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Men’s Domestic Cricket Leagues Restructured

Babar Hayat in action against Hong Kong Cricket Club in the Hong Kong Premier League One-Day Tournament

Hong Kong’s domestic leagues have been revamped for the 2016-17 season in a move designed to provide more quality cricket for players aspiring for national selection.

The 35-over a side Saturday competition has been renamed the Championship League, while the 50-overs a side Sunday competition has been renamed the Elite League.

The changes are not just cosmetic with the new Elite League split into two divisions, the first made up of six teams and the second with seven teams in a move designed to ensure more competitive matches for the top teams.

“After the success of splitting the Championship league into two divisions it was a no brainer to adopt a similar change in the Elite league to ensure we have more meaningful games across all levels and formats,” said Hong Kong Cricket Association (HKCA) Director of Cricket Charlie Burke.

“We have seen more juniors playing in senior leagues in the last few years as a result and it has also encouraged the stalwarts or the older generations to find a place they enjoy playing as well as finding it competitive.”

“The support from the clubs in making these changes have been fantastic and as a result we will see more competitive competition in both the Championship and Elite leagues in 2016-17.”

The Premier League has also been moved under the National Performance program meaning it’s funded by HKCA. The Premier League Independents team which was a conglomerate of the smaller Hong Kong clubs will now be funded, managed, selected and coached by HKCA.

“As an ODI nation it is vital to have a clear pathway and an opportunity for aspiring cricketers to have a platform where they will get noticed. Having the Premier League comprising of the best 55 players in Hong Kong is critical for the performance of our National team,” added Burke.

“We have 15 contracted players now and these players need an opportunity to be challenged at a domestic level and the selectors need a platform from where to offer contracts. Strong performances will be rewarded with selection in the National squad as we continue to prepare and work towards the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers.”

“An encouraging sign has been the amount of players that have now gone from Premier League Cricket into the National squad in the last two seasons. The cricket community will see a bigger, better competition along with the clubs now ensuring a dedicated program for their elite players. We are also looking to schedule a fixture between last season’s Premier League Team of the Year and the National Squad.”

The 2016-17 season kicks off on September 3 with Pakistan Association and USRC battling it out in the Women’s T20 competition followed by the KCC Tartars vs CCC Jing Sun at Mission Road and DLSWCC Spartans vs Centaurs CC at PKVR Park in the Championship League.

Men’s cricket in Hong Kong
There are presently three main competitions in men’s cricket – the Premier League, the Elite League played on Sundays and the Championship League on Saturdays.

The Premier League
Features the top players in Hong Kong with five teams competing in three formats – two-day matches, one-day 50-over matches and Twenty20 matches. Teams competing in the Premier League are Hong Kong Cricket Club, Kowloon Cricket Club, Little Sai Wan Cricket Club, Pakistan Association and a fifth team comprising the best players from the other clubs – called the Cricket Hong Kong Independents XI.

Elite League
Round-robin 50-over competition that is contested in two divisions. The best players from this competition also play in the Premier League.

Championship League
A 35-over competition featuring two divisions of 10 teams. Teams play the other teams in their division once, followed by a play-off series to determine the competition winners and the promotion and relegation placings. Matches are generally played on Saturday afternoons starting at 1PM.

Hong Kong Fall Short, Despite Nizakat Khan Century

A brilliant century from Nizakat Khan wasn’t enough for Hong Kong as Ireland triumphed by 70 runs in their Intercontinental Cup clash at Stormont.

Hong Kong claimed the last three Irish wickets for nine runs to dismiss the hosts for 230 in their second innings – but the target of 310 for victory proved too much.

Hong Kong, who had just 18 First Class appearances in the team compared to Ireland’s 943 were not disgraced, as Nizakat’s 123 kept the visitors with a fighting chance deep into the fourth and final day. Hong Kong were eventually dismissed for 239 in their second innings.

Nizakat became just the third batsman to score a century in a First Class match for Hong Kong, which came from 181 balls. He had also scored 69 runs in the first innings. Unfortunately, he couldn’t garner enough support with Babar Hayat and Nadeem Ahmed’s scores of 28 the next best for Hong Kong.

The win moves Ireland back to the top of the Intercontinental Cup table, while Hong Kong remain in fourth place.

IRELAND 316 (G Wilson 95 Tanwir Afzal 4-63 Nadeem Ahmed 4-73) & 230 (J Anderson 59 Tanwir Afzal 3-53 Nadeem Ahmed 3-65) def HONG KONG 237 (Anshuman Rath 73* Nizakat Khan 69) & 239 (Nizakat Khan 123 T Murtagh 4-29)

https://youtu.be/MT-8nP4IJaI

Highlights: Ireland v Hong Kong D4 (https://youtu.be/MT-8nP4IJaI)

Interview with Nizakat Khan
“I think we’ve improved a lot as a team – the guys are getting mature. Ireland are a top team and more experienced than us – this match shows clearly that we can compete against these big teams. We are fit now and no complaints from us we are looking forward to the T20s.”

“I need to give credit to Mark Wright who has helped me with my batting and to Cambo (Ryan Campbell) and Cooky (Simon Cook). I was full of confidence before the game and I knew I would perform – it was unfortunate we lost but every one chipped and we will build on that for next game.”

“It felt really good to make a 100 – when I came here I just wanted to score a hundred and it was an amazing feeling – it wasn’t easy but I just fought to the end. I’m happy with myself but I know I still have a lot of improvement to make.”

Interview with Simon Cook
“I can’t help but look back on that first session where we leaked 40 or 50 runs and that put us behind the game on a low scoring pitch and you can’t give them that sort of head start and it came down to that at the end. We fought valiantly in the last innings here. Nizakat was outstanding but no one played with him.”

“In defeat we had so many positives and to bat 100 over in the first innings and 80 overs in the second was a great effort. We have played some really good cricket and I think a few here were surprised as to how much of a fight we put up. I’m really happy with how we played but disappointed with the result I was confident we could win the game after our preparation.”

“This morning’s wickets set up our momentum – we thought we could chase 300 down and at lunch time we weren’t in a bad position. But a couple of quick wickets we were back on the back foot. We felt if we could bat the whole day we would win and we were 17 overs short of that.”

“Nizkakat has been working really hard on a technical change in how he combats the short ball he’s worked really hard. After all his hard work I was confident he was going to perform because the last week he was hitting the ball so well in the nets and as soon as he went out to the crease he was moving really well. When he’s playing like this he’s looking like a million dollars and a First Class cricketer but he needs to keep pushing to make his game as consistent as possible. He could be one of the top Associate batters in the world.”

Ireland Lead Hong Kong by 278

Ireland maintained the upper hand on day three despite the Belfast weather playing havoc with the day’s cricket. When bad light eventually stopped play for the final time, Ireland had reached 199-6 from 51 overs, with an overall lead of 278.

As in the first innings Hong Kong fought hard keeping the hosts honest after Ireland had reached 101-1 and were looking to set up a day three declaration.

The hopes for a result in what’s a pretty tight match were hindered by the loss of 45 due to the on-off showers that frustrated throughout the day.

The day’s highlight for Hong Kong were two wickets in successive overs from 18-year-old debutant Tanveer Ahmed (2-22) with two short pitched deliveries. While Tanwir Afzal (2-36) picked up two wickets, including the important scalp of in-form Gary Wilson for 25 on what proved to be the last ball of the day.

For Ireland, John Anderson batted superbly including some deft reverse sweeps in making 59.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evk1-lpyPcY

Highlights: Ireland v Hong Kong D3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evk1-lpyPcY)

Tanwir Afzal on Day 3
“I think we recovered well – in the first innings we leaked runs with the new ball but we executed our plans well today” Afzal said.

After not such a good start in the first innings, I’ve bowled better and I just tried to contain the runs and bowl in the right areas. It was great for Tanveer to pick up a couple of wickets as well, I’m happy for him. He’s a talented young bowler.”

“Personally, I feel our spinners have bowled well in both innings and spun the ball a lot but when the Irish spinners bowled it didn’t turn as much so hopefully it plays the same for tomorrow. There’s a bit of movement with the new ball so our openers will need to survive.”

“They will be looking for another 30 or 40 runs, but we batted well in the first innings and we have big man Babar who will be ready to fire. I think we are still in the game if we can get the last four wickets quickly.”

“It was a really tough day with the weather making the ball wet and it was quite dark and tricky for batsmen and fielders to pick up the ball. Both teams are looking to win the game and hopefully the rain stays away tomorrow to give us a chance.”

Additional reporting and scorecard: HK Cricket, Cricinfo

Anshuman Rath and Nizakat Khan Half-Centuries Lead Hong Kong

An attritional second days play means Hong Kong will have to overcome a first innings deficit of 79 after being dismissed for 237 on day two of their Intercontinental Cup match against Ireland.

After losing two wickets in the first over of the day, two quality innings from Anshuman Rath (73*) and Nizakat Khan (69) were the highlight for Hong Kong who grafted all day long but lost wickets in bunches.

A partnership of 101 between Nizakat and debutant Ninad Shah (38) repaired the initial damage, while Waqas Khan (27) was the only other player to reach double figures.

Rath was left unbeaten at the other end when Tanveer Ahmed was the last man dismissed with just 8 balls left in the day.

The Ireland bowlers were relentless all day with spinner George Dockrell (3-46) and Peter Chase (3-50) the pick of the bowlers.

Play will resume at 6pm HKT with some rain forecast for the final two days in Belfast.

https://youtu.be/HRZKvacUlUQ

Highlights: Ireland v Hong Kong D2 (https://youtu.be/HRZKvacUlUQ)

Interview with Nizakat Khan
“Yeh we fought hard and just tried to hang in there after losing the two early wickets. When I was out there with Ninad we were just talking to each other a lot out there to urge each other to hang in there.”

“Their bowling was very disciplined and we got no loose balls, so we had to work really hard to score runs and they have bowled to their plans, which have succeeded most of time.”

“I think we are still short of runs and we wanted to get closer to them so tomorrow is crucial for us. We have to take early wickets so can give ourselves a score to chase down.”

“I’m pretty happy with myself – although I was looking for a big score. I was playing really well which was pleasing after I’ve worked really hard with the batting coaches in Hong Kong on a few things. And I felt really good so hopefully I will get a big score in the second innings.”

“Anshy played really well – his innings was what we really needed but unfortunately no one stuck with him. He played to the conditions and looked solid. His innings at the end there has kept us in the game.”

Additional reporting HK Cricket Association, scorecard Cricinfo

Bowlers Keep Hong Kong in the Hunt Against Ireland

https://youtu.be/G64dggcXicI

Highlights: Ireland v Hong Kong D1 (https://youtu.be/G64dggcXicI)

Hong Kong fought hard to keep Ireland honest on the first of their four day ICC Intercontinental Cup clash in Belfast.

The hosts, who won the toss and chose to bat reached 124-2 before Hong Kong battled back well, on a turning pitch, to dismiss Ireland for 316 just before close of play. At stumps the tourists were 2 without loss. Hong Kong’s two spinners found some turn with Nadeem Ahmed taking 4-73 before paceman Tanwir Afzal removed Ireland’s lower order to finished with 4-63.

Ehsan Khan, who along with Ninad Shah, Waqas Khan and Tanveer Ahmed, made his first class debut took a wicket in just his second over.

Post-match interview with Nadeem Ahmed
“I think we started poorly but we came back really well after lunch. I think the boys pulled it back and that was really good to see. It was challenging as they know the conditions and knew what to expect so we had to fight hard. Cooky (coach Simon Cook) pumped us up during the lunch break and we stood up to the challenge. To bowl them out for 316 is good but we gave away about 50 runs on this wicket, which we shouldn’t have done.”

“It was turning a lot for the first day and gradually started to turn more and more as the day went on. When the team need you, you need to stand up and be counted on. Today was a day where I needed to stand up as the wicket suited me and things went well. I just tried to bowl tight overs and be more consistent and it started to turn a lot.”

“We’ve got good players of spin and they have only one front line spinner so this could be something that gives us a small advantage. Both openers did well to stick in there until the end.”

“This performance means a lot to us and to Hong Kong. We are in a good position so hopefully we can keep it going.”

Kowloon Cantons and Warriors Joint Winners of Inaugural T20 Blitz

The inaugural DTC Hong Kong T20 Blitz has ended with heavy overnight rain causing the abandonment of all three of Sunday’s matches including the final. Although Sunday was sunny, the pitch was waterlogged and unfit for play.

The rain had affected the opening two days of the tournament, but Saturday’s sold out and enthusiastic crowd showed both the players and the HK Cricket Association that the tournament has an exciting future.

The Warriors and Kowloon Cantons who were joint top of the points table at the end of day Two with a win and a no-result were declared joint winners of 2016’s T20 Blitz.

“The standard of cricket in the tournament was excellent, Cantons captain Scott McKechnie said. “The Warriors in particular were playing some very good cricket and I’m sure if we had a final today it would have been a very good game to watch. I think this weekend we’ve really put Hong Kong Cricket on the map, and it’s got great exposure for all the right reasons.”

Despite the disappointment of not playing the final, Warriors captain Jamie Atkinson echoed the thoughts of McKechnie in seeing the tournament’s bigger picture. “It was a great experience to get this tournament going anyway and get the best players in Hong Kong and the overseas talent to come in. At least we got some matches in at a good standard, hopefully next year it will be bigger and better.”

“It’s obviously a major disappointment to have today washed out but we need to look at the positives at what this event has achieved as a whole,” Hong Kong Cricket Association Tournament Chief Max Abbott said. “I need to thank the ground staff and volunteers for their help to do everything possible to get the ground ready for play. We’ll be back bigger and better next year – hopefully with a venue that is improved.”

T20 Blitz leading run scorer was Ryan Campbell (Kowloon Cantons) with 88 runs.
T20 Blitz leading wicket taker was Nadeem Ahmed (Island Warriors) with 4 wickets.

For all the tournament stats and results see here

Craigengower CC Win Women’s Sixes 2016

Women’s Sixes: Day 3 – 8 May
After the previous day’s play was washed out, a long, hot, third day was in order at PKVR Reservoir with nine games played in the Women’s Sixes.

There was a thrilling finish to the first day’s match with HKCC beating DLSWCC by one run. HKCC batted first and found themselves two wickets down after the first two balls of the game but they recovered well to reach 4/39 from their five overs with Katy Gibbons hitting 22 not out while Maryam Bibi claimed 2/11 for DLSWCC. DLSWCC made hard work of their chase and they still needed nine runs off the last over. However, Alvina Tam grabbed two wickets and DLSWCC could only score seven, with the last wicket falling as the batsmen tried to scramble a third run to tie the game.

The second game of the day saw KCC thrash CCC by six wickets. CCC made a lacklustre effort with the bat, only scoring 1/33 in five overs with 22 of those runs coming from extras. KCC had little trouble knocking off the runs in three overs with Keenu Gill hitting 19* and Sidra Nasreen 10*.

Game three was equally one-sided as DLSWCC beat USRC by five wickets. USRC batted first and they reached 1/33 with Rajni hitting 13. Rajni grabbed a wicket in the second innings too, but DLSWCC’s batting was too strong and they knocked off the runs in 3.3 overs with Shanzeen Shahzad hitting 23 before retiring.

There was another close finish in the day’s fourth game with CCC beating HKCC by four wickets. HKCC batted first and made 0/41 from their five overs with Emma Lai finishing on 14* and Chan Sau Ha 11*. CCC looked well set in their chase after Chan Sau Ha bowled a poor second over that conceded 15 runs but they still needed 10 runs off the last over for victory. Two wides and a no-ball in the last over by Emma Lai proved costly as CCC won the game with a bye off the last ball of the game. Kary Chan top-scored with 17* for CCC.

The last round-robin game saw KCC cruise to an easy victory over USRC. USRC batted first but could only manage 3/28 with Sweta hitting 10. KCC got to their winning target in three overs with Amanda Kwok hitting 12 not out.

On to the play-offs and a count-back of runs scored saw CCC the top ranked team on the same points as HKCC with three wins apiece while DLSWCC and KCC finished third and fourth respectively having won two and lost two matches each.

In the first semi-final, DLSWCC scored an impressive victory over HKCC. Good bowling by the DLSWCC team restricted HKCC to 1/42 with Katy Gibbons hitting 12*. Shanzeen hit the day’s first six in her innings of 21 retired and Mehreen hit two boundaries in her 10* as DLWCC scored the winning runs in 3.5 overs.

The second semi-final saw CCC over-turn their earlier loss to KCC to win easily by six wickets. KCC batted first but they could only make 0/36 from their five overs with Keenu Gill hitting 21*. Kary Chan hit 17* and Pull To scored 18* as CCC eased to victory in 3.4 overs without loss.

In the third/four place play-off, HKCC made the day’s highest score of 4/54 with Natural Yip hitting 20. In reply, Keenu Gill hit two big sixes in her innings of 22 retired but she failed to cross with the incoming batsman on the field of play and KCC conceded a four-run penalty. In the end, KCC’s chase finished 12 runs short and HKCC completed the tournament in third place.

On to the grand final where DLSWCC won the toss and elected to bowl first against CCC. They had immediate success with CCC’s skipper Pull To bowled by Maryam Bibi off the first ball of the game. However, CCC recovered well and they finished on 4/47 off their five overs with Kary Chan hitting 14*. DLSWCC’s Shanzeen Shahzad hit the first ball of the chase for four but she fell to a good catch in the deep off the last ball of the first over. Jaswinder hit 14* for DLSWCC but a brilliant last over by Kary Chan in which three wickets fell for just three runs saw CCC crowned winners by seven runs.

Women’s Sixes Results:
Match 6: HKCC 5/39 from 5 overs beat DLSWCC 5/38 from 5 overs by one run.
Match 7: CCC 1/33 from 5 overs lost to KCC 0/35 from 3.0 overs by six wickets.
Match 8: USRC 1/33 from 5 overs lost to DLSWCC 1/35 from 3.3 overs by five wickets.
Match 9: HKCC 0/41 from 5 overs lost to CCC 2/43 from 5 overs by four wickets.
Match 10: USRC 3/28 from 5 overs lost to KCC 0/29 from 3 overs by six wickets.

1^st Semi-final: HKCC 1/42 from 5 overs lost to DLSWCC 0/43 from 3.5 overs by six wickets.
2^nd Semi-final: KCC 0/36 from 5 overs lost to CCC 0/37 from 3.4 overs by six wickets.

3^rd/4^th Play-off: HKCC 3/54 from 5 overs beat KCC 1/42 from 5 overs by 12 runs.

Grand Final: CCC 4/47 from 5 overs beat DLSWCC 5/40 from 5 overs by 7 runs.

National Cricket Squads Announced

With an extensive series of matches scheduled for later in the year the Hong Kong Cricket Association (HKCA) have announced the men’s National Squad and National ‘A’ Squad for 2016-17.

The Hong Kong team will tour Ireland and Scotland in late August and September. They will play Ireland in a First Class, Intercontinental Cup match and two Twenty20 Internationals. Scotland will then host two One Day Internationals in Edinburgh where Hong Kong will attempt to retain the Braidwood Cup. Hong Kong will also face Kenya in a World Cricket League Championship clash in November.

HKCA Director of Cricket Charlie Burke is very optimistic about the squads: “It is a very clear sign by the selectors that they have selected players based on performances and also with one eye on the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers which will be played in 2018.”

“The young squad is vibrant, enthusiastic and dedicated. It’s always nice to have a few fresh faces which lifts everyone. The squad will be the most competitive I have seen in my time in Hong Kong, this only encourages me with the fact we have some big tours coming up later this year, and the importance of domestic performances,” added Burke.

National Squad
Afzal Tanwir 阿夫扎 (Pakistan Association) *
Ahmed Nadeem 簡均倍 (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC) *
Arif Imran (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Ahmed Tanveer 廷伊華 (Kowloon Cricket Club) *
Atkinson James 艾堅遜 (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Barkat Waqas 高域斯 (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Chapman Mark 查普曼 (Hong Kong Cricket Club) *
Caddy Ashley (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Carter Christopher 基斯卡達 (Kowloon Cricket Club) *
Shah Ninad 沙利勒 (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Shah Kinchit 金赤沙 (Kowloon Cricket Club) *
Kapur Raag 卡普華卡 (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Hayat Babar 巴巴凱逸 (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CCc) *
Lamplough Giacomo 積卡姆 (Hong Kong Cricket Club) *
Li Kai Ming 李啟銘 (HKCA Dragons) *
Mehmood Adil 亞迪 (Kowloon Cricket Club) *
Mcaulsen Cameron 麥國麟 (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Khan Ehsan (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Khan Nizakat 穆罕默德汗 (Hong Kong Cricket Club) *
Khan Aizaz 艾扎茲 (Pakistan Association) *
Nawaz Ehsan 納瓦茲 (Kowloon Cricket Club) *
Rath Anshuman 阿舒曼華夫 (Hong Kong Cricket Club) *
Khan Waqas 瓦格斯汗 (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Subramanyan Jhathavedh (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Wasif Shahid (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Sodhi Kabir (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
*Contracted Players

National ‘A’ Squad (including Under-19s)
Bukhari Daniyal (Pakistan Association)
Bhimsaria Sunny (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Gorawara Adit (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Khan Akbar 簡卡巴 (Vagabonds CC)
Khan Anas 安納斯簡 (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Khan Mohsin 甘莫斯 (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Khan Mohammad (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Lulla Ansh (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Manglik Ahan (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Mohammad Saad 馬力山 (Vagabonds / Pakistan Association)
Mohammad Haroon Arshad 哈利 (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Mohammad Huzafah (Pakistan Association)
Mohammad Awais 艾小文 (USRC-MCC)
Mulchandani Ravi (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Robson Angus (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Sharma Vishal (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Sheopuri Tej (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Singh Karandeep (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Singh Simandeep 冼文迪 (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Umar Mohammad (USRC-MCC)
Zafar Sikandar (USRC-MCC)
Ur-Rehman Ateeq (Kowloon Cricket Club)

Source: Hong Kong Cricket Association