will be at Sri
Racha Racetrack March 7 -9, 2014.
Following the success of last year’s inaugural round at Sri Racha, less
than two hours from Bangkok’s main airport, the high-flying, hardcore
FIM Motocross World Championship (MXGP) circus will again be thrilling
tens of thousands of local spectators as well as a massive global TV
audience as Grand Prix motorcycle racing comes to Thailand for the
second time on 7-9th March 2014.
The Motorcycle Sports Authority of Thailand (MSAT) has more than three
decades of experience in motocross, during which time it developed a
thriving national championship and many courses all over the Kingdom.
Local motocross events commonly attract 5-10,000 spectators, so the
sport already has a large, knowledgeable audience in Thailand.
The 2013 MXGP championship reached 962 million in addition, thousands of
motocross fans from all over Asia poured into Thailand to watch the
event live. The largest group of travelling fans are likely to be from
Indonesia. Irsam Soetarto, of EW702SPORTS and Aneka Kartika Tours
brought a group of 19 with him in 2013 and will bring more with him this
year.
“It was a privilege to watch those amazing crossers in action at such
close range. It literally blew us away and we had a fantastic time on
and off track,” he explained. “This year we expect to bring around 40
people from many of Indonesia’s major cities, such as Surabaya, Bandung
and Jakarta. It’s a real highlight for our year of travel and events and
so much fun mixing with fans from Thailand and all over the world.
Tickets are on sale at http://www.thaiticketmajor
.com/sport/sport-detail. php?sid=2201
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Wichai Wittaya Bilingual School Mini-marathon for charity
Proceeds to Friends in Need (of Pa) Volunteers Foundation
Chiang Mai Mail reporters
The Wichai Wittaya Bilingual School held their 9th annual Mini
Marathon for charity on February 16, 2014 at 6 a.m. with racers vying
for the Royal Trophy of HRH Princess Soamsawali.
The race raised funds for the Friends in Need (of Pa) Volunteers
Foundation of the Thai Red Cross as well as promoting exercise, promote
health care and encourage young people to give back to their communities
in productive ways.
The competition was divided in Juniors, Adults, and Seniors categories
with Sornram Sukngam of Ego Running Team taking the Overall Men’s title
and Rachada Tortrakulkiri, age 14 of Wat Don Chan (Ton Yang) Team
winning Over All Womens. The oldest runner was Bornie Breneton age 72
and the youngest runner was Raengjai Kala, age 8. All runners received
souvenirs from the event. While the top four winners in the Walking,
Running, Riding and Wheelchair categories all won trophies. All
finishers received certificates from Wichai Wittaya Bilingual School for
their participation.
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