THAILAND SCRAMBLE HOME
A super game of cricket between the women's developing world cricket powers Hong Kong and rising stars Thailand, saw Thailand win a thriller. No game involving Thailand has been anything less than exciting. They're that kind of team: ever ready to flirt with both defeat and victory on the way to a result.
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| Thailand's No. 9 Pimpika Jindam hits the winning runs |
Thailand won an important toss, and put Hong Kong in; not only are they a good chasing side, overnight dew made the outfield particularly heavy and it hampered Hong Kong's early strokeplay. Only Keenu Gill was able to find the ropes and it took three strokes of close to perfect timing to do so. Gill's duel with her opposite captain, Naruemol Chaiwai was a particular highlight of the day. Chaiwai with her gentle outswingers had Gill beaten thrice in one over, at the start of her next, Gill played the shot of the day, as she shimmied down the track to hit Chaiwai all along the ground to the long-of boundary.
Thailand fielded exceptionally well but for one dropped catch early on. The run-out of Dominique McCusker by Kaewkan Mongsomai at mid-on was excellent and the catch taken by her to dismiss Keenu Gill off a hard-hit drive ensured that Hong Kong would not post a total Thailand hadn't chased down before.
Hong Kong had the same close-in field, everyone but third man no more than ten yards from the bat when Thailand were batting. Thailand's batters not only hit the ball hard, they hit in the air too. Hong Kong had enough chances to dismiss Thailand twice. In between the chances, half-chances and misadventures runs were scrambled, poached and winkled out. It was Thailand's day. Just.
Siwaporn, a tall, powerful left-hander, hit two consecutive fours off Hong Kong talisman Chan Sau Har to ease the pressure after the loss of the second Thai wicket. It was an absolute arm-wrestle of a match with both sides alternately inching ahead, only to be pulled back as soon as they did so. Thailand lost two wickets on 49, Siwaporn and the captain Chaiwai. Big wickets they were too.
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| Dominique McCusker catches Nathakan Chantham and Thailand are 74 for 8 |
Gill remained the most threatening Hong Kong bowler and as she came up to bowl her fifth from the Nong Hoi End, Thailand needed just 4 runs to win with three wickets remaining. A single came off the first ball; Nanthakan hit the fourth into the safe hands of McCusker at mid-on.
The next over: the pace of McCusker from the Clubhouse End. Thai No. 9 Pimpika Jindaka hits to Yasmin Daswani cover and is dropped. Her partner, backing up, is run out by Daswani's direct hit.
74 for 9 at the start of the next over. Hong Kong's main bowlers all bowled out, with five overs each. The part-timer Jaswinder Kaur came on. Her first ball, a no-ball, was swung to square-leg by Pimpika, two were needed at that stage with the ball, batsmen and fielders all in motion. Two Hong Kong fielders chased the ball all the way to the boundary.
Chiang Mai native Pimpika had done it. Thailand won by one wicket. A truly significant victory.
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| Tears of relief from Thailand's captain |
A wrung-out Assistant Coach, Jum Maneerat of Thailand, was herself exhausted afterwards, but delighted, "We won this match because we took more singles and bowled fewer wides than before. We played good cricket." Hong Kong's captain Keenu Gill was "proud of the way the team fought until the end. Even with one boundary needed we took two wickets, I'm not unhappy. It's a good result for Thailand, they fought hard."
The two teams could yet go all the way. Battle-hardened teams tend to.
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| Player of the Match Pornthiva Olarakchat of Thailand |
ACC U-19 Women's Championship 2008
Thailand v Hong Kong at Chiang Mai Gymkhana
Thailand won the toss and elected to field
Hong Kong: 76 off 22.1 overs (K.Gill 35, P.Olarakchat 4-9)
Thailand: 79/9 (21 overs, M.Hill 2-19, C.S. Har 2-22, K. Gill 2-11)
Player of the Match: Pornthiva Olarakchat (Thailand)
Scorecard
Pictures courtesy of Eric Little and Robert Thaprom
Filed December 16 2008
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