Lanna gave their best performance of the season so far as they were inspired by wearing their new shirts and defeated a junior side on tour from Hong Kong by 80 runs. This was no mean performance from the Lanna veterans as the junior side had several very capable players and had only lost to CMCC by two wickets the day before.
Lanna batted first in a 30-over match in the beautiful setting of Prem Oval but made a bad start as both openers fell cheaply as they tried to drive on a pitch that allowed movement for the opening bowlers. Gary Chatfield proved to be the man in form which allowed Chris Coombes time to find his way as the pair added 98 for the third wicket at a rate of more than a run a ball.
Gary completed his second fifty in successive innings but lost his timing as he began to tire and the lower order never quite got going. Chatfield battled on to a score of 79 and it was enough to see Lanna through to a total of 169 for 6 which was perhaps 20 or 30 runs short of what looked possible when he was in full flow.
A wonderful picnic lunch had been prepared by club chairman David Holt and there was plenty of time to digest the food as the boys had to go back to the school canteen to eat before preparing for their run-chase.
The youngsters, mostly of Pakistani origin, from Delia Memorial School in Kowloon had shown their talent with the bat in scoring 223 in 40 overs against CMCC but they made a disastrous start against the steadiness of Eddie Joyner and the pace and movement of Paul Johnson. The three main players, captain Akbar Khan and twin brothers Waqas and Sarfraz Khan, were out early as Paul impressed with 4 for 35 and Eddie supported him with 3 for 24 as DMS collapsed to 51 for 7 inside the first 11 overs.
Both opening bowlers finished their spells and Lanna’s bowling resources looked rather thin as Gary limped off and even the chairman had to come on to field. New find Robert Baird looked nervous in his first spell for the club but Adam Green brought a swift end to proceedings with three wickets as DMS were bowled out for just 89.
Lanna had won by 80 runs and there was plenty of time to finish off the chairman’s rolls and also to drink five cases of beer to make sure that all of Lanna Juniors’ food and travel expenses could be paid for when they take on DMS on the King’s birthday on Thursday.
Another wonderful day in the short but enjoyable history of Chiang Mai Lanna Cricket Club.