The weekend of 23rd and 24th February saw some highly entertaining cricket played at Chiang Mai Gymkhana Club as the hosts staged a 20-over tournament involving two touring sides from Patong in Phuket and from Pattaya.
Visiting players from Bangkok who had been playing in a match between Parrots and Southerners at Prem were also involved so it was a festival atmosphere at the ground with some of the best players in Thailand on show, and a splendid occasion was capped by the home side convincingly winning their two matches to claim the title and to give another indication of the growing strength of cricket in Chiang Mai.
The opening match was played on Saturday afternoon between Gymkhana Club and Pattaya and the home side’s batting was at its destructive best as a total of 237 for six was made in 20 overs. Richard Cowles led the way with a bright and breezy 28 while young Anim played the anchor role with 31 from 35 balls as he and Asif shared a century partnership for the second wicket.
Asif played an exceptional innings of 87 from 33 balls with 13 fours and 4 sixes but almost unbelievably he was out-hit by Liam Woolls who reached his fifty from just 17 balls with 3 fours and 6 sixes.
The Pattaya bowlers and fielders were run ragged in the second half of the innings but their batsmen performed admirably as they attempted an almost impossible chase. John G who had kept wicket and then bowled four overs showed great stamina to score 74 with 8 fours and 4 sixes and Simon Philbrook and Valentine Guiraud also batted well.
In the end it needed Liam Woolls to bowl four pacy overs and return figures of 3 for 17 to make the match safe for Gymkhana. A margin of victory of 52 runs looks comfortable but Pattaya deserve great credit for reaching 185 for 6 in 20 overs.
The second match was played on Sunday morning and the Patong side short on numbers and augmented by a trio of Thai juniors and three players from Bangkok could not live with Gymkhana when they batted first and were bowled out for 115.
Eight bowlers shared the wickets with Tanveer and Wani taking two apiece but only three batsmen were needed to complete the chase as Richard Cowles, Monty and Anim all passed 25 as Gymkhana won by nine wickets. The early finish meant more time for lunch but the home side would have to wait for the final match to be staged before the trophy could be presented.
The two touring sides with their guest players put on a great show for the Sunday afternoon crowd at Gymkhana as Patong won the best match of the competition by five wickets with one over to spare.
Pattaya batted first and this time it was Dan Nicholson who produced an innings to remember as he reached 85 from 64 balls with 9 fours and 4 sixes. Captain Simon Philbrook supported him with 23 and a total of 169 for 5 looked impressive.
Patong had been strengthened by the selection of Chris Coombes who had visited Phuket on tour earlier in the season and given a pair of match-winning performances for Chiang Mai. This time he was to return the favour for Patong who had been very generous hosts on the visit to Phuket as he guided them to victory with an innings of 74 from 56 balls with 10 fours and a six. Brett Taylor, a welcome visitor from the Parrots, hit four sixes in his score of 44.
A very enjoyable weekend’s cricket was concluded with a remarkable 992 runs scored in three matches. Chiang Mai Gymkhana Club were worthy winners of the trophy that was presented by David Walker but Pattaya openers John G and Dan Nicholson fully deserved their individual awards as did Patong captain Anthony van Blerk who got the best out of his small touring party and some well chosen guest players.
It is hoped that similar tours and triangular tournaments can be arranged in the future so ties between the three clubs can remain close.