The first match of the new cricket season to be played at Gymkhana Club was a Lanna CC friendly and man of the day was Daniel Lawson, a very keen attender of nets but a rather reluctant player, who followed a steady spell with the ball with an unbeaten 28 and was delighted that he had ‘carried his bat’ even if it was for only 18.3 overs and his opening partner headmaster Hugh Williams had retired on 30 long before.
The match was a friendly termed Lanna B against Lanna C as many of the club’s leading players were absent for a variety of reasons but Martin Papworth ensured the show would go on by selecting all available juniors who fhen fielded for both sides to keep up the numbers on the field.
Regular umpires, Martin Papworth himself and Taran Persaud both took the opportunity to play and to partake of the Chairman’s Tea which is continuing to get rave reviews and the A list celebrities on the Chiang Mai social scene will soon be flocking to Gymkhana to taste.
The very same Martin Papworth is also the junior cricket coach for Mae On and Buak Kroc Noi School in the city and he has made great progress during the off-season with regular net practices and Khat, Ti and Ploy all made their senior debuts in this match with Ti taking a great caught and bowled from a ferocious drive from Chanchai. Khat batted for 12 overs and Ploy also had the chance to bat and bowl on another good day for junior cricket.
Daniel Lawson and Hugh Williams shared an opening stand of 84 before Hugh retired but Daniel was determined to see it through to the end in a rare appearance for the Birmingham born Australian and Wani came in to hit the winning runs.
Numbers look encouraging as the season moves into November as Lanna have some interesting new members as well as their returning veterans and a multitude of promising juniors. With players also available from United CC and from CPP School a four-team league is beginning to look a feasible prospect to run aside a series of enjoyable tour matches and friendlies.