CHIANG Mai, Thailand – Having finished Round 1 in 4th place, The Drifters qualified for one of 6 places in The Cup competition, Round 2, which commenced on Day 4. The first adversary of 2 matches would be The Maldives CC.
Luke achieved his aim of batting first by agreement and opened with Abaid and himself against Afzal Faiz. Abaid struck out hard and got 16 runs off 5 balls. Mohamed Saeed started the 2nd over with a No ball and then had Abaid caught by Afzal at Mid-on for 18. Bobby Raina went in at No3 and the score advanced to 28 for 1. Arif Riza bowled a tidy over for only 7 runs, but Ahmed Neesham could not contain Luke who decided the run rate needed to be increased by smashing two 4s and two 6s, 58 for 1 after 4 overs. Bobby hit out against Moosa Kaleem in the last over with three consecutive boundaries as Luke finished on 28 not out, bobby on 21 and The Drifters of 74 for 1.
Bobby opened the bowling to Moosa Kaleem who hit 4 consecutive fours and a good start with 18 from the over. Something had to be done about that. The next ball saw Afzal caught by Bobby off Abaid at Mid-off for 1. Arif Riza joined and immediately hit out at Abaid who was bowling with too much pace. 36 for 1 off 2. Jarrod Bruce bowled economically and the team fielded well as Arif was trapped LBW for 20, 40 for 2 off 3 and the Maldives were slightly ahead. Harry Archer bowled the 4th over and Luke dropped Moosa at Long-on as he and Kaleem reached 59 for 2. 16 runs were need off the last over but a superb over from Luke saw only 6 runs awarded as The Maldives finished on 65 for 2 with Moosa 28 and Ahmed on 20. The Drifters won by 9 runs.
Day 5 was a day off for the Drifters whilst Day 6 was the culmination of Round 2 for each trophy where the semi and finalists would be determined. The Drifters needed to win their 2nd match in order to gain a favourable draw.
Luke was allowed to bat first by Margate CC and he opened the batting with Abaid. The first 3 overs were a run-fest with Insha, Carter and Westwood on the receiving end of cricket abuse with 68 off 3 overs and Luke retiring on 32. Luckily, the match was already won when the wheels fell off. Abaid was bowled by Burhan for 28 and Harry was bowled for a Golden Duck, but the over finished on 82 for 2 off 4. The last over saw Noddy stumped for 5 and Bobby out to a ridiculous ramp shot for 2. The drifters finished on 87 for 4.
88 was going to be unassailable unless the drifters had a bowling or fielding disaster and that didn’t happen. A misfield by Abaid for 4 and a 6 by Clint Stewart was an ominous start, but Clint was then bowled for 10 with only 11 off Bobby Raina’s over. Abaid bowled well to restrict Margate to 21 for 1 off 2 and they were already well behind. Noddy did even better when Insha hit a ball down Bobby’s throat at Long-on for 1. 29 for 2 off 3. Harry also bowled well until a 6 off the last. 43 for 2 off 4 and it was all over. Luke got blasted for 17 by Burhan and Westwood who finished on 19 and 27 not out respectively, but still beaten by 27 runs.
The Drifters went into the semis against Clifton Hills Stray Cats who beat them in the first match. Revenge might be sweet on Finals Day. Luke won the toss and batted first. Abiad hit a 6 off the first ball and was then dropped by Johnny Wright on the boundary. That expensive mistake cost 24 runs in the first over. Wright bowled next as Luke got a chance to hit out and although he smashed 16 in 5 balls, the 6th had him caught by Burstin at Mid-off on the 3rd or 4th juggle, 40 for 1 off 2 and a blazing start. Abaid and Bobby bashed another 19 off Wilcox as the batting display continued. Ben Caplikas bowled the 4th over as Abaid hit another 6 and retired on 35 from 9 balls. 59 for 1 off 3. 15 off Burstin’s final over left Bobby 11 not out and The Drifters on 96 for 2. Revenge indeed.
Ben Wilcox and Ben Caplikas took the field against Bobby who had Ben Wilcox caught by Abaid for 14. A good start. Caplikas continued to bat well but Abaid had Jeff Lyons caught by Bobby at Long off for 8, 27 for 2 after 2. Noddy was expensive but the CHSC were way behind the RR. Hary had a good over for only 9, 54 for 2. Luke had a wobbly last over with 3 final balls, but the 23 didn’t matter. The Stray Cats finished on 77 for 2 having lost by 19 runs and the Drifters were in the final against Darjeeling, again. Could it be a double?
Darjeeling allowed Luke to bat first and Abaid went on the rampage with some magnificent shots and 26 off the first over from Christian Cobborn. Luke took his turn to pepper the boundary as Garrick Nielsen leached 15 runs, 41 off 2. Abaid was almost caught and bowled by Sunny but the shot was too fierce to hold as Abaid went on to retire at 31 from 8. 51 for 1 off 3. Bobby went in and out after a Golden Duck, but did he pay the Duck Ladies? Harry went in to assist Luke who also retired in the 5th over. The final score of 77 for 1 looked fairly secure.
Bobby opened the bowling to Sunny and Garrick who had a reasonable start, but superb fielding from Luke restricted them to 12. Abaid had a bit of a wayward over, but the batsmen could not get away, 26 off 2 and already a long way behind. Noddy had a tatty over but fortune swung his way when Abaid caught Sunny at deep cover for 9, 41 for 1 off 3. There was a short discussion as Noddy had to retire due to an injury sustain in a traffic accident the day before. Simon Philbrook took the field for a cameo performance. It was whimsical when he lost sight of a ball and ran in the wrong direction and the batsmen ran 4. Harry’s over was a little wobbly but it did get Jones caught by Luke at Mid-on for 6, 55 for 2 off 4. Luke bowled a really tidy last over for just 7 as Darjeeling quietly surrendered on 63 for 2 and The Drifters won their 2nd International 6s Tournament by 14 runs.
A magnificent performance with the Drifters getting better as the competition progressed. Great fielding from all, especially Luke and superb batting from the openers. Abaid was awarded the Player of the Tournament.
A huge thanks to all the staff, organisers, match officials and the players for making this the world’s best International 6s Tournament. The Drifters will be back for the Triple.
