Saturday UPDATE
ACTION ON Day Three of the Phuket International Cricket Sixes being played at Karon Stadium resulted in most of the semi final berths being confirmed in Cup, Plate, Bowl and Spoon Divisions.
It will be a multinational battle for the Cup as the four teams contesting the top division all hail from four different countries, namely Pakistan, India, Australia and Hong Kong as the Corner Tigers, Gauhati Town Maroon, CBB Postels and Lamma CC won through to the Cup semis.
Lamma CC defeated Curtin Park Redbacks with an over to spare to earn their place; the Redbacks enter the Plate semi finals. Former champions the Corner Tigers downed Australian outfit St Francis de Sales, appearing in their first Phuket Sixes, with nearly two overs to spare chasing a modest total of 41.
Mustafa top scored for the Tigers with 20 not out and took two wickets for four runs, including an amazing wicket when the ball struck the non striking batsman on the full and the ball popped up for him to take a caught and bowled chance. CBB Postels gained a win over Royal Maratha, last year's beach cricket champions, by 28 runs, Stefan of the Postels hitting 26 not out.
Gauhati Maroon look favorites for the title when they ended Leeming Spartans Cup challenge by winning the match with more than two overs to spare, Subrajit top scoring for the Sixes regulars from Gauhati with 22.
The Power Packers had a good day at the office as they powered their way to the Bowl semi final with strong performances against Aussie teams from Bennett Hotel and Normanhurst Warrawee. The Packers won their match versus Bennett Hotel comfortably by 18 runs, GP Singh retiring on 30. Only Jarves of Bennett Hotel managed to put up resistance to the Packers bowling with a solid 25 not out.
Against Normanhurst the powerful Packers won by the massive margin of 50 runs after scoring a challenging 87/2 then putting in a miserly bowling performance which restricted the Australian side to just 37 runs.
Closest match of the day featured both of these Australian sides, battling for a place in the Bowl semis. Bennett Hotel put on 65/1 in their overs, which Normanhurst overtook on the last ball of the match , Mike (22*) and Ryan (30*) pacing their innings perfectly to gain the win. However both sides were eliminated as the Power Packers went through to the Bowl semis on superior bonus points.
ACST Player of the Day was awarded by the tournament panel to Sukhinder Singh of the Power Packers, for his unplayable bowling , as only six runs were hit off his two overs today.
Play continues Sunday at 9am with the final qualifying matches for the Bowl semi finals with fixtures featuring Toorak Prahan versus the Wild Men from Borneo and Karon Sea Sands versus the Perth Postels. With so many strong sides being matched up together on Finals Day, the Phuket Sixes 2010 is building up to an exciting climax.
Entry to the Karon Stadium ground for spectators during the tournament is free and refreshments are available.
Friday UPDATE
THE PLOT became clearer at the end of Round One in Cup, Plate and Spoon Divisions and women's cricketers were in the thick of the action on Day Two of Phuket International Cricket Sixes 2010
Twenty four teams, including eight sides new to the tournament, are contesting this seventh annual Phuket International Cricket Sixes at Phuket's Karon Stadium.
It has been an action packed day at Karon Stadium, which saw Custom Cockatoos of Adelaide, featuring former Australian captain Karen Rolton, take on the Singapore Slingers in a ten over women's Cup match. Batting first the 'Toos put on a challenging 128/1. In reply the Slingers reached 88/3, Rajesh hitting a stylish 20 not out.
In an entertaining encounter the Darwin Stubbies took on the PCDC Natives, a team of local Thai boys. The Stubbies made 70/1 in their innings following some containing bowling from the Natives who made 47 run in reply, with Duong scoring an unbeaten 23 runs.
The Natives also gave the experienced sixes unit the Leeming Spartans 1 a run for their money. Leeming put on 84/1 with Hacky retiring on 34. There was a strong reply from the Thai boys who fell 10 runs short of their target, Mack retiring on 31. They were very encouraging performances from the young Thais who are coached by Michael Way, a local school teacher and cricket enthusiast.
ACST Player of the Day was awarded by the tournament panel to Dhanam of the Singapore Slingers, one of the women's teams competing in the Phuket Sixes, after she took two wickets in one over against St Francis de Sales from Australia.
Round One was completed today and in the Cup, Lamma CC of Hong Kong lead the pack in first place following their two wins on Thursday, closely followed by former champions the Corner Tigers from Pakistan. Of teams new to the tournament, St Francis de Sales from Australia are highest placed in seventh, with Curtin Victoria Park placed eighth.
The top eight teams are in the Cup and Plate Divisions, the next 12 ranked sides play in the Bowl and the bottom four teams play off for the Spoon Trophy. Interestingly, the Custom Cockatoos Ladies team placed higher than their men's team.
Play continues Saturday at 9am with a Bowl Division match up of the Power Packers from India against the Bennett Hotel Centurions of Australia.
Entry to the Karon Stadium ground for spectators during the tournament is free and refreshments are available. For further information about the Phuket international Cricket Sixes see www.phuketsixes.com
Phuket Sixes 2010 - Round One Placings
Cup
1. Lamma CC (Hong Kong)
2. Corner Tigers (Pakistan)
3. CBB Postels (International)
4. Leeming Spartans 1 (Australia)
5. Gauhati Town Maroon (India)
6. Royal Maratha (India)
7. St Francis De Sales (Australia)
8. Curtin Park (Australia)
Bowl
9. Power Packers (India)
10. Gauhati Town Whites (India)
11. Leeming Spartans 2 (Australia)
12. Baulkham Hills (Australia)
13. Bennett Hotel (Australia)
14. St George's River (Australia)
15. Toorak Prahan (Australia)
16 Karon Seasanders (Phuket)
17 Normanhurst Warrawee (Australia)
18. Custom Cockatoos Ladies (Australia)
19. Wild Men From Borneo (Indonesia)
20. Perth Postels (Australia)
Spoon
21. PCDC Natives (Thailand)
22. Singapore Slingers Ladies (Singapore)
23. Custom Cockatoos (Australia)
24. Darwin Stubbies (Australia)
Thursday UPDATE
Former Australian team internationals Trevor Chappell and Karen Rolton were in fine form today at Karon Stadium on day one of the four day Phuket International Cricket Sixes.
Against Lamma CC from Hong Kong, recently retired Australian women's captain and former ICC World Player of the Year Rolton took one wicket for just six runs in her over and then hit 30 runs off 10 balls for the Custom Cockatoos Ladies.
It was in a losing cause however as Lamma managed to defend their total of 74/2 (Dixie Joy 31 not out), the Toos falling 11 runs short of their target.
Former Australian international Trevor ''TC'' Chappell, a regular at sixes tournaments in Thailand, later showed his class with an array of classic and improvised shots as he steered Lamma CC to a win over tournament newcomers Normanhurst Warrawee from Australia.
Chappell made 28 not out as Lamma chased down Normanhurst's modest total of 44/4 with more than an over to spare. The debutantes had struggled for runs, particularly against ''TC'' who conceded just two runs off his over.
Twenty four teams, including eight sides new to the tournament, are contesting this seventh annual Phuket International Cricket Sixes on the recently relaid ground at Karon Stadium. The tournament won a major award from the International Cricket Council in 2005 for promoting the ''spirit of cricket.''
Gauhati Town Whites from India featured in a closely fought match against Phuket addicts the Wild Men from Borneo. Gauhati posted a reasonable 65/2 (Devajit 28, Amarjit 27) which the Wild Men, powered by their elixir ''jungle juice'' nearly chased down. Stirlo smashed 21 for the Wild Men before falling to a good catch and Borneo men fell six runs short of their target.
On Wednesday, Gauhati had triumphed at the popular Kenny Jackson Beach Cricket tournament held at Karon Beach.
ACST Player of the Day was awarded by the tournament panel to Al Fildes of the Darwin Stubbies who, at the age of 73, made his debut in a cricket sixes tournament.
A T20 match under floodlights featuring the best players in the tournament will be staged on Friday evening from 6.30pm to raise funds for cricket development in Phuket.
Round One of the tournament continues Friday at Karon Stadium at 9am. Entry to the Karon Stadium ground for spectators during the tournament is free and refreshments are available.
Original Report
CRICKET teams from Australia, India, Singapore, Pakistan, Indonesia, Hong Kong flew into Phuket, Thailand this week to compete with local sides at the seventh annual Phuket International Cricket Sixes being played at Karon Stadium on Phuket from April 15-18.
Twenty four teams will be participating in the tournament, along with former pro and international players such as Karen Rolton ( former Australia women's team captain and World Player of the Year), Trevor Chappell (ex Australia, brother of Ian and Greg) and Kenny Jackson (former first class cricketer in South Africa, now a Supersport cricket commentator).
The tournament is part of the Asian Cricket Sixes Tour, the series of club cricket events which includes Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and New South Wales in Australia.
The ''fun in the sun'' Phuket Sixes, launched in 2004, got off to a flying start today with the Kenny Jackson Beach Cricket tournament being played at tKaron beach.
''The emphasis of all our tournaments is on friendship through cricket, so the fun beach cricket comp is a wonderful way to get the tournament going and the teams mingling,'' said Asian Cricket Sixes Tour Chairman, Michael Maher.
''The ground is looking in good condition and we're looking forward to a fantastic week of fun in the sun cricket,'' said Tournament Director, Brad Tarr. ''We've got another really strong field of teams here and it's great to welcome women's teams to the tournament for the first time,'' Mr Tarr added.
Play gets underway at Karon stadium at 9am with the Custom Cockatoos from Adelaide, fresh from their Shield triumph last week in Pattaya, in a challenging match versus former champions the Corner Tigers from Pakistan.
It's a busy week of activities for the participating teams on Phuket, starting with the beach cricket, then a Welcome Reception Garden Party (Thursday from 7.30pm at the Green Man), T20 fundraising match (Karon Stadium, Friday from 6.45pm) and Gala Awards Dinner (7.30pm at Kata beach Resort).
Entry to the Karon Stadium ground for spectators during the tournament is free and refreshments are available. For further information about the Phuket international Cricket Sixes see www.phuketsixes.com
Phuket Sixes 2010 Competing Teams
Group A
Corner Tigers (Pakistan) Custom Cockatoos (Australia) Bennett Hotel (Australia)
Group B
CBB Postels (International) Gauhati Town Whites (India) Wild Men From Borneo (Indonesia)
Group C
Royal Maratha (India) Perth Postels (Australia) Karon Seasanders (Phuket)
Group D
Leeming Spartans 1 (Australia) Power Packers (India) PCDC Natives (Thailand)
Group E
Curtin Park (Australia) Baulkham Hills (Australia) Leeming Spartans 2 (Australia)
Group F
St George's River (Australia) Darwin Stubbies (Australia) Gauhati Town Maroon (India)
Group G
Normanhurst Warrawee (Australia) Lamma CC (Hong Kong) Custom Cockatoos Ladies (Australia)
Group H
St Francis De Sales (Australia) Toorak Prahan (Australia) Singapore Slingers Ladies (Singapore)
