Bombay Gymkhana blast off
[CRICKET] The Lighthouse Phuket International Cricket Sixes were off to a roaring start yesterday with a big six off the first ball as the round robin matches kicked off between the 28 teams taking part at Karon Stadium on the southern tip of the resort island.
India's Bombay Gymkhana Club B team made a flying start in their match against Australian team Brighton Union CC with a big six off the first ball and a four off the second. The Indian side went on to score a winning total of 73 against the boys from Melbourne, who could only manage 67 in reply. The next team to take the field came from the second oldest cricket club in the world, the Calcutta Cricket & Football Club, who took on local side Laguna Phuket on the artificial pitch at Karon Stadium. The ground was still drying out after heavy rain the night before, but the outfield was quite fast apart from one small section which was still waterlogged and the Indians opted for sixes and fours rather than quick singles. The experienced Indian side included Pranob Roy, who once opened the batting for India with legendary player Sunil Gavaskar, and they attacked the bowling, knocking up 59 runs off only 14 balls. The local team fought back with Rich Brown top-scoring with 24, but fell short in their run chase with only 55. Applecross CC from Perth in Australia scored the most runs of the day with a fighting 89 in their match against the Bangkok Postels, a side made up of English and Aussie players, who fell well short of their target with 54. Bombay Gymkhana Club's A team fell one run short in their match against local Indian side the Island Cricket Club, who won with 61 runs in one of the tightest matches of the day. Spectators at the ground were treated to some tight bowling and great batting when another Phuket side, the Island Cricketers, took on Bahrain team the Awali Taverners. In a close game which also featured some very good fielding, the local team knocked up 56 against some quick and tight bowling, but then couldn't contain the Awali batsmen, who nearly knocked the stitching out of the ball in their brisk 62-run stand. As the action wound up at Karon Stadium early in the afternoon, many of the 28 teams involved in this year's event headed down to Karon Beach to give the locals a demonstration of a new sport - beach cricket. Players from 11 countries are taking part in this year's event and former internationals Trevor Chappell of Australia, England Test players Adam Hollioake and Alan Mullally as well as Roy are all playing. Cricket is surprisingly popular in many parts of Thailand and last week the 19th Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes was held at the 108-year-old Chiengmai Gymkhana Club. Play starts at 9.30am today, tomorrow and Saturday with a 9am start on Sunday for the finals. The teams will play in a round robin format until Saturday when they will be divided up into four divisions - the Cup, Plate, Bowl and Spoon. Alan Parkhouse The Nation Phuket
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