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".
