Cricket is on the Thai menu as season starts

The Thai cricket season is well under way. Below are reports from the last two weekends of play. 'Beyond The Test World' hopes to include an explanation of the league set-up and an overview of the season so far in the next edition.

British Club Open with a Win:-

A new-look British Club side opened the season with an impressive 52-run win over last year's TCA 50 overs league premiers, Southerners, at the AIT ground on Sunday (22/1).

Batting first, BC overcame tight bowling from Rainer Blitz (3-30) and John Greenway (1-24) to compile a respectable 7-229 off their 50 overs.

A 3rd wicket partnership of 107 between debutant Doug Kinsella (44) and John Williams (55), and a late quick-fire 25 from Roy Clogstoun, were the highlights of the BC innings.

Despite a match-high knock of 62 from James Moss and an unbeaten 38 from Dave Metcalfe, Southerners struggled to find a match-winning partnership and were dismissed for 177 inside 44 overs.

Accurate early bowling from Rob Lewicki (2-31) and Kinsella (1-36), and sharp fielding from BC ensured the Southerners bats were always under pressure. Matt Pennington's smart work to run out Southerners batting star Blitz early in his innings was a turning point in the match.

The other main wicket-takers for BC were Williams (3-23), Jay Saraff (2-5) and Nandu Saraff (1-4). While the win clearly signals the British Club's return as a serious challenger in 2000, Southerners were without several key players and will have a chance to put their season back on track against TISC at AIT on Saturday, starting at 9am. In the 25-overs league matches on Sunday, last year's premiers YTSA take on the home side AIT at 830am, with Jogani meeting ICC in the late match from 1230pm.

TISC in Record Win The Thai Indian Sports Club soared to the top of the TCA 50-overs league on Saturday (28/1) with a record 228-run win over Southerners at the AIT ground. Despite losing two early wickets, centuries by Virender and Ashish and a cameo 79 from Sailesh powered TISC to a record 8 for 384 off their 50 overs, virtually ending the match as a contest. Virender's 127 included 17 boundaries, while Ashish belted two sixes and 16 fours in his quick-fire 104. Of the Southerners bowlers, only Prashant Nanda (2-51) and Rainer Blitz (1-46) were spared embarrassment as the TISC bats ran rampant.

TISC's naggingly accurate bowling, led by Amit (3-21), Chanky (2-23) and Virender (2-8), then dismissed last year's premiers for only 156 in 44 overs.The comprehensive win has lifted the new-look TISC to the top of the 50-overs league with three wins from three games, and has virtually guaranteed the club a finals berth in May. The win should have also delivered a clear message to the rest of the TCA field that TISC's potentially explosive batting will make them a tough team to beat in the finals series.

Southerners, on the other hand, will need to regroup following their second loss in a row. Last year's undefeated champions will need to win all of their remaining games to secure a semi-final place.