The Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes and the development of junior cricket in Northern Thailand have been closely linked throughout the long history of the competition that stretches back to 1988. A Thai team has been an integral part of the competition since the early days and the support for junior cricket was formalized in the year 2000.

A joint UN / ICC initiative for a Global Cricket Week in April 2000 coincided with that year’s 13th Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes. A junior version of cricket, known as Kanga Cricket in Australia or Kwik Cricket in England, was played with a soft ball and plastic bats with simplified rules.

Three schools took part in the first Sixes Junior Cricket Cup in April 2000, Prince Royal’s College, Monfort College and Chiang Mai International School, and softball cricket was soon taken up by other schools and became known as Sawasdee Cricket. A Sixes Sawasdee Cup has been held every year since 2000 with the first 12 competitions played at Gymkhana Club as part of the main Sixes and given its own special day before the end of the school term in March since 2012.