The third day of the 2019 Chiang Mai Sixes saw the conclusion of the first round in the Players Section as places in the Cup and Shield were decided, Gloucestershire Gipsies were highly impressive in the first match of the day as they scored 105 for 0 against Thai Thevada as Tom Smith hit 35 from 11 balls and Kyran Dill 33 from 9 balls. The Gipsies made it three wins out of three to head the Players Section on 18 points but NCL Dynamites were close behind on 16 points as they beat Divine Felons later in the day.
Both the Gipsies and the Dynamites have big reputations in Sixes cricket but it is Margate CC from Australia who have proved to be the suprise package in 2019 as they have also won all three of their matches to be the third unbeaten team in the Players Section. Abaid Ullah has joined the Tasmanian side this year and the Player of the Tournament from 2017 has again made a big impression.
Margate faced UN Irish Pub on Tuesday and they defeated the 2016 champions by six wickets as Abaid made 30 from 11 balls to complete a convincing victory with nine balls to spare. Margate are by no means a one man team as they gave an excellent performance in the field to restrict the Irish to 52 for 4 in their five overs.
UN Irish were still able to finish fourth in the table to claim their place in the first division, while the Divine Felons and the NCL Masters complete the six team line up in the Cup. Both NCL teams finished in the top six and the two teams from Bangladesh will face each other in the group stages of the Cup.
Yorkshire Puddings, Clifton Hill Stray Cats, Lanna, Darjeeling, Thai Thevada and Perth Postels are the six teams who will play in the Shield, Lanna narrowly overcoming Darjeeling by losing fewer wickets and Yorkshire Puddings defeating Perth Postels as both teams gained their first wins of the tournament.
The Second Round starts on Wednesday afternoon when the Cup and the Shield get underway but the morning will see the last of the First Round matches as the line ups for the Bowl, Plate and Spoon are decided.