The Hong Kong Women’s team are eager to shine on home turf during the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 – Asia Qualifier 2016 which starts this Sunday.
China, Nepal, Thailand and Hong Kong will compete in a round-robin tournament where each team will play everyone twice. The top ranked team will earn a place in the global qualifiers for England 2017.
Captain Mariko Hill is looking forward to the tournament. “The pre-tour to India has boosted everyone’s confidence, so I’m sure everyone is looking forward to displaying their abilities.”
“Hosting an ICC event is rare let alone playing on home soil! We understand the conditions better and we hope to use this to our advantage. We can then plan strategies ahead of time according to the ground conditions and the team we are playing against,” said Hill.
“We are among the favourites to win the tournament. I have full faith and confidence in my team mates that we will too, seeing how hard we have trained over the last few months. Although I have some personal goals, the overarching goal for me is simply to contribute as much as I can to the team reaching the ICC World Cup Qualifiers next year,” added the captain.
Chloe Ip is one of the newer members of the Hong Kong team, after being scouted in a programme designed to find Hong Kong-born cricketers abroad.
“I was born in Hong Kong but moved to Australia with Mum and Dad when I was three years old, and my relatives are still live in Hong Kong,” said Ip.
“I don’t think it has really fully sunk in yet. Hopefully I will get picked to play at some stage during the tournament and wear the Hong Kong shirt. It will be an honour. The whole family living here are very excited and proud of the prospect of this happening.”
“Even though I’ve grown up in Australia I haven’t forgotten my roots and family history. Hong Kong has been close to my heart and I’ve been back as much as possible to visit. I am fitting in well with the girls, they’ve welcomed me with open arms from the first day. I enjoy the cultural diversity within the squad a lot.”
ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 – Asia Qualifier 2016
Date: 9-15 October
Venues: Kowloon Cricket Club, Hong Kong Cricket Club, Tin Kwong Recreation Ground
Tickets: free.
Additional reporting and image: HK Cricket