The fourth match in the Chiang Mai Senior League saw defending champions CPP face Chiang Mai Lanna CC at Royal Chiang Mai but the boys from Doi Saket were put firmly in their place by the experienced Gary Chatfield who made a magnificent century in only 65 balls as Lanna were victorious by 111 runs.
The contest was almost derailed by late news of a Christmas Party held by the Foundation which supports the hill tribe children who attend Chol Prathan Phateak School and then by a damp wicket at Royals but after all the effort put in by league organizer Martin Papworth and Lanna chairman David Holt the match was successfully staged and all involved had a highly enjoyable day with some younger players getting a chance to play in the CPP team.
It was a great day for Gary Chatfield who had scored fifties in the previous week and so was in great form when he came to the crease on the early dismissal of opener and part-time photographer Richard Cowles. Chatfield bats in the lower order when he plays for the Parrots in Bangkok but he has had a new lease of life now he is batting at number three for Lanna. He had no worries about the quality of the pitch as he was literally playing on home turf as his company has provided the grass for the new square.
Chatfield is a turf expert who has had contracts around the world before coming back to Royals to work on the golf course, but he showed he was also an expert with the bat in his hands as he hit 12 fours and three sixes in a superb innings as he recorded the first 100 in the new league as well as the first for Lanna.
Pete Warner watched in delight as he calmly pushed the singles to give Chafield the strike but after the captain had sensibly decided to watch the second half of the innings from the comfort of the pavilion, Martin Cardno, a New Zealander who has recently arrived in Chiang Mai after living in Goa, even managed to outhit Chatfield.
Cardno made 70 from just 36 balls with 7 fours and 5 sixes with some of the biggest hitting ever seen in Chiang Mai as he dominated a fourth-wicket partnership of 112 with the centurion Chatfield as Lanna posted a massive total of 271 for 6 in their 30 overs.
The boys from CPP had a tough task ahead of them after chasing around the outfield for more than two hours and they struggled against the new ball attack of Eddie Joyner and Paul Johnson, a contrasting combination of nagging accuracy and express pace.
From a position of 22 for 3 the young pair of SeeGame and Date did extremely well to add 55 for the fourth wicket as both hit some attractive shots in scores of 31 and 33 respectively. Mack also showed promise in an unbeaten innings of 26 and CPP could be pleased with batting out their 30 overs as they finished on 160 for 8.
A match that had been in doubt early in the day had seen a total of 431 runs with numerous boundaries. Two quality batsmen had produced a pair of powerful innings which the boys will do well to emulate in their future careers. The pavilion at Royals then proved the perfect venue for pre-Christmas celebrations after the last league match of the year.