bc magazine

Nizakat Khan Shines Bright

Super Saturday at the T20 Blitz saw three games played as a sellout crowd saw some thrilling batting from Nizakat Khan, Marlon Samuels, Ian Bell and Kyle Coetzer.

The first match of the day started at 7:45am and saw Kowloon Cantons play Hong Kong Island United. Dwayne Smith, the tournament’s leading run scorer at the start of the day’s play, made 22 as he and Babar Hayat shared an opening stand of 41 in the PowerPlay.

Three quick wickets saw the Cantons stumble to 52 for three as both openers and Calum MacLeod fell in quick succession. It could have been worse for the Cantons when Marlon Samuels was dropped on 13 by Saeed Ajmal.

Samuels made the most of his good fortune as he went on to score 51 from 36 balls. That Samuels innings combined with an excellent 46 from Ashar Zaidi allowed the Cantons to make 168 for seven from their 20 overs.

Until now the Hong Kong Island United side have relied heavily on their captain, Misbah-ul-Haq. The Pakistan Test skipper had not been dismissed making 82 and 84. In this match he made just six runs before he was dismissed by Zaidi.

Ian Bell, returning to the side having missed the last match with a bruised foot, made an excellent 59 from 50 balls, but without any support the chase fell away to allow the Cantons to win by 44 runs.

In game two it was the Hung Hom JD Jaguars taking on City Kaitak in a high scoring affair. The JD Jaguars made 193 for four from their 20 overs, getting there thanks to a remarkable 120 not out from Hong Kong international, Nizakat Khan, who smashed 10 sixes. It seemed at the innings break that the JD Jaguars were well placed to win and make the final.

It wasn’t to be as the explosive City Kaitak batting line allowed them to chase down the win in just 17.1 overs. A 51 run opening stand between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kyle Coetzer set the platform for the chase before quick fire innings from Waqas Barkat and Nicholas Pooran let them get the rate under control. Pooran was particular impressive, scoring six massive sixes on his way to 48 from 19 balls.

That win meant that the JD Jaguars would need to wait on the result of the final group game between City Kaitak and Hong Kong Island United on Sunday to see which of them make the final.

While one place in the championship game is still up for grabs on the last day of the tournament, the Kowloon Cantons returned for their second match of the day to destroy Galaxy Gladiators Lantau by 64 runs to book themselves a place final.

A brutal batting display from Babar Hayat and Calum MacLeod saw the Cantons post the highest total of the tournament so far – a massive 220 for three.

It would take something very special for the Galaxy Gladiators to reach that total, and they would need some of their star men to fire. The Lantau side struggled to get going, and despite a breezy 31 from captain Anshuman Rath they stumbled to 64 for six with Kumar Sangakkara and Jesse Ryder both falling cheaply. With those big hitters gone they could not force a win and were out of the tournament.

In the end Galaxy Gladiators were all out for 156, with a decent half century from Mohammad Awais the only real bright spot.

Sunday’s morning game between City Kaitak and Hong Kong Island United will decide the second spot in the final. A win by City Kaitak and they will play the Cantons for the Hong Kong T20 Blitz title, a Kaitak loss and the finals berth is decided on net run rate.

If you can’t make the ground the games are being live streamed on the Cricket Hong Kong’s YouTube and Facebook pages.

Additional Reporting: HK Cricket
Photos: Panda Man

Rath, Botha and Misbah Brighten Day Three

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/T20-Blitz-Hong-Kong-Island-United-v-Galaxy-Gladiators-Lantau/i-pqhNCpN

Day three of the Hong Kong T20 Blitz saw more big hits as the tournament continued to defy the grey skies and brighten the day for a lively crowd.

Misbah ul Haq blasted 82 from 42 balls on day two and he went past that score on the third day of the tournament as he was again the mainstay of the Hong Kong Island United innings against Galaxy Gladiators Lantau in game five of the tournament.

The United team were in serious trouble at 62 for four after nine covers and needed their captain to rescue them. Misbah made 84 not out from 50 balls as he took the HKI Untied team to 177 for seven off their 20 overs.

While Misbah was imperious, his innings wasn’t chanceless. When he was on eight he edged Ryan Ten Doeschate through to Sangakkara but the Sri Lankan great could not hang on to a very difficult catch. From there he consolidated and then accelerated. Misbah passed 50 from 39 balls before scoring 34 runs from the next 11 balls he faced as he took his side to a competitive total.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/T20-Blitz-Hong-Kong-Island-United-v-Galaxy-Gladiators-Lantau/i-4qkH2M4

The Pakistan Test Captain’s was not enough, as the Galaxy Gladiators Lantau raced to victory thanks to half centuries from Anshuman Rath and Kumar Sangakkara. The two elegant left-handers shared a stand worth 111 runs in 12.2 overs. 19-year-old Anshuman once again shone as the Hong Kong international made 53 from 47 balls to anchor the chase as Sangakkara blasted his way to 70 from 42 as the Galaxy Gladiators won by eight wickets with an over to spare.

In match six the Hung Hom JD Jaguars took on the Kowloon Cantons. The Cantons won the toss and elected to field first; with a slight drizzle in the air they wanted to be chasing. The Jaguars got off to a poor start and were reduced to 49 for four with both their big hitters Daren Sammy and James Franklin dismissed. They could have been bowled out inside their 20 overs but a man of the match performance with the bat from Johan Botha enabled them to reach 164 for nine from their 20 overs.

Botha made 65 from 37 balls as he shared a stand of 80 with Jonathan Foo who made 34. There have been some massive scores already in the second edition of the T20 Blitz – not least by the Kowloon Cantons who chased down 200 in less than 15 overs on the first day of the tournament. The real danger man for the Cantons was Dwayne Smith who scored 121 from 40 balls in his first innings of the tournament.

Smith could not find the same timing as that marvelous hundred and made just 10 from 14 balls before he holed out. With Smith gone the pressure then on Marlon Samuels who had also scored runs in that first game. Samuels made just 22 before he too was caught in the deep.

A decent innings of 45 from 31 balls from Scotland’s Calum MacLeod kept the Canton’s hopes alive but when he lost his wicket to Franklin the chase fell apart with the JD Jaguars winning by 18 runs.

Saturday’s Day 4 sees three matches taken place, with the first starting at 7.45am! All five teams will be in action with the Cantons playing twice in front of a sell out crowd. If you can’t make the ground the games are being live streamed on the Cricket Hong Kong’s YouTube and Facebook pages.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/T20-Blitz-Hung-Hom-JD-Jaguars-v-Kowloon-Cantons-10-March/i-3xcz9Hq

Additional Reporting: HK Cricket
Photos: Panda Man

Six Fest on Day 1 of T20 Blitz

An action packed first day of the 2017 Hong Kong T20 Blitz saw a 31-ball(!) Dwayne Smith hundred, four fifties and an Ashley Caddy hat-trick!

The start of the first game of the tournament was delayed by a heavy shower, but the ground staff worked hard to get the outfield fit for for play as the crowd waited patiently for the cricket to get going, and their wait was well rewarded.

The rain meant the game between the Galaxy Gladiators Lantau and Hung Hom JD Jaguars was reduced to 11 overs a side. While a late start may have dampened spirits of the crowd the JD Jaguars were quick to entertain. The men responsible were Darren Sammy and James Franklin who shared a stand of 102 runs from just 36 balls. Franklin made 58 from 27 deliveries and Sammy 52 from 19 balls. Between them they smacked 11 sixes. Tin Kwong Road is a small ground but many of the shots that Sammy and Franklin were launching over the fence would have been six anywhere in the world.

Bowling first Yorkshire’s Azeem Rafiq kept things tight early on for The Galaxy Gladiators with his clever off-spin, and the Lantau side had reduced the Jaguars to 43-3 after five overs. It looked as if the Jaguars would struggle to set a competitive total. Those concerns were waylaid when Franklin and Sammy embarked on their attack that saw them destroy a strong bowling attack with some fine power hitting.

The Galaxy Gladiators needed someone to match the hitting prowess of Sammy and Franklin, but they could not put together a partnership that would allow them to get close to their target. The best innings from the Lantau side was from Hong Kong international Anshuman Rath who made 45 from 26 balls, including a lovely switch hit six. No one could stay with Rath and the chase fell away. The Hung Hom team won by 27 runs but not before Ash Caddy punctuated an emphatic win with a hat-trick in the last over.

Match two was no less enjoyable. It saw City Kaitak take on the Kowloon Cantons and once again it rained sixes. A poor start from City Kaitak saw them reduced to 23 for three and in danger of losing their way. A 125 run stand between Kyle Coetzer (87) and Chris Jordan (75) saw Kaitak reach 199 for six from their 20 overs, setting a target of exactly 200.

That should have provided the Cantons with a challenge, but Dwayne Smith didn’t see it that way. He hit Nadeem Ahmed for 28 runs from the first over on his way to a century that he made from just 31 balls. He finished 121 not out in an innings which included 13 sixes.

Smith was joined at the crease by Marlon Samuels and between them the two West Indians took their team home. Their partnership was worth 142 runs in 9.4 overs as they dismantled the bowling of Jordan, Rayad Emrit and Aizaz Khan. The Cantons won the game with 33 balls to spare and with eight wickets in hand.

Day two sees HKI United play Hung Hom JD Jaguars at 10am, then Galaxy Gladiators Lantau play City Kaitak at 2pm.

Additional reporting: HK Cricket

T20 Blitz Ready For Blast Off

The T20 Blitz returns to the Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground for a second year, as teams confirmed their final list of players ahead of the first match starting on March 8.

The 16 player squads – which contain 25 international players from nine different countries, boast some of the best T20 talent in the world and contain no less than 11 ICC World Twenty20 champions – may have a maximum of 4 overseas players, plus one Associate nation player.

Cricket legends Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shahid Afridi, Darren Sammy and were the first big names signed in January, but they’ve since been joined by the likes of Samuel Badree, Ian Bell, Chris Jordan and Marlon Samuels.

And to add further interest, West Indies legend Brian Lara will mentor the Galaxy Gladiators Lantau franchise. “We could not be happier with the final squad lists that have been submitted by the five franchises,” Cricket Hong Kong CEO Tim Cutler said.

“To see 25 of the world’s best T20 cricketers is simply amazing and is surely beyond anyone’s expectations for this second HK T20 Blitz.”

Cutler continued “I’m not sure who I am more excited for – the fans in the ground and around the world are going to be able to watch world class action – or the Hong Kong players, who get to play alongside and against some absolute idols of the modern game.”

“In true Hong Kong style, there quite simply isn’t a tournament like this anywhere else in the world and to that end it is no surprise we have fielded requests for information from across the globe. A huge thanks to our five franchise owners. Without them there is simply not Blitz.

City Kaitak

Overseas players: Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL), Kyle Coetzer (Sco), Nicholas Pooran (WI), Rayad Emrit (WI), Chris Jordan (Eng)
Domestic Players: Aizaz Khan (Capt), Nadeem Ahmed, Gareth Harte, Ryan Buckley, Waqas Barkat, Raag Kapur, Akbar Khan, Niaz Ali, Ankur Sharma, Sheryar Saeed, Siegfried Wai.

Galaxy Gladiators Lantau

Overseas players: Kumar Sangakkara (SL), Jesse Ryder (NZ), Sohail Tanvir (Pak), Seekkuge Prasanna (SL), Assad Vala (PNG)
Domestic players: Anshuman Rath (Capt), Mohammad Awais, Mo Khan, Haseeb Amjad, Daniyal Bukhari, Courtney Kruger, Karandeep Singh, Arshad Haroon Mohammad, Ishaq Ibraheem Muhammad, Jason Lui, Sourav Kumar

Hung Hom JD Jaguars

Overseas players: Darren Sammy (WI), Mohammad Hafeez (Pak), Mohammad Naveed (UAE), James Franklin (NZ), Johan Botha (SA)
Domestic Players: Kinchit Shah (Capt), Nizakat Shah (Vice Captain), Ninad Shah, Chris Carter, (Wicketkeeper), Imran Arif, Simandeep Singh, Sikander Zafar, Ashley Caddy, Skhawat Ali, Damien Yee, Vishal Sharma

Hong Kong Island United

Overseas players: Misbah Ul-Haq (Pak) (Capt), Ian Bell (Eng), Samuel Badree (WI), Saeed Ajmal (Pak), George Munsey (Sco)
Domestic players: Jamie Atkinson, Tanwir Afzaal, Ehsan Khan, Daniel Pascoe, Kyle Christie, Moner Dar, Muhammad Balal, Devang Bulsara, Rory Caines, Ady Lee, Anas Khan

Kowloon Cantons

Overseas Players: Shahid Afridi (Pakistan), Dwayne Smith (WI), Marlon Samuels (WI), Yasir Arafat (Pak), Calum MacLeod (Sco)
Domestic Players: Babar Hayat (Capt), Tanveer Ahmed, Shahid Wasif, Waqas Khan, Isaac Poole, Ehsan Nawaz, Ahsan Abassi, Li Kai Ming, Muddasar Hussain, Angus Robson, Sunny Bhimsaria

T20 Blitz
Date: 8-12 March, 2017
Venue: Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground
Tickets: $1,300, $600, $195, $90 from Ticketflap

Additional reporting: HK Cricket

HK Cricket Match Reports – 19-20 September, 2015

Saturday, 19th September 2015

Four matches were played in the Saturday Championship withHong Kong Cricket Club Nomads and Kowloon Cricket Club Saracens making bold statements of intent in Division One with strong early performances while USRC/MCC and Kai Tak also enjoyed victories in Division Two.

Saturday Championship Division 1
At Hong Kong Cricket Club, defending champions HKCC Nomads got their title defence off to a winning start with a strong performance against Pakistan Association. Electing to bowl after winning the toss, Nomads dismissed PACC for 194 in the 34th over, with Ravi Mulchandani picking up 3/39 from his 7 over spell. For PACC, Zamir Ali top scored with 55 while Mehtab Ali scored 40.

A 50-run opening partnership saw Nomads away to a positive start with skipper Kym Graham hitting 30 and from there the HKCC batsmen were seldom troubled. A 97-run third wicket partnership between Kabir Sodhi (41) and A Shephard (84*) lifted Nomads to the brink and victory was eventually achieved in 30.1 overs.
At HKCC: Pakistan Association 194 from 33.2 overs lost HKCC Nomads 4/198 from 30.1 overs runs

At Kowloon Cricket Club, a new-look KCC Saracens unit achieved a bonus point victory over Centaurs thanks to a dominant batting performance. Saracens notched up an impressive 5/233 from their 35 overs after electing to bat first. Chris Cater (85) and Ninad Shah (78) shared a 138-run third wicket partnership while Simandeep Singh (61) and Carter added another 76 for the fourth wicket.

In reply, Centaurs made a good start with the openers putting on 57. Four of the top five batsmen scored over 20 but none reached 30 and Centaurs slumped from 3/103 to 135 all out. Ansh Lulla mopped up the tail with 4/29 from five overs.
At KCC: KCC Saracens 5/233 from 35 overs beat Centaurs 135 from 34.5 overs by 98 runs.

Saturday Championship Division 2
Kai Tak bounced back from their loss to SCC Lancers to beat CCC Hung See by 90 runs at Police Training College. Batting first after winning the toss, Kai Tak scored 6/189 from their 35 overs with Ali Williams top scoring with 93. In reply, CCC Hung See were dismissed for 99 with Kai Tak skipper Mohsin Naqvi claiming 3/6 off seven overs.
At PTC: Kai Tak 6/189 from 35 overs beat CCC Hung See 99 from 34.3 overs by 90 runs.

At PKVR Park, USRC/MCC and HKU fought out a close game with USRC/MCC prevailing by 29 runs. USRC/MCC batted first and they scored 213 off 34.3 overs with Umar Mohammad hitting an impressive 72 while Sikandar Zafar scored 45. Ashwin Dokania led HKU’s reply with 41, but his was a lone hand as six other HKU batsmen posted double figure scores but none could go past 17. HKU were eventually dismissed for 184.
At PKVR Park: USRC/MCC 213 from 34.3 overs beat HKU 184 from 33.5 overs by 29 runs.

Sunday, 20th September 2015

One-Day Premier League
A thrilling One-Day Premier League match was played at Hong Kong Cricket Club with defending champions HKCC prevailing in the end by the narrowest of margins.

The Independents batted first after winning the toss but they got off to the worst possible start, losing three wickets with just one run on the board. A 108-run fourth wicket partnership between Jonathan Foo and Akbar Khan lifted the Independents’ score to 109 before Khan was dismissed for 23. The 25-year-old Foo, who represented Guyana in the 2010 and 2013 Caribbean T20 competitions, went on to score a brilliant 109 with the score on 180. Foo received useful support from Awais Mohammad who finished unbeaten on 38 as Independents reached 8/217 from their 50 overs. Tim Cutler and Daljeet Singh picked up two wickets each for HKCC.

In reply, HKCC also lost an early wicket and they were reduced to 4/61 before a 50-run partnership between Nizakat Khan and Matt Twomey lifted them over the 100 mark. A flurry of wickets then saw the hosts slip to 7/113 but Nizakat Khan engineered a rear-guard battle with the tail-enders to get HKCC back into the match. Nizakat was eventually dismissed for 106 but his wicket soon saw the last wicket pair at the crease with still 16 runs needed. In a tense finish, Giacomo Lamplough (17*) and Anton Bunton (9*) secured the final few runs needed for a one-wicket victory. Jonathan Foo and Mudassar Hussain were the best of the Independents’ bowlers, with two wickets apiece.
At HKCC: Independents 8/217 from 50 overs lost to HKCC 9/221 from 42.1 overs by 1 wicket.

HK Cricket Premier League: 13 September Match Reports

Babar Hayat in action against Hong Kong Cricket Club in the Hong Kong Premier League One-Day Tournament — Babar Hayat on his way to a century against Hong Kong Cricket Club in the Hong Kong Premier League One-Day Tournament

Little Sai Wan beat Hong Kong Cricket Club by 123 runs
Little Sai Wan (LSWCC) got their 2015-16 One-Day Premier League campaign off to a flying start with a 123-run victory over defending champions Hong Kong Cricket Club at HKCC on Sunday thanks to some power hitting from their middle-order batsmen.

Batting first after winning the toss, the HKCC team made most of the early running with wickets to Simon Cook, Tim Cutler and Harry Bailey restricting LSWCC to 3/58 from their first 20 overs. But from there, it was all LSWCC. Babar Hayat and Ehsan Khan made the most of some early let-offs to build a partnership that was steady at the start but which flourished towards the end. Together they combined for 162 runs, scored in 23.1 overs at a touch under 7 runs per over. HKCC’s slow bowlers had no answer to the onslaught, with Ahan Manglik, Courtney Kruger and Scott McKechnie conceding 104 runs from their collective 10 overs. Hayat fell a couple of balls after reaching his run-a-ball 100, which featured three fours and eight sixes, while Ehsan Khan hit 83 with eleven fours and one six.

If the Hayat/Khan partnership had been impressive, the partnership between Munir Dar and Shahid Wasif was explosive. From 5/237 at the fall of Ehsan’s wicket, Dar and Wasif plundered another 90 runs off the next 33 balls, at a staggering 16.36 runs per over. Dar struck three fours and six sixes in his 21-ball 54 while Wasif bettered that with two fours and six sixes in his 16-ball 49 not out as DLSWCC finished on 6/332 from their 50 overs. None of the HKCC bowlers were spared – Wasif smashed Simon Cook back over his head for two huge sixes while Tim Cutler, whose first six overs had cost just 10 runs, conceded 63 runs from his last four.

Needing a swift and solid start to their innings, the HKCC openers of David Jacquier and James Redmayne were pegged down by a tight opening spell from Jangzeb Khan and Niaz Khan. Jangzeb bowled Jacquier (5) and had Scott McKechnie (13) caught behind while the run-out of Redmayne (10) left HKCC struggling at 3/36 in the 11^th over. A fine fourth wicket partnership worth 84 runs between HKCC skipper Courtney Kruger and Nizakat Khan lifted HKCC into a good position and at 3/119 after 22 overs, they were 58 runs ahead of DLSWCC at the same point of their innings. But the dismissals of Kruger (42) and Matt Twomey (1) in quick succession, set HKCC back on their haunches. Simon Cook (31) and Nizakat (46) did their best to up the run-rate but when they both fell in successive overs from Ehsan Khan, the HKCC chase was all but over. Daljeet Singh batted well for 31 and his was the final wicket to fall as HKCC slumped to 209 all out in 40.1 overs.

Ehsan Khan completed a fine all-round performance by claiming 5/37 from his eight over spell, while Jangzeb Khan picked up 2/25 from six overs at the top of the innings.

At HKCC: DLSWCC 6/332 from 50 overs beat HKCC 209 from 40.1 overs by 123 runs Scorecard

Kowloon Cricket Club beatHong Kong Under 19s by 140 runs
In the day’s other match,Kowloon Cricket Club plundered the U19s attack for 326 runs with Jamie Atkinson hitting 93 and Kincit Shah and Ryan Campbell completing half-centuries. Tanveer Ahmed was the best of the U19s bowlers, picking up 3/54 from his ten over spell.

In reply, the U19s started solidly with the openers putting on 50 runs for the first wicket. But wickets tumbled regularly and from 8/95 there was no coming back. Left-arm spinner Dan Pascoe did the damage for KCC, picking up 5/30 from his ten over spell. A last wicket partnership between Tanveer Ahmed and Saad Mohammad was the best for the U19s as the finished on 186 from 48.5 overs.

At KCC: KCC 7/326 from 50 overs beat HKCA U19s 186 from 48.5 overs by 140 runs. Scorecard

Source: HK Cricket Association

HK Domestic Cricket Round-up: 12-13 September 2015

HK Domestic Cricket Round-up: 12-13 September 2015

Saturday, 12th September 2015
Three matches were played in the second week of the season with Hong Kong Cricket Club Witherers beating Kowloon Cricket Club Crusaders in a thriller while KCC Tartars and CCC Jing Sun played out a tie. In Division Two, SCC Lancers had a seven wicket win over Kai Tak at PKVR Park.

Saturday Championship Division 1
At Hong Kong Cricket Club, hosts HKCC Witherers batted first and posted 9/184 from their 35 overs with Charlie Bright hitting 40 at the top of the order and Andrew Jacobs finishing unbeaten on 41. In reply, KCC Crusaders look good early but four wickets to Anton Buntin and three to Tobias Raper knocked them over for 179.
At HKCC: HKCC Witherers 9/184 from 35 overs beat KCC Crusaders 179 from 33.1 overs by 5 runs

Over at Kowloon Cricket Club, KCC Tartars and CCC Jing Sun played out a thrilling tie. Tartars batted first after winning the toss and they scored 170 from 34.5 overs. Tartar’s top scorer was Ankur Sharma with 32 while Reid Mawdsley picked up 3/31 for CCC. In reply, CCC Jing Sun got to 4/134 but lost their last six wickets for 36 runs as the match finished in a tie. Chris Harris top scored for CCC Jing Sun while Ateeq ul-Rehman claimed 4/26 and Ghulam Mustafa picked 3/40 for Tartars.
At KCC: KCC Tartars 170 from 34.5 overs tied with CCC Jing Sun 170 from 33.1 overs.

Saturday Championship Division 2
At Po Kong Village Road Reservoir Ground (PKVR), SCC Lancers dismissed Kai Tak for just 97 and cruised to victory in less than 20 overs. Kai Tak batted first after wining the toss bu they were pegged back early with the loss of both openers with only 12 runs on the board. Saurav Biswas helped lead a mini revival for Kai Tak but his 24 was their best on the day as the last 6 wickets could only muster 22 runs. The wickets were shared around by the Lancers’ bowlers with Nitesh Talwar, Rahul Tonapi and Tauseef Bukhari all claiming three each. An unbeaten 55 from Soma Nair was more than enough to see SCC Lancers to victory in 19.3 overs.
At PKVR Park: Kai Tak 97 from 24.1 overs lost to SCC Lancers 3/98 from 19.3 overs by 7 wickets.

Sunday, 13th September 2015

Women’s Twenty20 Cup
In the second week of the Women’s T20 Cup, HKCC Willow Wielders, DLSW Wasps and CCC Fung Wong were victorious.

In the early game, CCC Fung Wong scored a nine wicket victory after dismissing PACC for 22 in just 8.5 overs. The CCC women only needed 4.4 overs to knock off the required runs.
At PKVR Reservoir: PACC 22 from 8.5 overs lost to CCC Fung Wong 1/25 from 4.4 overs by 9 wickets.

There was an even more lop-sided game in the second match of the day with HKCC Willow Wielders thumping USRC by ten wickets. None of the USRC batters could register a run as USRC was dismissed for 23 in ten overs with Subhadra Bandyopadhyay picking up 7-2 from three overs. HKCC Willow Wielders had no trouble knocking off the wining runs in 4 overs.
At PKVR Reservoir: USRC 23 from 10 overs lost to HKCC Willow Wielders 0/24 from 4 overs by 10 wickets.

The final game of the day did see some decent action as DLSW Wasps beat KCC Maidens by 64 runs. Shanzeen Shahzad hit 65 and Yousaf Mehreen scored 61 as the Wasps scored an impressive 3/161 from their 20 overs. In reply, KCC Maidens could only manage 7/97 from their 20 overs with Shanzeen and Kinza Zahid picking up two wickets each.
At PKVR Reservoir: DLSW Wasps 3/161 from 20 overs beat KCC Maidens 7/97 from 20 overs by 64 runs.

One-Day Premier League
The One Day Premier League competition kicked off with defending champions HKCC taking on DLSWCC Prism at Hong Kong Cricket Club and KCC facing the HKCA U19s at Kowloon Cricket Club. Both matches were scored live on Cricinfo for the first time.

At Hong Kong Cricket Club, Little Sai Wan Prism stunned the hosts by 123 runs thanks to a brilliant batting effort that saw them post 6/332 from their 50 overs. Babar Hayat scored the first century of the season with a run-a-ball 100 while Ehsan Khan hit 83 runs. The pair shared a 163 run partnership before Munir Dar (54) and Shahid Wasif (49*) smashed 90 runs off 33 balls to lift DLSW to their big total.

HKCC made a good fist of their reply, being well ahead of the DLSW score in the early stages of their innings. But the regular loss of wickets blighted their chase and they eventually fell 123 runs short. Nizakat Khan’s 46 was the best for HKCC, sharing an 84-run partnership with Courtney Kruger who scored 42, while Simon Cook and Dlajeet Singh both struck 31. Ehsan Khan did the damage with the ball for DLSW, claiming 5/37 from his 8 over spell.
At HKCC: DLSW Prism 6/332 from 50 overs beat HKCC 209 from 40.1 overs by 123 runs

In the day’s other match, Kowloon Cricket Club defeated the HKCA Under-19s by 140 runs at Kowloon Cricket Club. KCC plundered the U19s attack for 326 runs off their 50 overs with Jamie Atkinson hitting 93 and Kincit Shah and Ryan Campbell completing half-centuries. Tanveer Ahmed was the best of the U19s bowlers, picking up 3/54 from his ten over spell.

In reply, the U19s started solidly with the openers putting on 50 runs for the first wicket. But wickets tumbled regularly and from 8/95 there was no coming back. Left-arm spinner Dan Pascoe did the damage for KCC, picking up 5/30 from his ten over spell. A last wicket partnership between Tanveer Ahmed and Saad Mohammad worth 72 runs was the best for the U19s as the finished on 186 from 48.5 overs.
At KCC: KCC 7/326 from 50 overs beat HKCA U19s 186 from 48.5 overs by 140 runs.

Source: HK Cricket Association

Tanwir Afzal Stars as Hong Kong beat Namibia in Second ODI

Tanwir Afzal takes 5 wickets as Hong Kong thrashed Namibia in the second ICC World Cricket League Championship by 8 wickets with more than 14 overs to spare. Namibia won the toss and chose to bat, but after losing by one wicket in the first ODI Hong Kong’s bowlers were on fire and on the back of Afzal’s wonderful opening spell soon had the hosts at 30/8 after 14 overs. The last two wickets added 79 to leave Hong Kong chasing 110 to win. Small totals can be hard to chase, but Irfan Ahmed’s aggressive batting calmed Hong Kong’s nerves and paved the way for a comfortable win.