Lanna Thais restored the pride of CMLCC as they produced an outstanding performance to defeat the mighty CMCC by 10 wickets as Jun Aryi and Jason Bray knocked off a target of 139 after the opposition had been dismissed for 138. Lanna Thais enjoyed their first league win and more than made up for the senior side’s defeat against Lamphun on another good weekend for junior cricket in Northern Thailand.
Lanna Thais are a side based upon the great work carried out by Chiang Mai Schools Cricket Alliance (CMSCA) where coaches work in local schools and run nets throughout the week. The team is made up of junior cricketers and adults who are involved in supporting junior cricket.
Coaches Martin and Puy Papworth will be very proud of what the side has achieved particularly as junior coach Jun Aryi bowled six tidy overs then hit a marvellous unbeaten 63 alongside Jason Bray who made 38 to take the side to a remarkable victory with more than ten overs to spare.
Lanna Thais had won the toss and the captain wisely took his own advice and inserted the opposition as he had been watching CMCC over recent seasons and had his game plan all worked out. It was a simple plan to bowl straight and hold the catches but he had just the man to carry it out.
Eddie Joyner has a fantastic record against CMCC as he bowls straight and nips the ball about on grass ptiches and he struck in the first over as Sami was caught at mid on by Min with only two runs on the board. Martin himself was also entrusted with the new ball but he seems to bowl much better in the nets and he bowled five wides in an over which cost 12 runs.
At least Martin had taken the shine off the ball which allowed Jun to come on first change and he and Eddie bowled well against Asif who was looking to play a captain’s innings and mixed defence with a series of ambitious drives. Eddie claimed a second wicket as keeper George Hamilton dived forward to scoop up a catch well in front of the stumps to dismiss Ayoub.
Matt Bray had dropped a catch at long on to give Asif a life but he had the chance to redeem himself as he was introduced to bowl his off-spin. Pushing the ball through at a good pace outside the off stump he was hard to get away and Asif launched another drive but could not clear Jun at long on and CMCC’s captain was out for 38 at 73 for 3.
Even better for Lanna Thais Matt claimed a second wicket just before drinks as he held on to a stinging caught and bowled from Tanveer to leave CMCC on 96 for 4 at the halfway stage. The match was still in the balance but panic began to set in as the batting side suffered two disastrous run outs to be six down which allowed the Lanna Thais captain to bring back Eddie to go for the kill.
And the move paid off immediately as the next wicket came with his very first ball as Burhan looked to have played a splendid straight drive as it soared towards the sightscreen before it was plucked out of the air by Jun as he ran round the boundary at full speed.
The end of CMCC’s innings came quickly as Eddie bowled Shaffi to finish with figures of 4 for 26 and he even managed a run out as Nisar charged down the wicket. Young Chat only needed one ball to finish the innings as Suhail hit a full toss weakly back to him.
Against all expectations CMCC had been bowled out for 138 in just 23.1 overs with Matt (2 for 37) and Jun backing up Eddie very well but Daeng from Mae On had also played his part by bowling four tidy overs from 22 and the fielding was splendid with long on and deep mid-wicket always in the game and no fewer than three run outs achieved as the pressure told on CMCC.
The job was only half done as the skipper mused over the exact details of his batting order to maximize the chances of chasing down the target. He needn’t have worried once he had decided on numbers one and two as that was all that was necessary. Jason Bray had fielded brilliantly at square point and had conserved his energy so he was able to open the batting and left-handed Jun Aryi seems to play his best innings when promoted to open.
The left and right combination proved a nightmare for CMCC as extras mounted fast but Jason played some excellent cuts and one glorious cover drive and Jun played an array of pulls and drives as the fifty partnership came up in 8 overs and Lanna Thais were already in a match-winning position by drinks at 97 for 0 in 15 overs.
The 100 came up in the next over and Jun reached a splendid fifty and it suddenly dawned on everybody at the ground that they were watching something very special as the Lanna Thais openers were approaching a 10-wicket victory.
The victory was secured in 20.4 overs as Jun finished on 63 from 74 balls and Jason on 38 from 50 balls and his scored was matched by extras with Lanna Thais scoring a remarkable 139 for no wicket. Nobody worried about not getting a bat as it had been a very special day in the history of CMLCC as the combination of youth and experience had worked to perfection.
The juniors from CMSCA had all performed well and the adults had supported them well but the star of the day was Jun Aryi who had been part of the Hill Tribe Program from its very start and has been working hard as a coach alongside Martin and Puy. He has been batting and bowling almost every day of the season and the benefits are clear for all to see.