One of the closest games yesterday was between the Perth Postels and Ashwell Crusaders in the top flight Cup division, which went right down to the last ball.

The Perth Postels lost the closely contested match that had the big crowd at the ground on the edge of their seats.

Bangladeshi side the Cricketeers were undefeated when they took the field against veteran Aussie side the Moonshine Warathais.

Ian "Reds" Liddell bowled economically for the Warathais and kept the big-hitting Bangladeshi batsmen down to 12 runs in his over.

Former Australian Test player Trevor Chappell then took a great catch just inside the boundary and also took a wicket as some tight fielding by the Warathais restricted the big-scoring Cricketeers to a total of 80 for two.

The Warathais suffered a setback when they batted, losing Chappell in the third over after he had hit a couple of lofty sixes and fours and looked to be on his way to a big score.

There was a touch of irony in Chappell facing the Bangladeshi players - he once coached Bangladesh's national team.

In the end the Warathais fell short of their target with 62 for two. The win puts the Cricketeers into the Cup final against the Ashwell Crusaders today.

The Awali Taverners have battled their way through to the final of the Shield division and will take on the Shanghai Dragons this afternoon.

Almar will take on the Taranaki Taverners in the Plate final today. The Camel Bar Humps from Thailand's Eastern Seaboard continued their great run yesterday with a win over the Wombats and are now into today's final of the Spoon division. The Camel Bar Humps have yet to lose a game this year and are looking good to take the title when they meet either the Jamesons Mallacas or the Armadillos in the final.

If Pattaya landlord Kim Fletcher's Jamesons Mallacas defeat the Armadillos in this morning's Spoon semi, it will be an all-Thai team final in the Spoon division.

But if the Camel Bar Humps end up playing their neighbours the Jamesons Mallacas in today's final and win, it may be hard for them to get a drink in future at a certain bar in Pattaya.

The final of the children's competition, known as Sawasdee Cricket and now in its seventh year, was played on the adjacent field yesterday.

The junior players, all local grade 6 students, held their competition over the past three days and the standard of cricket was very high.

The winners were the Baan Saimoon School from Hang Dong district, and the runners-up were the Chol Prathan Phataek school from Doi Saket, with Prince's Royal College from Chiang Mai third.

Eleven local school teams took part in the junior competition, while nine older Thai juniors have played with teams in the main competition and have put in some great performances.

"It won't be long before we have a local Thai team in the main competition," said Maurice Bromley, one of the tournament organisers.

Today is the last day of the tournament and a big crowd is expected at the Chiengmai Gymkhana Club grounds to watch the finals. Play starts at 8.40am.

One of the highlights of today's programme will be The Stars versus The Amateurs game. Former professional players from England, Australia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will take on a talented group of amateur players selected from the 31 teams taking part in the tournament.

Alan Parkhouse

The Nation

Chiang Mai