Thunders was a team of friends gathered together by Shafil who has been coming to the Chiang Mai Sixes for twenty years with a variety of teams from Bangladesh. NCL Dynamites had won the Cup in 2019 and Shafil assured us he would bring a strong team in an attempt to win the main trophy once again.
Shafil's squad had all played for NCL with the exception of Abaid who plays with Anwar Islam in Bangkok and was player of the tournament for Kashmir in 2017. Thunders were the number one seeds before the tournament and they did win the Cup final by defeating Islamabad Doosras from Pakistan by six wickets with another impressive performance. The Doosras had won six matches out of six on their way to the final and did well to score 64 for one in 5 overs against Thunders. But Abaid saved his best for last by scoring 30 from just seven balls to be named player of the finals. Faysal Ahmed won the player of the tournament for taking eight wickets including three in an over against Margate CC.
Darjeeling CC who have played in every tournament defeated newcomers Warriors from India to finish in third place, whiie Margate CC from Australia beat local favourites Thai Thevada to win the fifth-place play-off.
Drifters CC from the UK won the Shield by beating Gymkhana Cavaliers with four Australian players and two young Thai players. Luke Stokes of Drifters finished as leading run-scorer in the tournament and young Nung also reached 30 in the final.
Stuffed Beavers CC had enjoyed their earlier encounter with Thunders and were inspired to reach the Bowl final for the first time. They faced a depleted Blythswood team but their unsung heroes saw them to victory as Chris Love bowled a steady first over and Raj Boparai hit out strongly along with his remaining Australian signing Kevin Mason.
The Plate was retained by Tokyo Dingbats who had also won the trophy in 2019 as they defeated NT Bushrangers in the final and Sons of Pitches won the Spoon as they beat Red Lion Wombats in the final. The young Thai girls from Lamphun Red Caps beat Chiang Mai Chassies to win the Ladies Cup as all winners were given prizes from Elephant Parade and all the runners-up were given medals/
The presentations were all made on the ground after the week's cricket had been completed and all 24 men's teams were able to play matches on the last day as there were play-offs for all 24 positions along with the Ladies Cup final.
The dates have been announced for the 2024 Chiang Mai Sixes with the tournament beginning on Sunday 31st March and finals day being held on Saturday 6th April. We are hoping to be back to 30 men's teams next year together with the Ladies Cup.