The Bangkok Post-Hua Hin Cricket Sixes 2014 has attracted a record number of 21 teams who will be plying their skills April 5-10 at the Dusit Thani Hua Hin hotel.
The flair of the 19th edition of the tournament is once again distinctly Australian. Bob “Dutchy” Holland, once Australia’s leading offspinner, is making his maiden foray to Hua Hin in the company of compatriots Shaun Graf, Michael Taylor and Mick Lewis who, at the height of their powers, represented their country.
They are joined by current state-level players Dan Worrall of South Australia, hard-hitting batsman Michael Hill of Victoria, Aaron O’Brien of New South Wales, and all-rounder Mike Dighton of Queensland.
The teams will be competing in three divisions — Cup, Masters and Veterans.
In the Cup and Masters competitions each team plays every other team in the first round and the top four qualify for the semi-finals played in a knock-out format.
In the Veterans division, the teams are divided into two groups of five, with the top three from each going into the next super-six stage, which is round-robin. The top two meet in the final while teams placing third and fourth play for the plate.
Melbourne Cricket Club (Red) are the defending champions of the main event, the Cup competition, where in the fray this year are only four sides but all highly competitive _ Melbourne Cricket Club (Blue), Thai Thevada and the winners of this tournament in its inaugural year, Thailand Colts, the perennial crowd favourites comprising of up-and-coming local cricketers.
The Masters competition features seven teams: Siam Cricket Club who will take the field under the banner Thai Masters, Black Swans from Western Australia, Melbourne Masters, Euroa Cricket Club (Victoria), Coorparoo Cricket Club (Queensland), Narayanganj Cricket Association from Bangladesh, and Lardna Follies led by AZustralian Brett Farmer, a diplomat-cricketer and a legend in his own right, having notched up perhaps the most extensive mileage in the history of the Cricket Sixes in Thailand.
Surprisingly, the Veterans division is seemingly the most popular this
year, having drawn a record number of entries. Ten teams are in contention in this division of golden oldies where players need to be above 50 years old, with each team allowed to field one player in the 45-50 age bracket.
This division will feature the cream of the expatriate cricket community in Thailand, notable among them being the evergreen David Currie, who holds the rare distinction of having played in every Hua Hin Sixes.