Aussie plays cricket for England
Laurie Cheetham of Big Brute Industries on his way to the cricket crease
Laurie Cheetham, proprietor of Big Brute Industries Pty Ltd, Perth, has been playing cricket for an English team in the Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes in Thailand.
The 24th Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes tournament took place in at the Gymkhana Club cricket grounds, Chiang Mai, Thailand, and is one of the world’s most popular amateur cricket tournaments.
Laurie played for the Blythswood team who despite originating from Essex, UK, had team members from Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan and England.
Described affectionately by his teammates as “the mild-mannered farmer now turned owner of a multi-national company which really sucks”, Laurie proved he has a quick pair of hands behind the stumps, made his mark as a quick-scoring batsman and demonstrated a solid performance at the bar.
Battling in 40-degree heat and 80% humidity, Laurie and his team-mates played 6 games over 4 days. “We lost our first 3 games but won the last 3 – the important ones,” said Laurie which included a convincing win over the Australian Wombats in the second semi-final.
Laurie said “we had a couple of days off to go zip-lining in the treetops and visiting a Buddhist temple”.
Blythswood beat off Vietnam’s Sa Pa to win the tournament Spoon.
Laurie thoroughly enjoyed the tournament. “It was the first time I’d been to Thailand and it was an awesome place”.
All proceeds from the cricket tournament go towards promoting cricket at a junior level in Thailand. This year’s tournament is expected to raise over 250,000 Baht (AUS $80,000).