There was another exciting afternoon’s cricket at Gymkhana as Martin Cardno’s team triumphed over Pete Warner’s team by two wickets as last man Hamish Weir hit a boundary to bring his side victory with just two balls to spare. It was a rather unexpected win as the Gymkhana A side had looked to be on top for most of the match as the first wicket didn’t fall until the score had reached 131.
Daniel Lawson made another capable contribution at the top of the innings before retiring at drinks having added 89 with Ubaid who took time to find his feet but was looking good as he reached his fifty and so also had to retire. The platform had been laid for a total of 200 but once wickets began to fall the scoring rate slowed down.
Hamish found his line and length as he bowled six overs of leg spin, then Chanchai picked up two wickets in his final over and Richard Young also gained some late reward on his welcome return to cricket in Chiang Mai but a total of 177 for 6 in 30 overs was still an impressive one.
Even though Tariq made 23, the innings subsided to 65 for six as left-arm seamer Jun bowled an outstanding spell of six overs in which he claimed four wickets for 15 without bowling a wide and giving away just one boundary. Martin Cardno had placed himself at number seven in the order to give others a chance and he knew he would have to make runs if his side had any chance.
The captain duly delivered an he was given good support by Adam Green in a seventh wicket partnership that was only ended when Cardno reached his fifty in 29 balls as he hit 3 fours and 4 sixes. Cher came on to bowl towards the end and he took the wickets of Green and Asif as the light faded and the last pair was at the wicket.
Eight runs were needed off the last over which was bowled by Ubaid and tail-enders Young and Weir showed they were capable batsmen as both hit boundaries and saw their side home with two wicket and two balls to spare.
The last three Sundays’ cricket with a variety of team names and a multitude of players of all ages have now produced three very close matches all with last over finishes. Players and spectators alike seem to be guaranteed a good finish to the day at Gymkhana.