Cricket
The Southerners currently field two teams – one in each of the two grades. The first grade is primarily a 50 over competition played at a reasonably high standard. We have had several county-standard players from a range of countries playing in this competition. The second grade is a 25 over competition also of a pretty good standard, albeit perhaps a little more socially orientated. That said, there is no real division between the teams with players pulling on the whites for both teams throughout the year
There are about ten to twelve games in a season played during the cooler, drier months of November-April, with the final series played around March-April. Make no mistake though, by March playing in Bangkok is like playing on the surface of the sun.
This year we have two grounds to play at: the Royal Bangkok Sports Club (RBSC) ground, and the RBSC Polo Ground. These are fine turf wicket grounds with full-size scoreboards and great facilities – equal to anything most of our cricketers have played at anyway. The quality of the grounds makes it a real joy to play cricket in Thailand.
We train in the nets of the British Club on Suriwongse Rd once a week, and head for post-practice beers at one of a few favoured booze mills. We are quite lucky to have good quality, floodlit nets to use to hone that beamer and work on that cross-bat hoik.
Our club is made up mainly of expats from all over the globe: Aussies, Kiwis, Indians, Brits, Japanese(!), and even a Scot! We also have some fine Thai players – Thais are naturals at this sport.
We enjoy the social side of cricket on occasion too. We like to drink – quite a lot actually. After eight hours in the Bangkok sun this is hardly surprising. We drink mostly at the Bus Stop Beer Garden in Sukhumvit Soi Four, and when the Oz/Nz cricket season’s on we watch the cricket on the telly there (only place in Thailand). We sometimes end up at the Safari Bar on very long nights, although we will all deny that.
The Club goes on tour two or three times a year to spread the Good Word and to try other beers. The highlight of the year is the Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes, which runs for a week in April. A few stories and pictures of that tour can be seen elsewhere on this site. We have also travelled to the Shanghai Cricket Sixes and the England Cricket Sixes over the last twelve months so there’s no shortage of tours for the keen cricketer. We will probably tour to other Asian cities in the next twelve months, namely Jakarta and Hong Kong. Unlike the South African touring teams, Southerners’ wives are allowed on tour. Needless to say, many of the Southerners are also good breeders so kids are always welcome.
The Southerners are also committed to helping kids’ cricket in Thailand. We assist with supplying cricket gear to kids’ teams, cash donations, and we donate valuable cricket paraphernalia to the Chiang Mai Sixes for auction with proceeds going to the local “Sawasdee Cricket” competition, a local version of Australia’s “Kanga Cricket”.
Want to join and get a good innings? contact us at ma@deliveringasia.com
