It's Just Not Cricket...
By Geoff Thompson

Well, some purist supporters of the five day version of cricket might argue that 'Sixes' cricket is not quite, er... their cup of tea. But at the 15th Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes and the 3rd Sixes Junior Cup, spectators will find that the event this year has plenty of exciting cricket and a lot more besides!

This year's 'Chiang Mai Sixes ' will be held, as usual, within the pastoral and normally peaceful grounds of the 104 year old Chiengmai Gymkhana Club, for six days from Monday April 1 to Saturday April 6th. It's a feast of fast action cricket and plenty of sociable fun. With 30 teams scheduled to take part in the adult event, this will be the biggest Sixes' competition ever held in Chiang Mai. Add to that the third staging of the Junior Cup tournamant over 5 days (April 2-6), in which at least 10 local schools are expected to compete. Then there's the traditional Ladies Challenge (best of three matches last year), several evening events including a Pig Picking & Fancy Dress party, and Star's Forum, and the usual sprinkling of international guest star cricketers to liven up the proceedings!

For sports fans, the scheduling of round robin, and then knock out matches accommodating all those teams, will mean up to 14 fast turn around games from 8:30 in the morning until around 5:30PM every day. Teams in the Sixes tournament this year are entered from 10 different countries including, Australia (8 teams), UK (7), China, Philippines, Dubai, Bahrain, South Africa, and Afghanistan (1 each), Malaysia (2), and Thailand (7). One of the main goals of the Chiang Mai Sixes is to encourage friendship through the sport of cricket. The organizers are very excited therefore to have been able to invite a team from war torn Afghanistan, and to help a little in the reconstruction of normal life there. The team, representing the Afghanistan Cricket Federation, will be playing their first tournament outside their country since the end of the bombing campaign. At time of going to press, the appearance of the Afghan team is still dependent upon finding sponsorship to fund their travel and participation. Help is needed. (Contact Tournament Director, Maurice Bromley at e-mail maurice@loxinfo.co.th, or phone to #053-490-052.)

Teams at the Sixes play for an array of trophies that allow for a mixture of cricketing talent. At the top end , the best teams win through the early rounds to compete on Finals day (Saturday) for the Chiang Mai Sixes Cup. Those missing out on the Cup, play in the Bowl competition, or the Plate. And for purely social cricketers, who nevertheless like to compete rather than just talk about it, there's the Sixes Spoon trophy. This year too there will be the chance in every match for players to win cash prizes in The Castrol Big Six challenge. Any player hitting one of three Castrol advertising signs around the boundary, with a six on the fly, during the course of a match, wins a cash prize. Not as easy as it sounds, we are assured !

For the school children playing on an adjacent field in the 3rd Sixes Junior Cup, this is the final tournament of their school year. It has grown out of a program to introduce a junior version of cricket into local Thai and international schools. This program, funded up until now by the Chiang Mai Sixes participants, has had remarkable success, with some hundreds of Thai school children playing and enjoying cricket. Beginning with just 4 local schools as founding members, the Chiang Mai Schools Cricket Alliance now boasts 20 member schools. This project, begun by the Sixes, and tirelessly driven forward by two local retirees Peter Dawson and Eric Little, looks destined for national success if help from the Asian Cricket Council, and proper sponsorship can be secured.

The Chiang Mai Sixes would not be complete without its annual guest list of international cricket stars. In the past, some great names have played with the teams at the Sixes. They have included from Australia, the great fast bowler Dennis Lillee, as well as Damien Fleming, Tom Hogan, and Geoff Lawson. England test match players Mike Gatting, Neil Foster, John Lever and Dermot Reeve. Rumash Ratnayake, Roy Dias from Sri Lanka, Clive Rice and Graeme Pollock of South Africa, Pakistan internationals Mansoor Akhtar and Asif Mujtaba and West Indies great Alvin Kallicharan. As we went to print, this year's stars were still being finalised, but already Mike Gatting, Dermot Reeve, and Tom Hogan were confirmed.

"This tournament is about making friends, and I've enjoyed myself immensely", said ex-England captain Mike Gatting after taking part for the first time last year. And his description of what has become one of the world's most popular amateur cricket events, was just about spot on. For spectators, admission to the ground at Thailand's oldest sports club, Gymkhana Club, is free of charge. There's shaded spectator seating, and plenty of drinks, food, programmes and souvenirs on sale.

See related web site:

• Chiangmai Cricket Sixes Web Site