The Chiang Mai Senior League match between Lanna A and Lanna B was a highly anticipated contest but Lanna’s selectors had had real difficulties in choosing the teams, as many of the available players had played for both teams earlier in the season.
How should we divide up the teams: the best against the worst; the oldest against the youngest; but then inspiration struck as the red taxi drove towards the ground at Prem. Hang on a minute, how many people are on this bus...... 11? We’ve got our cricket team. Lanna B had been selected. B for bus.... the A team have their own transport.
This match was supposed to be the warm-up for Lanna A v Lanna Juniors which was to be the contest to decide the league champions. Two unbeaten teams playing for the title. But cricket is not like that? Is it?
After 10 overs, Lanna A had scored more than a hundred without losing a wicket, Lanna B looked like a team that had arrived by bus, Cowles and Holt had driven in style, in their won cars, and now at the crease. David Holt had returned to the fold, Richard Cowles had returned to form, Holt was agricultural, Cowles stylish, six bowlers had been tried, the fielding captain had no idea what he was doing?
What else could he try? Step forward Hamish Weir, the man for a crisis. He opens the batting when required, he hits the ball to all corners when needed, he always wants to bowl his leg-spin and he always buys the umpire a beer. This could just work. David Holt reached an entertaining fifty before he finally hit the ball in the air where somebody could catch it as a wonderful opening stand ended on 111.
Adrian Ballantyne played across the line and was lbw but Richard was still playing his shots with Martin Papworth bowling down the leg-side – 444. Somehow the next ball found a way through to the leg stump and Cowles was bowled for an excellent 65.
Two new men at the wicket, the match had been transformed. The young fielders were chasing everything and runs were harder to come by. Hamish kept bowling and kept taking wickets. Even captain Pete missed a sweep to be lbw and poor Eddie was also given out lbw in controversial fashion.
Papworth finished with two wickets, Jun came back and bowled much better with the old ball, but Hamish did not finish until he had 6 wickets for 25 in a brilliant match-changing spell. Still only eight wickets down but Russell Ward is also a wily leg-spinner and proved to much for Tom Salusbury and then Taran had who changed out of his umpiring uniform only to be out hit wicket first ball.
Incredibly Lanna A had collapsed from 111 for no wicket to 174 all out. But the A team had runs on the board and a rate of 6 an over would be hard work for the bus boys. Tom’s Tea also took its toll and none of the adults were quite ready to bat. Decisions, decisions, what could Locky do?
Who would say yes to face the new ball? Mr Choo who had bowled the first over but never finished it as he bowled a series of waist high full tosses and Jun, who had shared the new ball, but could also bat and had even scored a century a few years before. Yes, that might work?
But surely not against Lanna’s two best bowlers Eddie Joyner and Adam Green. Eddie had taken five wickets the previous week and Adam bowls a consistent line and length, but neither were at their best as perhaps they preferred bowling at Gymkhana. Choo was solid and Jun went for his shots and the score raced along.
Although Jun was caught at backward point off the bowling of Hugh Williams for a bright and breezy 42, this only brought Richard Young to the crease. In an eventful day he had been required to finish the first over after Choo was taken off, but had saved enough energy for his batting and he hit the ball to all corners of the ground.
Eddie was brought back, Adam had another spell, spin was introduced, and even the golden arm of David Holt was given a try, but nothing worked, and it slowly dawned on both teams that Lanna B were rewriting the script and that they would pull off an amazing victory. In the end, Lanna B won by nine wickets with four overs to spare as Richard Young finished on 81. Mr Choo had batted through the innings to score 30 in a total of 175 for one but he had fulfilled the role of sheet anchor to perfection.
Lanna B had now played all three of their matches in the league with two wins and one defeat to remain ahead of Lanna A who had won one and lost one. Lanna Juniors are still favourites for the league title as they have won both of their matches, but they will still face Lanna A in the final match.
Cricket, of course, was the winner, and players from both teams had a lot to talk about as a cool box of beers were consumed and the photographs of the bus boys were taken for posterity. It was just another wonderful sunday afternoon which showed again what a happy club Chiang Mai Lanna CC are. A, B or Juniors, we are one club.