IMPORTANT UPDATE: Like many great backpacking adventures, plans invariably change, sometimes at the last minute.  In true backpacking form, the Khao San Road Tour has been postponed until 16 October, 2010.

Contact Jenny Hall for more details.

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Buckle up your bum bags people – the Southerners’ annual Khao San Road Tour will be happening Saturday, 16 October 2010.

Start: 5:30pm
Meet at: Soi 8 Bar then Tuk-Tuks to KSR.
Wear: Backpacker kit…bumbags, fisherman’s pants, traditional Isaan trinkets, beer singlets, bandanas, dreadlocks, dirty underwear etc
Bring: Personal backpacker background/story – Props encouraged
Don’t bring: Anything a backpacker would not have in KSR. Fines for offenders.

THE RULES

• Backpacker dress only – strictly no ‘flasherpack’ outfits
• No imported alcohol, only local stuff
• No credit cards allowed
• No mobile phones
• No indication of your expat status must be shown

As the great Nelson Mandela once said, “To travel is to grow – in mind, body and soul. And there be no better place to travel than Khao San Road; and no better travel partner than a Southerners Sports Club member. Word up, yo.”

…OK, so he never said that, but if he ever did find the time to tour, that’s what he would say.

It’s always an eventful night (last year saw one member get the club logo tattooed onto his arm in full colour) – all are welcome…current, prospective, old or new members. All are welcome – bring your friends and families!

If you’re an old, new or prospective Southerner, get down to Soi 8 Bar (Nana BTS) this Friday evening, 30 July for a cheeky beverage, a free BBQ put on by our sponsor Soi 8 Bar, and no doubt some riveting conversation on all things sport, Thailand or the ideological differences between eastern and western political philosophy.

With the new school year just about to kick off, it’s a great opportunity to introduce the club to any friends or colleagues new to Bangkok.

If you are new in town (or have even been around for a while…), and want to get involved in a spot of netball/touch rugby/cricket/rugby, get down and introduce yourself.

All are welcome!

We played well throughout the entire tournament, only dropping one game by two runs and winning our other three. It was a great mix of players that played throughout the tournament. A great feature was our positive mindset throughout each game – our energy in the field was fantastic.

Here are some highlights from our final against Asia United CC:

Our innings

• We won the toss (a clean sweep for the tournament!) and elected to bat.
• Faheem & Matt B got us off to a flyer, putting on 62 for the 1st wicket.
• At the 10-over drinks break we were 1/94, an awesome start that had us bantering totals of over 200.
• A good old Southerners middle order heart-attack ensued, seeing us capitulating at 4/128 after 17 overs.
• Enter Jamie……..bowled first ball, we lost 5 runs as per the 20/20 rules and the camp started to look a little edgy.
• Jamie was quick to bounce back however, dispatching the ball all over the place and ending up with 37 runs.
• We ended the innings on 172, less Jamie’s first ball duck – a total of 167.

Asia United’s innings

• Asia United were in trouble early with Big Ben & Peema bowling super-tight!
• Madan had to visit the hospital after splitting the webbing in his finger in the fourth over, with Vicki coming on to substitute for him.
• Peema & Jamie bowled beautifully and picked up two scalps each.
• We had them 5/41 at drinks…they were in serious trouble.
• After the break, Vicki took a blinder of a catch at point, a true goal keepers grab.
• A bit of a fight-back late in the innings saw Asia United 6/89 after 17 overs.
• However they didn’t quite have enough runs – we managed to cruise to a victory, restricting them to 9/108 off 20 overs.

A great team win and super effort by everyone on the day, including Khan & Nadeem scoring. Congratulations to Jamie on receiving the man of the match award – great to see the big fella grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck.

- Nathan Kincaid (Photos by Sheik Waseem Yousef)

Southerners 8/152 def. BCC 8/128

Some memorable moments from the match:

• Faheem destroying the BCC attack to get us off to a flyer.
• Guarav’s middle-order knock – very Michael Bevan like which also included a six. Mind you, it was off a 7 year old bowler (strangely they are approximately the same height).
• Manesh claiming a wicket with the very first ball of arguably his best ever bowling spell – well done champ.
• Big Ben Doherty’s magnificent wicketless bowling spell.
• Nadeem’s catch to remove the BCC’s gun bat.
• Nadeem’s botched run-out opportunity, possibly the worst in cricketing history!
• Our countless number of dropped catches – how we still won the game by so many runs is amazing in itself.
• Kiwi’s blinder of a catch late in the game – a real classic that surprised us all but none more than himself.

With one final match until the competition finals, another win this weekend against a formidable Asia Stars Cricket Club will take the Southerners to the top of their group and into the main final.

Best of luck to the lads this weekend!

- Nathan Kincaid

The victorious Southerners 2nd XI cricket side – A-Division Champions 2009-2010

The Bangkok XI CC won the toss and elected to bat – nothing to worry about, as that’s the way it had gone all year…perfect.

After two overs they were 0/21. Despite a terrific start by their batters, a concerted effort by our boys in the field and with the ball in hand enabled us to restrict them to 120 runs for the remainder of their innings.

First turning point for us occurred when Pema removed their two gun bats in consecutive balls. The Bangkok XI’s dangerous Manish went first ball with a little bolter from Pema (well sledged Adam) – a ball similar to those which Pema bowled way back in November/December, which got our season off to such a great start to the year.

The Bangkok XI then recovered slightly before big Jason and Dan put their middle order to the sword in the space of just over four overs, while a bit of lower-order resistance helped them to scratch and poke out a total of 120 runs. A shame we could not bowl them out as we had done to so many others.

Going into bat, for the first time I can remember our openers did not get a start – typical Grand Final gitters most likely. Not long after, Dan went to a good ball, then the ever-reliable Rob “Nurdles” Fidoe held up an end, doing the job he had been asked to do all year without fail – a credit to his powers of concentration, a real class act.

We had some difficult periods when they bowled well and kept the pressure on. The cricket certainly wasn’t easy, with heat being a definite factor factor for the old skipper.

By the end of the 21st over we needed 24 runs from 24 balls. The Bangkok XI’s skipper brought the right bloke onto bowl and I took to him……….yeahhhh cop that matey!!!

Job done, Southerners win!

Then we got on the piss.

A top job by the lads all year – from start to finish it was a pleasure to lead a fine bunch of blokes onto the field of play. I just wish I could have given blokes more of a go through the year – the 25-over is just not quite enough, especially when those batting further up the order did so well for most of the year.

I don’t think I have enjoyed a season of cricket so much since I have been in Thailand, and I thank all the players for their efforts all season.

P.S. The Cup leaks out the bottom…beer stains are now all over my table at home. Cheap Thai junk.

- Shane Thompson

Partnering with Rob Fideo (25), top-scoring batsman and skipper Shane Thompson led the way with an inspired 56 not out (including seven fours and two monster sixes) on top of some deft fielding with a cracking catch late in the game. Some say only a bad curry can possibly stop the great man, who Southerners President Vaughan McClear says is in the form of his life.

The Southerners were also helped by a solid batting partnership between Mohamed Faheem (24) and Gaurav Kukreja (19) , as well as some merciless bowling from Duncan Mcleod (3/19) and Jason Ellis (2/12).

The Southerners men in white will this Sunday meet the well-drilled Bangkok XI Cricket Club in what is shaping up to be one of the great Grand Finals of our generation.

Sources inside the Southerners camp say the men are still feeling fresh despite a long season – fit and ready to take on a challenging, but very beatable Bangkok XI CC outfit. Punters say a trip to the local TAB to put a few hundred Baht down on the Southos could be quite lucrative, with the bookies holding the Southerners at a tight $1.65 to win.

Support for the fellas will be most welcome this weekend – details below:

Southerners 2nd XI vs. Bangkok XI CC
Sunday 13 June
8:30am
Harrow International School

Best of luck to the lads from the Southerners 2nd XI!!

With thanks to Nadeem Yousuf.

British Club Elite beat Southerners 1st XI by 9 wickets at RBSC Polo Club. (Nathan Kincaid 89)

Southerners 2nd XI beat Royal Bangkok Sports Club by 125 runs at RBSC. (Jamie Cutbill 73, Rob Fidoe 40); (Duncan McCleod 3/11, Pema Thinlay 2/16, Ricky Whitfield 2/0)

Asian Institute of Technology beat Southerners 1st XI by 16 runs.
Southerners 2nd XI beat Chicha CC by 4 wickets.
Bangkok Stars beat Southerners 3rd XI by 6 wickets.

Harrow Ground was officially opened 26th January 2008 and since then numerous BCL League games have been played there along with touring teams from Pattaya and Singapore having a run as well. In May, Southerners resurrected the Guinness 20/20 Challenge @ Harrow which is a 20/20 Tournament run over 4 weeks. In October 2008, we hosted the Thailand International Cricket 6s which was a true success for the club as a whole. So to celebrate the first year of Harrow Ground, we will be running a 6s tournament on the weekend 24/25th January – SOUTHERNERS SOCIAL 6s BASH 2009

The tournament will be played over two days at Harrow and will include 8 teams put into two groups. Each team will play 3 round games and then a final dependant on where there come in their groups. The finals will be as follows and again, the names suggest a great weekend of cricket and a great time with ya mates.

1. Jug Final

2. Pint Final

3. Shot Final

4. Bucket Final

Games will start at 2pm Saturday and go until 6pm. Sunday will start up at 8.15 am and a full day with 12 games is to be played taking us to about 6pm. The following teams will be playing 1. Southerners Gold

2. Southerners Black

3. Rayong CC – (GIS School Rayong)

4. Rough Edged Gents – (Regents School Pattaya)

5. Thailand Thaigers

6. Patong CC (Phuket)

7. Chiang Mai CC 8. Siam Cockatoos

Hope to see you down at Harrow Sunday for some support and to watch some quite “interesting “ as well.

GUINNESS CUP FINAL
LITTLE INDIA SHIELD FINAL
BIG 6 BOWL FINAL
GLOBAL TURF PLATE FINAL
Man of Match awards for the round games were supported by Southerners Sponsor, Crown Relocations and supplied by BDS Steel Detailers(Thailand) for the finals.
After 4 weeks of great weather for cricket, the finals were set down to be played at Harrow International School on what some would say is the best artificial cricket wicket in Bangkok. Great praise must be given to Harrow International School for combining with the Southerners in getting wicket constructed and ready for play. Already it is a popular venue for senior cricket in the capital and junior cricket is due to start in the new season.
GUINNESS CUP FINAL: Siam Parrots successfully defended their 20/20 title by edging out Bangkok Cricket Club in a last over win to take out the Guinness Cup yet again.

LITTLE INDIA SHIELD FINAL : Chicha CC defeated Bangkok Stars in the Shield final in a tussle that is true to both teams fighting spirit.
BIG 6 BOWL FINAL : Well the inevitable happened. Southerner having a team in each group somehow came up against each other in the Bowl final. Both teams were battered by absences however the true Southerners grit was shown and two good teams were put out on the park for the final. Victory going to the Southerners Gold team comfortably however the Boat Race after the game was “honors shared” as reports went?
GLOBAL TURF PLATE FINAL : The battle for the bottom placed teams was between Punjab CC and Asia United CC. Punjab eventually coming out winners though the game was anyone’s with only a few overs remaining however Punjab emerged victorious

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