Club tour to Chiang Mai, Thailand
Friday 15th-Sunday 17th February
So here we go again, a tour to one of our Club's favourite destinations, Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.
Our checklist for a good tour:
The airport is only 15 minutes away from the city and The Top North Hotel is very conveniently located within the old city wall.
We hope to have a team fly out on Thursday for a 40 over game on the Friday; LCC vs Lanna CC at Prem International School. The match will have umpires, a scorer and teas provided at this very impressive ground.
This will be followed by the weekend of the Big Bash 8's tournament where we expect to be fielding two teams;
or
Simply fly out Friday afternoon for the Sat & Sun Big Bash tournament only.
No doubt the days will begin with an invited sherry at Phil's followed by breakfast at the nearby Blue Mango restaurant.
A songthaew will be arranged to the ground each day and to the airport.
Depart Sunday evening.
Check out the pictures below to get your appetite whetted and sign up on TeamSnap now!
Our checklist for a good tour:
- Affordable
- Nearby destination with many flights
- Good hosts of equal ability in cricket
- Good weather
- Good grounds
- Good accommodation
- Friendly country
- Beer
- Good food
- John Fox has a bar there
The airport is only 15 minutes away from the city and The Top North Hotel is very conveniently located within the old city wall.
We hope to have a team fly out on Thursday for a 40 over game on the Friday; LCC vs Lanna CC at Prem International School. The match will have umpires, a scorer and teas provided at this very impressive ground.
This will be followed by the weekend of the Big Bash 8's tournament where we expect to be fielding two teams;
or
Simply fly out Friday afternoon for the Sat & Sun Big Bash tournament only.
No doubt the days will begin with an invited sherry at Phil's followed by breakfast at the nearby Blue Mango restaurant.
A songthaew will be arranged to the ground each day and to the airport.
Depart Sunday evening.
Check out the pictures below to get your appetite whetted and sign up on TeamSnap now!
Thailand - Here we come again!
Hua Hin Hearkens
LCC are back in action in Thailand to attend the very popular Hua Hin 6's. The Club entry has been made and booking are done for this family oriented trip, staying at the fabulous 5 star Dusit Thani Hotel which - believe it or not - has the cricket pitch on its grounds! We fly out on 4 April and return on 11 April. Check out the Dusit here www.dusit.com/dusitthani/huahin/ |
Cricket action in the hotel grounds at the Hua Hin Sixes 2017
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Prem, probably the best ground any of us had ever played on
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Thailand beckons ...
It's been a very busy weekend for Lamma C.C. There's been the T20 Blitz, a social game against our old friends and foes, HKU, and for a lucky group, there was the Chiang Mai long weekend tour to Thailand.
We played a 35 over game on turf on the Saturday at the Prem International School and a couple of shortened format games on the Sunday at the Gymkhana ground. Both grounds were excellent, we were very well hosted by our friend and ex-LCC player, Chris Coombes and his Club. Match report by Leigh Powell follows ... |
Lamma Cricket Club tour of Chiangmai, Thailand
February 9-11, 2018
Players: Chucker, Boots, Phil, Richie, Zika, Duncs, Tarry, God, Lethal
Fan base: Rajen
FRIDAY
It was strangely out of keeping with LCC’s heady tour to Chiangmai that the trip was bookended by two plane rides in which alcohol was prohibited. Tour organiser Ian “Chucker” Harling blemished his copybook at the earliest opportunity, booking outbound flights in the tee-total emergency exit seats, leaving the thirsty tourists to rely on sleight of hand by Duncs to supplement the 16 Coca-Colas they had to order. The group was travelling light with the exception of God, whose kit bag was truly Almighty. But the boys arrived in good spirits, with Richie “a little bit” Abbott housing a bushy ginger Tom Selleck on his upper lip.
Chucker’s reputation was partially restored via the primely located Top North Hotel, whose pool bar kept Tarry & co happy with long island iced teas. As the group settled, Chucker and Lethal travelled to Tescos to pick up tour shirts, inexplicably buying eight green and one blue for the group of 10, with Ian compounding matters with his leisurely use of the facilities.
A late lunch at the friendly Archer’s restaurant enabled the group to become acquainted, with a choice selection of northern Thai cuisine washed down with Singhas in the company of local resident and Lamma stalwart John Fox. Chucker came in for some special attention from fines master Duncs, whose mixed choice of spirits left him feeling “rather queasy”. Craig “Boots” Davies arrived and played catch-up at the United Nations Irish Pub as the boys fraternised with the Chiangmai team including former LCC statesman Chris Coombes. Lethal’s plan to trick them into drinking too much seemed to backfire, however, while Tarry batted on downstairs unaware of where his mates were. A solid start.
SATURDAY
Brilliant sunshine and a ropey hotel breakfast greeted the team on match day. A 45-minute journey to the Prem school ground didn’t aid the group’s constitution. Rajen “front seat” Gohel was encouraged to get the beers in and delivered after a few mis-steps to lift spirits before arrival. The ground was large and resplendent, with pre-match pleasantries featuring Leo beers drunk through a Thirstbat, notably for the tour’s ageing virgins Duncs, Phil “have we met before” Daniels and Lethal. Also unveiled were a horse’s head for a player to wear who had a mare in the field and a Parore shirt, wig, and keeper’s gloves for the worst drop.
Chiangmai vs LCC
Cap’n Richie elected to bowl first, with Chucker and God keeping their top order in check with an accurate opening burst. Chucker was moving it away with a skill hitherto unknown to him or anyone else. Richie rang the changes, backed up by energy in the field from Phil and Duncs in particular. A couple of their batsmen wriggled free to make 50s, while Coombes looked back in anger at a “leg-side strangle”. Duncs was in uncompromising mood, up-ending the genteel surroundings with some colourful self-remonstrations but stealing the plaudits with two wickets and a “Mankad” runout. Chiangmai ended 35 overs on 220, which given the large, slow outfield was worth a shade above that. A silver service lunch on starched white tablecloths followed in the pretty school ground’s restaurant.
LCC opened up with Duncs and Lethal, who rattled along towards a 50 stand in quick order. After some healthy blows, Lethal took one risk too many but Duncs persevered. God promised much with some sweet timing only to be caught, while Zika laid down a manly marker with the game’s first six over long-on. He perished to bring Brad “class act” Tarr to the crease. Batting with patience, he and Duncs worked hard. But LCC slipped from 50-1 to 100-4 as Duncs’ vigil was finally ended. Tarry and Boots kept the chase in hand, with the former intent on seeing off their wily spinner. But off the final ball of his spell Tarr looked to give him a send-off and perished at the attempt. Boots and Cap’n Richie had a good couple of overs after drinks, picking the bad nuts. It took an excellent delivery from the opening bowler to dismiss Boots lbw. Cap’n Rich powered on in the company of our two Thai lads, who were full of heart. Cap’n Richie launched the day’s biggest six over cow corner to keep the flame flickering, before Chucker came and went. Support for the skipper came from nonchalant Phil, who carried his bat admirably. But with about 20 needed off the last over, Richie smacked one to long off, who held a one-handed catch to hand LCC a valiant 18-run defeat. The teams got together for the post-match pleasantries, with Richie picked as Lamma’s man of the match for his sterling efforts with the bat. Duncs donned the horse’s head for his fielding mishaps and God bagged the Parore for shelling a sitter.
The bus ride back was raucous, with Zika and Richie strumming the ukulele and the boys sticking it to the man with some hoary renditions including the LCC song donned in Lamma blazers. Rajen got the beers in. It’s the abiding memory of the tour, LCC brothers in arms howling in stripy jackets. The boys freshened up before heading to the superb Riverside restaurant for Thai food and Singhas. We found a bar for a lock-in to catch the England v Wales rugby match. What happened after remains a mystery known only to a few tuk-tuk drivers who’d seen our sort before.
SUNDAY
A slow start received a pick-up with a sherry in Phil’s room followed by pre-match Leos in God’s palatial suite. Lethal was required to unpick the lock to the hotel room he was sharing with Chucker, who had gone walkabout with the key. The team headed out on the mercifully short ride to the Gymkhana ground. Rajen got the beers in. Our tardy arrival ensured we watched our rivals battle out a hard-fought encounter while enjoying some extra preparation time at the bar, where LCC racked up a healthy tab. Thirstbat saw lots of action.
Match 1
Lanna CC vs Lanna Thais
(eight-a-side, 12 overs per innings)
Lanna CC (144/3) bt Lanna Thais (94/7)
Match 2
Lanna Thais vs LCC
LCC batted first, with Zika smacking a couple of lusty blows and Tarry ably supporting. Some quick wickets left the innings in need of a sprinkling of ginger magic from Richie, who crashed four boundaries in 11 balls. LCC posted a healthy 115-7 after 12 overs at a shade under 10 an over.
Lanna Thais' opener and no3 retired out, but God kept LCC in touch with an excellent spell of 1-14 in his two overs. Boots and Richie helped to keep it tight, in-between some iffy pies thrown by Lethal. Lanna Thais cracked the final ball of the match for four to finish on 119-4 for a famous win. LCC licked their wounds with some lunch-time refreshments.
Match 3
Lanna CC vs Lamma CC
Cap’n Boots stuck with the tried and tested openers Tarry and Zika, who got us up and running. Class act Tarr in particular showed his mettle, running low on partners as he romped to retire out on 30. But the total of 82-6 was comfortably below par. It was left to Chucker Harling to pick up LCC’s only wicket as Lanna raced to the target with overs to spare in a mercifully quick kill. The early finish enabled Lamma’s four Sunday leavers to make their dry flight with time to spare. Rarely can a Monday at work have felt so hollow, with bodies broken and PE cupboards retreated to.
Many thanks to Chucker for organising; to the Chiangmai players as excellent hosts and expressing interest in a return fixture in Hong Kong; and to all the LCC boys for being superb and breaking in three tour virgins in true LCC style.
Lethal
Players: Chucker, Boots, Phil, Richie, Zika, Duncs, Tarry, God, Lethal
Fan base: Rajen
FRIDAY
It was strangely out of keeping with LCC’s heady tour to Chiangmai that the trip was bookended by two plane rides in which alcohol was prohibited. Tour organiser Ian “Chucker” Harling blemished his copybook at the earliest opportunity, booking outbound flights in the tee-total emergency exit seats, leaving the thirsty tourists to rely on sleight of hand by Duncs to supplement the 16 Coca-Colas they had to order. The group was travelling light with the exception of God, whose kit bag was truly Almighty. But the boys arrived in good spirits, with Richie “a little bit” Abbott housing a bushy ginger Tom Selleck on his upper lip.
Chucker’s reputation was partially restored via the primely located Top North Hotel, whose pool bar kept Tarry & co happy with long island iced teas. As the group settled, Chucker and Lethal travelled to Tescos to pick up tour shirts, inexplicably buying eight green and one blue for the group of 10, with Ian compounding matters with his leisurely use of the facilities.
A late lunch at the friendly Archer’s restaurant enabled the group to become acquainted, with a choice selection of northern Thai cuisine washed down with Singhas in the company of local resident and Lamma stalwart John Fox. Chucker came in for some special attention from fines master Duncs, whose mixed choice of spirits left him feeling “rather queasy”. Craig “Boots” Davies arrived and played catch-up at the United Nations Irish Pub as the boys fraternised with the Chiangmai team including former LCC statesman Chris Coombes. Lethal’s plan to trick them into drinking too much seemed to backfire, however, while Tarry batted on downstairs unaware of where his mates were. A solid start.
SATURDAY
Brilliant sunshine and a ropey hotel breakfast greeted the team on match day. A 45-minute journey to the Prem school ground didn’t aid the group’s constitution. Rajen “front seat” Gohel was encouraged to get the beers in and delivered after a few mis-steps to lift spirits before arrival. The ground was large and resplendent, with pre-match pleasantries featuring Leo beers drunk through a Thirstbat, notably for the tour’s ageing virgins Duncs, Phil “have we met before” Daniels and Lethal. Also unveiled were a horse’s head for a player to wear who had a mare in the field and a Parore shirt, wig, and keeper’s gloves for the worst drop.
Chiangmai vs LCC
Cap’n Richie elected to bowl first, with Chucker and God keeping their top order in check with an accurate opening burst. Chucker was moving it away with a skill hitherto unknown to him or anyone else. Richie rang the changes, backed up by energy in the field from Phil and Duncs in particular. A couple of their batsmen wriggled free to make 50s, while Coombes looked back in anger at a “leg-side strangle”. Duncs was in uncompromising mood, up-ending the genteel surroundings with some colourful self-remonstrations but stealing the plaudits with two wickets and a “Mankad” runout. Chiangmai ended 35 overs on 220, which given the large, slow outfield was worth a shade above that. A silver service lunch on starched white tablecloths followed in the pretty school ground’s restaurant.
LCC opened up with Duncs and Lethal, who rattled along towards a 50 stand in quick order. After some healthy blows, Lethal took one risk too many but Duncs persevered. God promised much with some sweet timing only to be caught, while Zika laid down a manly marker with the game’s first six over long-on. He perished to bring Brad “class act” Tarr to the crease. Batting with patience, he and Duncs worked hard. But LCC slipped from 50-1 to 100-4 as Duncs’ vigil was finally ended. Tarry and Boots kept the chase in hand, with the former intent on seeing off their wily spinner. But off the final ball of his spell Tarr looked to give him a send-off and perished at the attempt. Boots and Cap’n Richie had a good couple of overs after drinks, picking the bad nuts. It took an excellent delivery from the opening bowler to dismiss Boots lbw. Cap’n Rich powered on in the company of our two Thai lads, who were full of heart. Cap’n Richie launched the day’s biggest six over cow corner to keep the flame flickering, before Chucker came and went. Support for the skipper came from nonchalant Phil, who carried his bat admirably. But with about 20 needed off the last over, Richie smacked one to long off, who held a one-handed catch to hand LCC a valiant 18-run defeat. The teams got together for the post-match pleasantries, with Richie picked as Lamma’s man of the match for his sterling efforts with the bat. Duncs donned the horse’s head for his fielding mishaps and God bagged the Parore for shelling a sitter.
The bus ride back was raucous, with Zika and Richie strumming the ukulele and the boys sticking it to the man with some hoary renditions including the LCC song donned in Lamma blazers. Rajen got the beers in. It’s the abiding memory of the tour, LCC brothers in arms howling in stripy jackets. The boys freshened up before heading to the superb Riverside restaurant for Thai food and Singhas. We found a bar for a lock-in to catch the England v Wales rugby match. What happened after remains a mystery known only to a few tuk-tuk drivers who’d seen our sort before.
SUNDAY
A slow start received a pick-up with a sherry in Phil’s room followed by pre-match Leos in God’s palatial suite. Lethal was required to unpick the lock to the hotel room he was sharing with Chucker, who had gone walkabout with the key. The team headed out on the mercifully short ride to the Gymkhana ground. Rajen got the beers in. Our tardy arrival ensured we watched our rivals battle out a hard-fought encounter while enjoying some extra preparation time at the bar, where LCC racked up a healthy tab. Thirstbat saw lots of action.
Match 1
Lanna CC vs Lanna Thais
(eight-a-side, 12 overs per innings)
Lanna CC (144/3) bt Lanna Thais (94/7)
Match 2
Lanna Thais vs LCC
LCC batted first, with Zika smacking a couple of lusty blows and Tarry ably supporting. Some quick wickets left the innings in need of a sprinkling of ginger magic from Richie, who crashed four boundaries in 11 balls. LCC posted a healthy 115-7 after 12 overs at a shade under 10 an over.
Lanna Thais' opener and no3 retired out, but God kept LCC in touch with an excellent spell of 1-14 in his two overs. Boots and Richie helped to keep it tight, in-between some iffy pies thrown by Lethal. Lanna Thais cracked the final ball of the match for four to finish on 119-4 for a famous win. LCC licked their wounds with some lunch-time refreshments.
Match 3
Lanna CC vs Lamma CC
Cap’n Boots stuck with the tried and tested openers Tarry and Zika, who got us up and running. Class act Tarr in particular showed his mettle, running low on partners as he romped to retire out on 30. But the total of 82-6 was comfortably below par. It was left to Chucker Harling to pick up LCC’s only wicket as Lanna raced to the target with overs to spare in a mercifully quick kill. The early finish enabled Lamma’s four Sunday leavers to make their dry flight with time to spare. Rarely can a Monday at work have felt so hollow, with bodies broken and PE cupboards retreated to.
Many thanks to Chucker for organising; to the Chiangmai players as excellent hosts and expressing interest in a return fixture in Hong Kong; and to all the LCC boys for being superb and breaking in three tour virgins in true LCC style.
Lethal
Lamma CC go to Bangkok – 23-25 October, 2015
(and Chucher went shopping in Bangkok from 20-22 October, 2015)
One by one, the Lamma CC team for the Bangkok Sixes dribbled into town to prepare to do battle with the 11 other sides that had also flown in from many points around the world.
Chucker, rather sensibly he thought, arrived a few days earlier to do what he does best at and during which get the team shirts.
Next in was Mikey, feverishly finishing up his work so he could then concentrate on his captain’s duties - such as missing the Captains Meeting so he can see his pal across town!
Brad arrived in style on Thursday afternoon, found in the hotel lobby with the rest of the event organisers where you couldn’t see the table for beers, and soon to follow was Richie & Rob. Dave arrived late in the evening when we were then a full complement to hit Bangkok in our dressed-to-kill blazers.
A nice surprise from all the arrivals was to run into our ex-pro and friend of several years, Lama, who was captaining his team from Nepal.
Friday morning came around oh-too-soon and we made it over to the wonderful grounds and facilities of the Harrow International School. Our games were a bit of a struggle against sub-cont teams and Richie dealing with a groin strain and Brad with seized thighs, but we dealt with it as best we could and Dave got into some big runs. Lamma, played 2, lost 2.
One game to deal with on the Saturday. This is always a little dangerous when it then leaves us with a lot of time on our hands... Brad was unable to play and Richie did a great job deputising for him behind the stumps, but we managed to lose this game too, despite Chucker’s fine over of 5-2, finding himself on a hat-trick off of his first 2 balls.
We nearly made it back to the hotel when Rob got the tournament coach to stop at a quiet little bar a few Soi’s before, for him to drown his sorrows from a battering he took from an in-form batsman and the rest of us sympathetically helped him along his way. Lamma, played 3, lost 3.
Sunday was finals day and of course we found ourselves in the bottom tier to compete in. This was a master stroke by our captain as we knew we had a good chance of glory. Brad’s thighs had improved(!) and was no longer moving around like a TellyTubby and Richie was doing a fantastic job too despite his obvious discomfort. Dave & Mikey were hitting the ball very well, Chucker bowling steadily and with Rob now excelling with the ball. We just managed to scrape through the semi-final against Shanghai and so we were in the final against the mighty CBB’s in the very last game of the tournament.
CBB batted first and we managed to bowl tight and keep their score down. Could we stuff it up from here? Well we were capable but we didn’t give them a sniff. Dave batted as well as he had all tournament and took the game away from them, with excellent support from Brad and Mikey, Cap'n Mike smashing a ball for 6 to win the game in style. It felt like we had won the Cup, not the Plate, but it really didn’t matter. We were popular winners and we sung the Lamma song loud and proud!
Dave was the official “Player of the Final” as he dashed off for his flight with the applause ringing in his ears, while the rest of the team celebrated at the ground, on the coach and in the bars. Rob had the honour of being “Team Man of the Tour”. Lamma, played 5, lost 3, but won 2 when it mattered.
For pictures of our fun time in Bangkok, click here.
(and Chucher went shopping in Bangkok from 20-22 October, 2015)
One by one, the Lamma CC team for the Bangkok Sixes dribbled into town to prepare to do battle with the 11 other sides that had also flown in from many points around the world.
Chucker, rather sensibly he thought, arrived a few days earlier to do what he does best at and during which get the team shirts.
Next in was Mikey, feverishly finishing up his work so he could then concentrate on his captain’s duties - such as missing the Captains Meeting so he can see his pal across town!
Brad arrived in style on Thursday afternoon, found in the hotel lobby with the rest of the event organisers where you couldn’t see the table for beers, and soon to follow was Richie & Rob. Dave arrived late in the evening when we were then a full complement to hit Bangkok in our dressed-to-kill blazers.
A nice surprise from all the arrivals was to run into our ex-pro and friend of several years, Lama, who was captaining his team from Nepal.
Friday morning came around oh-too-soon and we made it over to the wonderful grounds and facilities of the Harrow International School. Our games were a bit of a struggle against sub-cont teams and Richie dealing with a groin strain and Brad with seized thighs, but we dealt with it as best we could and Dave got into some big runs. Lamma, played 2, lost 2.
One game to deal with on the Saturday. This is always a little dangerous when it then leaves us with a lot of time on our hands... Brad was unable to play and Richie did a great job deputising for him behind the stumps, but we managed to lose this game too, despite Chucker’s fine over of 5-2, finding himself on a hat-trick off of his first 2 balls.
We nearly made it back to the hotel when Rob got the tournament coach to stop at a quiet little bar a few Soi’s before, for him to drown his sorrows from a battering he took from an in-form batsman and the rest of us sympathetically helped him along his way. Lamma, played 3, lost 3.
Sunday was finals day and of course we found ourselves in the bottom tier to compete in. This was a master stroke by our captain as we knew we had a good chance of glory. Brad’s thighs had improved(!) and was no longer moving around like a TellyTubby and Richie was doing a fantastic job too despite his obvious discomfort. Dave & Mikey were hitting the ball very well, Chucker bowling steadily and with Rob now excelling with the ball. We just managed to scrape through the semi-final against Shanghai and so we were in the final against the mighty CBB’s in the very last game of the tournament.
CBB batted first and we managed to bowl tight and keep their score down. Could we stuff it up from here? Well we were capable but we didn’t give them a sniff. Dave batted as well as he had all tournament and took the game away from them, with excellent support from Brad and Mikey, Cap'n Mike smashing a ball for 6 to win the game in style. It felt like we had won the Cup, not the Plate, but it really didn’t matter. We were popular winners and we sung the Lamma song loud and proud!
Dave was the official “Player of the Final” as he dashed off for his flight with the applause ringing in his ears, while the rest of the team celebrated at the ground, on the coach and in the bars. Rob had the honour of being “Team Man of the Tour”. Lamma, played 5, lost 3, but won 2 when it mattered.
For pictures of our fun time in Bangkok, click here.
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End of Season Tour 2014 - Chiang Mai
Lanna CC vs Lamma CC
Prem Oval, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Saturday, May 17, 2014
By Andy Fullard
Lanna CC vs Lamma CC
Prem Oval, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Saturday, May 17, 2014
By Andy Fullard
Lamma CC had not seen the likes of it throughout its proud history… probably. I refer of course to the epic End of Season Tour 2014 to Chiang Mai in May.
With the organisational combination of our own chairman Mark Burns and former Lamma CC player (now Chiang Mai resident) Chris Coombes putting together a tour itinerary for a large touring squad, all that was left was for the best cricket team in the world to get aboard a plane and “Drink, tra la la la” our way over to Thailand.
Tour Squad Roll Call:
• Mark ‘Monty’ Burns – Chairman, Life Member and happy clam
• Brad Tarr – Team Manager, Life Member, “coz I’m HAPPY!”
• John Fox – Life Member and house hunter
• Ian Harling – Life Member and happy shopper
• Andy Fullard – League Captain and one hit wonder
• Tom Woods – Social Captain and Game of Thrones star
• Tom Callahan – Mysterious, reserved and perhaps even sensible
• Andy Scott – A man who claims to have a Scottish passport
• Mike Iannini – American? Cricketer? Weird…
• Henry Parker – Arsenal fan with high blood pressure
• Ross Burgmann – Dead Man Walking (forever it must be so!)
• Richie Abbott – Bringer of innings credibility (also an Australian)
• Simon Joyce – Cunning thief of other people’s batting scores
• Gavin Saffer – Tour Virgin and geezer
• Mark Smith – Freshly arrived from darkest Shanghai
• Oli Armistead – A paddler. On holiday by mistake
• Ben Cooper – A walking miracle of modern medical science
So a massive squad (proudly featuring ALL FOUR LIFE MEMBERS) rolled into Chiang Mai, and our gracious host Chris Coombes quickly had us bused from the airport and out to the boozer. Smiles all round. I think someone forgot to remind us that there was meant to be some cricket played during the weekend.
Saturday morning saw us make the long (but lubricated) journey to the Prem Centre Oval, where we would play what was billed as the more competitive side of the Lanna CC team that we had two games scheduled against for the weekend. The Prem Oval is a beautiful setting and the opportunity to play on a turf wicket is always appreciated. Reduced to a T20 game due to earlier adverse weather, Andy won the toss – YES, ANDY WON THE TOSS! – and elected to bat. A slow wicket caused problems in terms of really getting the ball away, and the team struggled to a total of 100 all out on the last ball, the main contribution coming from 40 from “Aussie Rich” Abbott, with cameos from Brad and Monty. Henry didn’t get run out and slid his bat in at least twice. Generally, it was felt the score was competitive given the wicket.
Perhaps it wasn’t. The Lanna CC boys stuck to their task determinedly and, it has to be said with a lot of help from many dropped catches, polished off the total with two and half overs to spare. Lamma’s highlight was undoubtedly a sparkling 4-for from Monty, but overall a lacklustre performance resulted in a particularly vibrant post-match fines session, presided over as always by Ben “I never miss a trick” Cooper. Once people are being fined for discussing pensions, you know Ben has been taking careful note of your every move!
The Lamma boys massively appreciated the hospitality of our host club, in particular Chris and the Lanna chairman Dave. We also appreciated the quantity of alcohol. On sale. At the ground. During the game. While we were batting …
That’s possibly a consideration for the future. But then again, trying to make a Lamma CC touring side understand the negative correlations between booze and competitive cricket playing is like “fitting wheels to a tomato; time consuming and completely unnecessary” (Blackadder). To be fair, if we could score as many runs on tour as the number of comedy quotes the team can collectively come out with, we’d never lose!
On to Sunday’s game …
With the organisational combination of our own chairman Mark Burns and former Lamma CC player (now Chiang Mai resident) Chris Coombes putting together a tour itinerary for a large touring squad, all that was left was for the best cricket team in the world to get aboard a plane and “Drink, tra la la la” our way over to Thailand.
Tour Squad Roll Call:
• Mark ‘Monty’ Burns – Chairman, Life Member and happy clam
• Brad Tarr – Team Manager, Life Member, “coz I’m HAPPY!”
• John Fox – Life Member and house hunter
• Ian Harling – Life Member and happy shopper
• Andy Fullard – League Captain and one hit wonder
• Tom Woods – Social Captain and Game of Thrones star
• Tom Callahan – Mysterious, reserved and perhaps even sensible
• Andy Scott – A man who claims to have a Scottish passport
• Mike Iannini – American? Cricketer? Weird…
• Henry Parker – Arsenal fan with high blood pressure
• Ross Burgmann – Dead Man Walking (forever it must be so!)
• Richie Abbott – Bringer of innings credibility (also an Australian)
• Simon Joyce – Cunning thief of other people’s batting scores
• Gavin Saffer – Tour Virgin and geezer
• Mark Smith – Freshly arrived from darkest Shanghai
• Oli Armistead – A paddler. On holiday by mistake
• Ben Cooper – A walking miracle of modern medical science
So a massive squad (proudly featuring ALL FOUR LIFE MEMBERS) rolled into Chiang Mai, and our gracious host Chris Coombes quickly had us bused from the airport and out to the boozer. Smiles all round. I think someone forgot to remind us that there was meant to be some cricket played during the weekend.
Saturday morning saw us make the long (but lubricated) journey to the Prem Centre Oval, where we would play what was billed as the more competitive side of the Lanna CC team that we had two games scheduled against for the weekend. The Prem Oval is a beautiful setting and the opportunity to play on a turf wicket is always appreciated. Reduced to a T20 game due to earlier adverse weather, Andy won the toss – YES, ANDY WON THE TOSS! – and elected to bat. A slow wicket caused problems in terms of really getting the ball away, and the team struggled to a total of 100 all out on the last ball, the main contribution coming from 40 from “Aussie Rich” Abbott, with cameos from Brad and Monty. Henry didn’t get run out and slid his bat in at least twice. Generally, it was felt the score was competitive given the wicket.
Perhaps it wasn’t. The Lanna CC boys stuck to their task determinedly and, it has to be said with a lot of help from many dropped catches, polished off the total with two and half overs to spare. Lamma’s highlight was undoubtedly a sparkling 4-for from Monty, but overall a lacklustre performance resulted in a particularly vibrant post-match fines session, presided over as always by Ben “I never miss a trick” Cooper. Once people are being fined for discussing pensions, you know Ben has been taking careful note of your every move!
The Lamma boys massively appreciated the hospitality of our host club, in particular Chris and the Lanna chairman Dave. We also appreciated the quantity of alcohol. On sale. At the ground. During the game. While we were batting …
That’s possibly a consideration for the future. But then again, trying to make a Lamma CC touring side understand the negative correlations between booze and competitive cricket playing is like “fitting wheels to a tomato; time consuming and completely unnecessary” (Blackadder). To be fair, if we could score as many runs on tour as the number of comedy quotes the team can collectively come out with, we’d never lose!
On to Sunday’s game …
Lamma gets spanked in Chiang Mai
Lanna CC vs Lamma CC
Gymkhana Club, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Sunday, May 18, 2014
By Tom Woods
Lanna CC vs Lamma CC
Gymkhana Club, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Sunday, May 18, 2014
By Tom Woods
Woodsy won the toss and elected to bat first. The innings started with 13 dot balls, had an epic collapse in the middle (at one stage Lamma were 8-14), before Aussie Rich and Joycey added some respectability getting us to 77. The chief destroyer was from someone who could not really be described as a strike bowler but certainly did the damage to our opening tail-ender - mid-order batsmen as he finished with figures of 2-0-6-5.
77 was nowhere near enough. The run chase was done and dusted in 8.5 overs, but will be remembered for some awkward fielding by substitute fielder Oliver Armistead and a spectacular over by Andy Scott – probably his first and last with an actual cricket ball.
77 was nowhere near enough. The run chase was done and dusted in 8.5 overs, but will be remembered for some awkward fielding by substitute fielder Oliver Armistead and a spectacular over by Andy Scott – probably his first and last with an actual cricket ball.
Bangkok International Sixes
Harrow International School, Bangkok
October 25th-27th, 2013
Harrow International School, Bangkok
October 25th-27th, 2013
The last time a Lamma CC team travelled to Bangkok for the International Sixes, in 2011, the floods were rife and the last day of the competition was shut down.
When we returned in 2013 … a monk died and the pubs were shut down!
Never mind the history, here are the facts.
Four men from Lamma CC set off from Hong Kong Airport on a Wednesday:
Andy Fullard – Captain And Grand Palace Tourist (Fine!)
Ben Cooper – Tour Organiser, Fines Master and kickboxing legend
Brad Tarr – Event Organiser (!!!) campanologist and chief player recruiter/bat purchaser
Ian Beck – former Lamma captain and thoroughly bloody nice bloke (ask Ross!)
Now, I know what you’re thinking – Four is definitely not Six. Nothing gets past you lot…
Several beers and a two-hour flight later, we landed at Bangkok Airport to receive a phone call from a Lamma player who had been newly given leave to come along:
Ross Burgmann – an Aussie guitar hero and “Dead Man Walking”.
Ross would join us the following day before the competition started. So that’s Five.
Add to this Brad Tarr’s persuasive skills and willingness to agree to the acquisition of more bats for LCC whilst we were at the ground and you get:
Imran – purveyor of cricket gear, friend of Lamma and keen to flog bats.
The nature of sixes cricket is such that you never know how you will fare from game to game, with the possibility of huge scores being made, or very small ones being defended through getting cheap wickets. So we decided to take it on the chin and see what the teams from far and wide had to throw at us.
It’s too much to describe all six games we were able to play, so here is a convenient highlights package of the best moments:
• Ian Beck’s masterful knock in the first game to retire at 35 and give us a rollicking start
• Shanghai CC’s use of a full slip cordon for the first ball of our innings against them (we felt obliged to reciprocate, naturally)
• Our subsequent victory over said Shanghai team (not the Breezer Cup, but it still felt like vengeance!)
• Our incredible ability to lose three out of our first four games and still end up in the Shield semi final and subsequent final (note: please refer to “Brad Tarr – Event Organiser”. Seriously, he must have had something to do with it!)
• The masterful modern art pose exhibited by Benny on the boundary on day 3 entitled “Bent Double – the mysterious art of retching”, inspired by the ancient far eastern tradition of “BOOOOOOZE”
• Andy F’s stupendous feat of four undefeated innings without retiring once. It’s Sixes cricket, Fullard! There are actually gaps in the field, you moron!
• The team’s jubilant spirit and willingness to find alcoholic sustenance despite the passing of the King’s Chief Monk and the country going into shutdown, coupled with the admirable ability to continue playing
• A strong team showing in the Shield Final, only to eventually lose with a couple of balls to spare. Good effort boys!
And last but not least
• Ross. Possibly THE highlight of the competition. Not a man to be concerned with the details of how to stay match fit in a four-hour break between games, he bravely carried the social reputation of Lamma Cricket Club into a new dawn, courtesy of the refreshment provided by a mid morning fines session and the beers that followed with the Shanghai boys. Any player who can be physically propped up by the members of the opposition while fielding on the boundary, but then come on to bowl six balls on the stumps (however costly) deserves to be commemorated with a title. (A big shout out to Ian Beck for delivering a “get better” training montage worthy of a Rocky movie) The title duly awarded to Ross was the fitting “Dead Man Walking”, whilst all the other players went under the pseudonyms “Monty”, “Mark”, “Burnsy”, “Mark Burns” and… Imran.
This was a boom or bust event for the Asia Cricket Sixes tour, given the problems the Bangkok competition had faced over the previous years, and happily the turn out of 15 teams and a very successful conclusion to all the trophies meant that the Bangkok International Sixes could still live to fight another day. Good stuff, Lamma! Let the bells ring out for Bangkok!
When we returned in 2013 … a monk died and the pubs were shut down!
Never mind the history, here are the facts.
Four men from Lamma CC set off from Hong Kong Airport on a Wednesday:
Andy Fullard – Captain And Grand Palace Tourist (Fine!)
Ben Cooper – Tour Organiser, Fines Master and kickboxing legend
Brad Tarr – Event Organiser (!!!) campanologist and chief player recruiter/bat purchaser
Ian Beck – former Lamma captain and thoroughly bloody nice bloke (ask Ross!)
Now, I know what you’re thinking – Four is definitely not Six. Nothing gets past you lot…
Several beers and a two-hour flight later, we landed at Bangkok Airport to receive a phone call from a Lamma player who had been newly given leave to come along:
Ross Burgmann – an Aussie guitar hero and “Dead Man Walking”.
Ross would join us the following day before the competition started. So that’s Five.
Add to this Brad Tarr’s persuasive skills and willingness to agree to the acquisition of more bats for LCC whilst we were at the ground and you get:
Imran – purveyor of cricket gear, friend of Lamma and keen to flog bats.
The nature of sixes cricket is such that you never know how you will fare from game to game, with the possibility of huge scores being made, or very small ones being defended through getting cheap wickets. So we decided to take it on the chin and see what the teams from far and wide had to throw at us.
It’s too much to describe all six games we were able to play, so here is a convenient highlights package of the best moments:
• Ian Beck’s masterful knock in the first game to retire at 35 and give us a rollicking start
• Shanghai CC’s use of a full slip cordon for the first ball of our innings against them (we felt obliged to reciprocate, naturally)
• Our subsequent victory over said Shanghai team (not the Breezer Cup, but it still felt like vengeance!)
• Our incredible ability to lose three out of our first four games and still end up in the Shield semi final and subsequent final (note: please refer to “Brad Tarr – Event Organiser”. Seriously, he must have had something to do with it!)
• The masterful modern art pose exhibited by Benny on the boundary on day 3 entitled “Bent Double – the mysterious art of retching”, inspired by the ancient far eastern tradition of “BOOOOOOZE”
• Andy F’s stupendous feat of four undefeated innings without retiring once. It’s Sixes cricket, Fullard! There are actually gaps in the field, you moron!
• The team’s jubilant spirit and willingness to find alcoholic sustenance despite the passing of the King’s Chief Monk and the country going into shutdown, coupled with the admirable ability to continue playing
• A strong team showing in the Shield Final, only to eventually lose with a couple of balls to spare. Good effort boys!
And last but not least
• Ross. Possibly THE highlight of the competition. Not a man to be concerned with the details of how to stay match fit in a four-hour break between games, he bravely carried the social reputation of Lamma Cricket Club into a new dawn, courtesy of the refreshment provided by a mid morning fines session and the beers that followed with the Shanghai boys. Any player who can be physically propped up by the members of the opposition while fielding on the boundary, but then come on to bowl six balls on the stumps (however costly) deserves to be commemorated with a title. (A big shout out to Ian Beck for delivering a “get better” training montage worthy of a Rocky movie) The title duly awarded to Ross was the fitting “Dead Man Walking”, whilst all the other players went under the pseudonyms “Monty”, “Mark”, “Burnsy”, “Mark Burns” and… Imran.
This was a boom or bust event for the Asia Cricket Sixes tour, given the problems the Bangkok competition had faced over the previous years, and happily the turn out of 15 teams and a very successful conclusion to all the trophies meant that the Bangkok International Sixes could still live to fight another day. Good stuff, Lamma! Let the bells ring out for Bangkok!
Phuket Sixes Tournament Report
18-21 April 2013
By Simon Joyce
In April a motley group of cricketers from our prestigious club flew down to Phuket to partake in a very sunny cricket bonanza – ‘The Phuket Sixes’. Somehow my wealth of ZERO experience in sixes cricket qualified me to lead our team through our trials and tribulations both on and off the field.
Our team consisted of Coops, Monty, Tarry, Roycey, Joycey and an Aussie ring in, Jake Latter.
Our goal … to have FUN.
Our first day of matches on the Friday didn’t go according to plan. We lost both matches against MG Warriors (Plate winners) and PCG (Bowl winners) at which time it was decided by all that we needed a good meal accompanied with copious amounts of alcohol. This session provided me with some interesting insights into my team mates.
1. Coops is a friggin machine and a dangerous man to have as fine master
2. Tarry really loves Vodka….I mean he REALLY loves vodka
3. Roycey hates vodka, kind of like the total opposite of Tarry
4. Monty’s pool skills get better the drunker he becomes
5. Jake doesn’t drink, but that didn’t save him from Coops and from what I observed, you wouldn’t want to shotgun a bottle of Coca-Cola either
6. I’m a lightweight
The next day all 18 teams were seeded according to their results which basically plopped us into the Spoon competition with another 5 teams. Thankfully, our serious and heated strategy meeting (yeah, right!) seemed to have worked, and yes, we broke with Lamma tradition and batted first in the remaining matches winning both matches comfortably which set us up for the final of the Spoon competition against the Hong Kong Blues.
In the final the cricket gods were with us and we batted first with Monty and Jake opening, Tarry at first drop. Both openers played well and kept the score ticking along reaching a respectable total of 68 without loss. As we meandered out to field we were confident that we could defend this total, and although our first two overs were expensive, we were able to pile on the pressure with some tidy bowling (not one wide). A steady run of wickets saw us win the final comfortably.
So at the end of the day, I have to say the tournament was great fun and at the end of the final we walked off to the cheers of the local fan club ‘Winners of the Spoon Final! Ramma Chicken Club!’.
Other highlights:
1. Monty sprinting along the boundary like a gazelle in a pink hat
2. Tarry and Roycey monopolizing the free massages at the ground
3. Coops getting on the wrong bus but still making it to the ground on time
4. Jake getting a massage during our team photo
18-21 April 2013
By Simon Joyce
In April a motley group of cricketers from our prestigious club flew down to Phuket to partake in a very sunny cricket bonanza – ‘The Phuket Sixes’. Somehow my wealth of ZERO experience in sixes cricket qualified me to lead our team through our trials and tribulations both on and off the field.
Our team consisted of Coops, Monty, Tarry, Roycey, Joycey and an Aussie ring in, Jake Latter.
Our goal … to have FUN.
Our first day of matches on the Friday didn’t go according to plan. We lost both matches against MG Warriors (Plate winners) and PCG (Bowl winners) at which time it was decided by all that we needed a good meal accompanied with copious amounts of alcohol. This session provided me with some interesting insights into my team mates.
1. Coops is a friggin machine and a dangerous man to have as fine master
2. Tarry really loves Vodka….I mean he REALLY loves vodka
3. Roycey hates vodka, kind of like the total opposite of Tarry
4. Monty’s pool skills get better the drunker he becomes
5. Jake doesn’t drink, but that didn’t save him from Coops and from what I observed, you wouldn’t want to shotgun a bottle of Coca-Cola either
6. I’m a lightweight
The next day all 18 teams were seeded according to their results which basically plopped us into the Spoon competition with another 5 teams. Thankfully, our serious and heated strategy meeting (yeah, right!) seemed to have worked, and yes, we broke with Lamma tradition and batted first in the remaining matches winning both matches comfortably which set us up for the final of the Spoon competition against the Hong Kong Blues.
In the final the cricket gods were with us and we batted first with Monty and Jake opening, Tarry at first drop. Both openers played well and kept the score ticking along reaching a respectable total of 68 without loss. As we meandered out to field we were confident that we could defend this total, and although our first two overs were expensive, we were able to pile on the pressure with some tidy bowling (not one wide). A steady run of wickets saw us win the final comfortably.
So at the end of the day, I have to say the tournament was great fun and at the end of the final we walked off to the cheers of the local fan club ‘Winners of the Spoon Final! Ramma Chicken Club!’.
Other highlights:
1. Monty sprinting along the boundary like a gazelle in a pink hat
2. Tarry and Roycey monopolizing the free massages at the ground
3. Coops getting on the wrong bus but still making it to the ground on time
4. Jake getting a massage during our team photo
