Makhamwan youth games-Uttaradit 2011

The 27th annual Thailand National youth games will be held this year in Uttaradit, and this will be the second time cricket will have been seen by the Thai public, last year as a demonstration sport this year as a fully fledged sporting discipline.

Chiang Mai U-19 Boys were 2010 champions at Phetchabun while the U-19 Girls finished a very creditable forth with a scratch team after losing a bowl off with Khon Kaen. Earlier this year both the Boys and Girls won Cricket Thailand's national championships, both very convincingly, the Boys bowled out Bangkok for 5 runs in one of the group games showing their excellent all round cricket skills with no one really testing them in any of the games, but now the other teams in the competition know all about the high standards of Chiang Mai cricketers have set out so maybe Chiang Mai's young cricketers will face tougher opposition this tournament.

The final outcome was both encouraging, yet a disappointing finish for both teams, both won their group, and semi final games convincingly, never looking in trouble, but this competition like many more they will play in the future is down to, how you play on the day.

The Girl's finished 4th at last years games, but this year its a much improved team, winning the CAT National championships against Bangkok in Bangkok in January was a fantastic performance, so to reach the final again is a brilliant achievement and also a measure of how much they have improved, even this final went down to the wire and were unlucky not to win. At Uttaradit Bangkok had their revenge but I am sure that this Chiang Mai Girl's squad has a lot more to come, if they continue to develop at this rate they will be unstoppable,

The Boy's were surprisingly in the end well short of the score, although they still had 1.3 overs remaining when they were bowled out, well in a 15 over a side competition that's not really good enough. Despite winning the CAT National championships January very convincingly, well "your only as good as your last game" springs to mind. Maybe the poor running between the wickets and technique were factors but one day cricket whether T-20 or 50 overs is about pacing yourself and not panicking, keeping a cool head under pressure, you do not have to be the best cricketers in the world to win trophies. We are sure that these Boy's have learned a lot from this competition, but they can only learn by playing more cricket and playing in more competitions, Chiang Mai Boy's are a talented team and have several individual players who will be the future for Thailand cricket, but hours and hours of net practice can only prepare you for part of any game or competition.