An excellent bowling and fielding performance, led by Lanna Juniors allrounder Chanchai, could not prevent touring Malaysian club Ctrack from completing the fourth win of their Chiang Mai tour.
Batting first, Ctrack started steadily to reach 68 for one before Martin Cardno took three wickets in three overs. Cardno was not expected to bowl due to a recurring shoulder injury, but a few beers over lunch eased the joint in a way that teams of doctors had hitherto failed to do.
After drinks, Chanchai followed Cardno’s lead by bowling full and straight and was rewarded with four wickets, deceiving the batsmen each time with swing and changes of pace. Tom Salusbury chipped in with a miserly two overs towards the end to restrict Ctrack to 150.
The pick of the Ctrack batsmen was opener Sam, who played strongly on the offside and started to look very dangerous with three consecutive fours off Choo before being trapped by Cardno. Ehtsham continued his destructive form, unleashing two big sixes, but couldn’t convert his start into another big score.
Lanna openers Cher and Richard Cowles found the boundary regularly to put on 52 in seven overs, paving the way for Tim Jones and Cardno to attack in the middle overs. After a useful partnership in very hot conditions, both fell to tired shots leaving Chanchai and Bunchuai to score 17 from the last two overs. Some very tight bowling and a spread field prevented boundaries and they couldn’t quite pull off a fairytale finish.
This match concluded Ctrack’s tour and they head home with a 4-0 record, having demonstrated great skill and sportsmanship on the field and a friendly spirit throughout the tour.