The 35th Chiang Mai Cricket Sixes is next week! Here’s all you need to know

Established in 1988, the Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes is one of the world’s most popular and long-running amateur cricket tournaments. It brings together teams from around the globe for a week of fast-paced, five-over-a-side matches, fostering friendships and fierce, but friendly, competition. 

The historic Gymkhana Club has been the host for the tournament since its inception. The grounds are set up with tents for all competing teams, boundary banners circling the field, and a Food Village serving a variety of cuisines throughout the day. The Boundary Bar – a special bar that opens for the event – serves as the social epicenter, where players and spectators mingle over ice cold beers and penciled in scorecards. 

Since 2000, the Sixes has also proudly supported junior cricket in Northern Thailand, helping grow the sport from the grassroots up. The very first Sixes Junior Cricket Cup kicked off with just three schools – Prince Royal’s College, Montfort College and Chiang Mai International School, with more joining in later years. However this year, the junior tournament is separate from the sixes, titled Sawasdee Cricket Cup, and usually occurs later in the year.

This year, over thirty teams are flying in from Australia, England, Finland, Greece, Jersey, Japan, Laos, New Zealand, UAE, and more locally, Thailand.

Local teams include crudely named local favourites Lanna Purple Helmets, Floggers & Robbers, and the Lampang Lion Kings will fight over the plate and spoon, while more serious teams from overseas will show their prowess competing for the cup and shield. 

Teams from the UK – where cricket was first invented – include 2024 spoon winners Armadillos and cup-winning-wannabees Drifters, while Australia makes up the main cohort of international players with eleven different teams on the tournament board including 2024 plate winners Red Lion Wombats and 2024 shield winners Margate CC. 

As always, a ladies tournament will also take place, with three teams, Central Spirit (AUS), Down Under Divas (AUS) and Lampang Red Caps (TH) each competing for the legendary Ladies Cup. 

A full line-up of teams can be found on the Cricket Sixes website here. 

Play starts on Sunday March 30th and concludes Saturday April 5th. 

The action kicks off with a Welcome Party on Saturday, at the Gymkhana Club, where teams and well-known spectators gather to renew old friendships and forge new ones. 

From Sunday morning, matches run daily from 9am to roughly 5pm, depending on runs and innings, concluding on Saturday, April 5, at 6pm where various winning prizes, including the Cup, Shield, Bowl, Plate and Spoon will be awarded.

All games happen at the Gymkhana Club, so there’s no difficulty finding where to watch it from, while a number of pubs and bars around the city, including UN Irish Pub will have the event televised for patrons and those who prefer to watch from the comfort of their air-conditioned bar. 

A full tournament schedule can be found on the Cricket Sixes website here.

In both 2023 and 2024, it was all about the NCL Thunders from Bangladesh, who came out swinging and claimed back-to-back Cup wins. However, their absence this year is a shock to many but a rare opening for other teams to steal the cup victory without having to face their biggest rivals. In 2024 they narrowly edged out St Francis de Sales from Australia, a team also missing this year – leaving it to anyone’s guess on who’s going to come out on top.

To be honest, predicting who wins a five-over match is a fool’s game, but in the name of cricket fun, our eyes are on Darjeeling CC or Drifters. These two long-standing teams have played in almost every single edition of the Sixes, so if experience counts for anything, these veterans could definitely step up if given the chance. 

But in the end, we all know the real winners are the ones hanging out at the Boundary Bar with a cold beer in hand. The losers? Probably doing a vodka slammer at the notorious Floggers & Robbers team tent… 

The tournament isn't just about cricket; it's a celebration of international camaraderie and an opportunity for old friends to regroup and join the fun. 

As a result, there’s a ton of evening social events held throughout the week, sponsored by the event, that offer players and spectators a true Chiang Mai experience. Details of these events are typically announced during the Welcome Party, but usually include beer buffets, trips to boxing events, club nights, hotel cocktail sundowners and lavish dinners. 

One highlight that is expected to make a comeback is the final night big barbeque night, where about a dozen pigs are grilled at the club and the entire green is turned into a dinner party, complete with awards, speeches, live music and more.

Another is the un-official slip-and-slide tradition where, on the penultimate day, local teams set up a soapy plastic slider and force all first-time cricket sixes players to take the plunge and slide towards a strong cup of luke-warm whisky soda. Although, if you’re feeling up to it, anyone can give it a go…

If you’re keen to spectate but it's your first time, here’s some helpful information to get you pitch-side and ready for the action. 

Getting to the Gymkhana Club is as easy as opening Google Maps and following the directions, however parking is limited so we’d recommend getting a Grab or red truck to avoid the faff of finding a spot or the annoyance of being blocked in when you want to leave. 

The tournament is a completely free event, and spectators are welcomed for all matches. The event is a family-friendly event with food markets, bars and activities for little ones to keep busy. 

The grounds have shade at the bar and at the various team tents that surround the oval pitch, but it can get crowded for bigger matches to prepare sunscreen, a hat or umbrella in case you’re stuck in the sun. 

While the atmosphere is relaxed and casual, when cricket matches are in progress spectators are encouraged to keep quiet during bowling and batting sequences so as to not distract the players in those crucial moments. People have been removed from the event for shouting over a batter – and teams run the risk of disqualification if the shout or noise comes from their tent. 

If you’re new to cricket, don’t worry – you’re not alone. Given it’s not a popular sport here in Thailand, you can easily get away with asking questions to fellow, more versed, spectators while watching. But if you want to save face, here’s a quick primer to get you up to speed so you can follow the action, or at least fake it convincingly. 

At its core, cricket is a battle between the batting team (trying to score runs) and the bowling team (trying to get the batters out). Runs are the points. Batters earn them by hitting the ball and running between the wickets, or by hitting the ball to the boundary. The bowling team tries to get batters out by throwing the ball at the wicket – this is, unsurprisingly called, taking a wicket.

Cricket Sixes differ from the main sport of cricket by fixing each match to a fastpaced, five-over game (that’s 30 balls per team), with just six players on each side. This shorter format makes for quick matches, big hits and plenty of risk taking action. It also ensures the sport ends when they want it to. Real cricket has a reputation of games going on for days, even weeks – the longest being nine days between England and South Africa in 1939. 

But, whether you're a cricket aficionado or a newcomer curious about the sport, the Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes offers a unique blend of semi-serious cricket and a tonne of fun and festivity. 

Grab your sunnies, rally your mates and head down to the Gymkhana Club for a week of unforgettable cricketing action. 

For more information, including match schedules, live scores and select live-stream matches, visit the official website chiangmaisixes.cricket