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Hong Kong Women Tour India Ahead of T20 Qualifier

The Women’s Hong Kong National Team depart for their T20 World Cup qualifying journey on Sunday the 12th of November 2017. Arriving in Mumbai, India on Sunday the squad will be put through their paces in a grueling 5-day pre-tour before flying directly to Thailand to compete against hosts Thailand, Nepal, the UAE and China.

Coach of the National Women’s team, Richard Waite had this to say about the pre-tour in India “The next week provides a fantastic opportunity for the players to train in conditions not dissimilar to those we will encounter in Thailand, batting on turf wickets at world class facilities will hopefully give us an edge and something we inherently struggle to get in Hong Kong”.

Confidence is high in the camp following the success in the recent East Asia Cup tournament held in Hong Kong, where the hosts went through undefeated. “In the 6 weeks since the East Asia Cup we’ve taken time to analyse what we did well and looked at areas where we can improve in the hope it stands us in good stead to finish in the top two of qualifying in Thailand” Waite continued.

The Asian qualifiers in Thailand will see teams play each other once before the top two play off to decide who will finish top of qualifying in the Asian region.

“Recent stand out performances from opener Yasmin Daswani and the rapid improvement of vice-captain Kary Chan’s bowling lead us to believe we are in a great space to compete against strong opposition to hopefully book our place in the T20 World Qualifiers in the Netherlands to be held in the middle of 2018” said the coach.

Hong Kong will take on Malaysia in their first match of the Asian Qualifiers on Monday the 20th of November 2017 in Thailand.

Tour to India: 12-18 November, 2017

Mariko Hill, Captain, (HKCC), Kary Chan, Vice Captain, (CCC), Yasmin Daswani, (HKCC), Pull To, (CCC), Shanzeen Shahzad, (DSLW), Jenefer Davies (KCC), Natural Yip (HKCC), Annie Ho (HKCC), Bella Poon (KCC), Chan Sau Ha (HKCC), Marina Lamplough (HKCC), Emma Lai (HKCC), Ruchi Venketesh (HKCC), Lemon Cheung (HKCC)

World T20 Asia Region Qualifiers: 18-28 November, 2017

Additional reporting and images: HK cricket

South Africa Win Hong Kong Sixes

The Hong Kong Sixes came down to the last ball of the final, with South Africa edging Pakistan in a thrilling final at Kowloon Cricket Club.

Captain Aubrey Swanepoel won it for his team by hitting the very last ball for a four in the closest and most competitive game over the tournament weekend. The South African squad made the final after defeating New Zealand Kiwis by 18 runs.

This win is South Africa’s fifth victory in 18 editions of the tournament, having held aloft the trophy in 1995, 2006, 2009, 2012, the last time Hong Kong World Sixes was held. It joins England and Pakistan as a five-time winner of this popular event.

Ecstatic with the team’s performance this week, 28-year-old Swanepoel said: “As a cricketer growing up, this is what you dream of, in a tournament like this, to hit the winning run. I have the best team possible here with me, and if it wasn’t for my team, I wouldn’t have been in that situation.”

“Cricket in Hong Kong is growing, it has a bright future. People in Hong Kong want to see all the best teams come to play in this tournament. This event is only get better, and hopefully more teams will get involved. We have a young team, and we are looking forward to hopefully come back next year.” added Swanepoel.

Hong Kong, led by Babar Hayat, gave home fans plenty of cheer about after an inspiring run to win the Plate competition. Following Saturday’s round robin effort of one win and two losses, which put the team into the plate tournament, the local squad came through against the Marylebone Cricket Club with a five-run victory in the final. Nizakat Khan also took out the Ben Hollioake award for the player of the tournament.

Hayat, who narrowly missed out on winning player of the tournament in the 2012 event, commented: “Yesterday didn’t quite go according to plan but in the third game yesterday and today, we were outstanding with the ball and the bat, which was pleasing, and that was why we were able to win the Plate. We hadn’t play sixes for a very long time so it was always going to be tough but once you get going, you can always get some momentum going, which helped. It is a pleasing thing to play in front of a home crowd, with people cheering for you, supporting you. I hope we can play the sixes every year.”

Cricket Hong Kong Director Jonathan Cummings commented: “The two days of the tournament have been amazing. We couldn’t have wished for it to go any better, the weather, the cricket, the fans, and to have the result of the last ball is what makes sixes cricket so exciting. Getting South Africa and Pakistan in the final was great as we knew we would have a humdinger of a final, and to see Hong Kong winning the Plate Championship is fantastic. The event will 100% be back next year. Getting the event back was the first step. The crowds have loved it, the teams have loved it, and the tournament will be back even bigger next time.

What Are the Cricket Sixes?

The Sixes started in 1992 but it’s been five years since the last tournament, so here’s a brief guide to what’s going on!

It’s just like traditional cricket and all the the regular laws of game apply except that each match only takes around 45 minutes to complete.

Why? As the name suggests the game is six players per side compared with the usual 11, which means once the bowler and wicket-keeper are in position there aren’t many fieldsmen that the batting team need to evade to hit lots of ball to an over the boundaries.

Each team faces five overs each, and everyone (except for the wicketkeeper) is required to bowl one over each.

Batsmen are forced to retire at 31, but can come back in once all other batsmen have been dismissed or have retired. This can make for some interesting situations at the end of the innings with the lower-order taking risky singles knowing that if they are out, their in-form batsman can come back in.

This year at the Hong Kong World Sixes, seven international teams plus hosts Hong Kong will play 23 matches over just two days. The eight teams are split into two groups, with the results determining the seeding positions for the second day.

Finals day includes four quarter-finals, with the four losers heading into the plate tournament, while the remaining four teams compete for the major title.

South Africa are the defending champions from 2012 and they will face Hong Kong in the opening game at 8am on Saturday morning. For the full schedule of game times click here.

Hong Kong will be captained by Babar Hayat, who missed out by one vote on winning the player of the tournament award in 2012.

The squad also contains fellow big-hitters Nizakat Khan and Jamie Atkinson, who also experience in the Sixes format.

Hong Kong Squad:
Babar Hayat (Captain), Nizakat Khan, Aizaz Khan, Ehsan Khan, Ehsan Nawaz, Jamie Atkinson, Tanveer Ahmed.

HK Cricket Sixes
Date: 28-29 October, 2017
Venue: Kowloon Cricket Club
Tickets: $2,400, $1,300, $1,000, $700, $600, $350 from Ticketflap

Additional reporting and images: HK cricket

Hong Kong Sixes Match Schedule

Hong Kong will take on South Africa in the opening match of the Hong Kong World Sixes as the playing pools and schedule were announced for the tournament which takes place on 28-29 October, 2017.

South Africa, who won the event when it was last held in 2012, the Marylebone Cricket Club and five-time champions Pakistan join Hong Kong in Group A.

Group B kicks off with Sri Lanka up against Bangladesh, with New Zealand Kiwis and Australia the other two teams who will vie for top seeding on finals day.

The fastest paced cricket tournament in the world will see all 12 group matches played on Saturday, with all finals of both the Cup and Plate championships played out on Sunday.

Sunday’s fixture list also includes an exhibition match to kick off day two, with the Hong Kong Women’s Team facing off against the Hong Kong Dragons

“Seeding teams for this event has been particularly difficult with many unknown factors. As expected most teams are stacked with young talented guys sent to hone their skills. The MCC and NZ Kiwis add a balance to that equation so the draw has allowed for five-time champions Pakistan to play MCC and for Australia to play New Zealand Kiwis as the last 2 matches in an intriguing finale to the packed 12 match schedule on the first day,” said Tournament Director Glyn Davies.

“Anything can happen in Sixes cricket and Sri Lanka, a traditional crowd favourite, along with Hong Kong have always had an influence in every event to date so anyone can win.”

Play commences at 8am each day with the final on Sunday scheduled to start at 4.15pm local time and will be an eight over a side match. All other games outside the Plate final (6 overs) will be five overs each team.

HK Sixes 2017: Pools and Draw

October 28 Group Stage
Time	Game	Pool
0800-0845	HKG v RSA	A
0845-0930	BAN v SRL	B
0930-1015	PAK v HKG	A
1015-1100	AUS v SRL	B
1100-1145	MCC v RSA	A
1145-1230	NZK v BAN	B
1230-1315	HKG v MCC	A
1315-1400	NZK v SRL	B
1400-1445	RSA v PAK	A
1445-1530	BAN v AUS	B
1530-1615	MCC v PAK	A
1615- 1700	NZK v AUS	B

October 29 Finals day
0800-0845	HKW v Dragons
0845-0930	1 v 8
0930-1015	2 v 7
1015-1100	3 v 6
1100-1145	4 v 5
1145-1230	Cup Semi 1
1230-1315	Plate Semi 1
1315-1400	Cup Semi 2
1400-1445	Plate Semi 2
1445-1530	3rd Place playoff
1530-1615	Plate final	6 overs
1615- 1700	Cup Final	8 overs

Hong Kong Beat Nepal by 83 Runs in First ODI

Hong Kong bowlers Aizaz Khan and Ehsan Khan ran through Nepal’s batting order to thrash them by 83 runs in the first ODI as part of the World Cricket League Championships in Mong Kok. The duo shared eight wickets between them as offspinner Ehsan finished with his List A career-best figures of 5 for 17.

Hong Kong, put in to bat first, lost their opener Anshuman Rath for a duck in the fourth over. At the other end Jamie Atkinson was more successful, carrying his team past 100 even despite regular blows. His lone hand was not enough to carry them past 200 though; Hong Kong slipped from 3 for 108 to 194 all out, with Atkinson top-scoring with his 76.

In their chase, Nepal lost wickets regularly as medium-pacer Aizaz dismissed three of the top-four batsmen, while Ehsan worked through the rest, dismantling Nepal for 111.

Additional reporting: cricinfo

HK Women’s Squad for India Tour and T20 World Cup Qualifier

Following on from the recent success in the East Asia Cup the HK Cricket selection panel has selected a 14 player squad for the upcoming Pre Tour to India and ICC World T20 Asia Region Qualifiers.

The team will spend 6 days in India then fly directly to Bangkok for their T20 Asia Region Qualifiers.

“This was a tough selection process for the Panel with some talented players missing out, but we’re confident we have selected a balanced side that has the potential to go on and win the tournament.”

“The goals that we had set was to win the East Asia Cup and our regional WT20 Qualifiers. The belief is there within the squad that we can go on and complete what we have set out to do.”

The team again will be under the Leadership of Mariko Hill. Which shows one change from the East Asia Squad. Keenu Gill is unavailable because of work commitments, and sees Marina Lamplough return to the squad.

“Marina has got an excellent chance to again stake her claim to be back in the starting 11. She knows that over the next 4 weeks she will need to put in the hard yards.”

Lemon Cheung has been added to the Pre Tour to India to let her gain vital experience for futures tours.

Tour to India: 12-18 November, 2017

World T20 Asia Region Qualifiers: 18-28 November, 2017

Hong Kong Win East Asia T20 Cup

Amidst the showers Hong Kong beat Japan in the final to win the East Asia T20 Cup by 5 wickets on Sunday at Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground.

Japan Captain Mai Yanagida won the toss and elected to bat first. For Hong it was their first time fielding first having won their pool matches batting first. Mariko Hill took the new ball and bowled with good pace with Japan and Kanno in particular looking to take advantage of anything short and wide.

Chan Ka Man made the opening breakthrough with Kanno well caught at mid-off by Ho for 8. Back to back maidens during overs 5 and 6 by Ho and Chan Ma Kan left Japan under pressure at 14-1 after 6 overs. Shirashi set out to kick start the innings with a flowing drive through cover for 4.

Shirashi was then comprehensively bowled by K Chan for 8 and Hong Kong were very much in the ascendency. The Japanese captain Yanagida was still at the crease but was struggling to break the shackles of some disciplined bowling and excellent fielding inside the circle. 17 runs off the 12^th over kick started the Japanese innings with some lusty blows being struck by Endo. The Japanese counter-attack continued in the next over with 9 coming off the bowling of Chan Sau Har including some excellent straight drives through and over mid on/off.

Chan Ka Man was bought back into the attack and struck instantly bowling the dangerous Endo for a well-made 16. Chan ended up with figures of 2-3 off her 4 over spell including 3 maidens. Yanagida continued to Japan innings together and played some exquisite drives both through and over cover. 74-3 off 17 overs, the Japanese were trying everything to get close to 100 If not beyond. Yanagida finished unbeaten on 35 off 55 balls and Japan’s inning s closed on 90-4.

Hong Kong set off chasing 91 with in form openers Daswani and Gill striding out to the middle. The impressive left arm spinner of Miyaji started off with a maiden and the intensity of the Japanese fielding unit within the inner circle was evident from the first ball. Daswani with her favored square cut and back foot drive tried to get the innings flowing while Japan looked to continue to build pressure. Gill eventually got off the mark with 2 cultured strokes through the leg side. 32-0 after the initial 6 over power play, 58 needed off 84 balls with the full complement of wickets in hand.

Rain bought the players off the field at the start of the 9^th over with Hong Kong well placed on 44-0. No overs were lost and the players returned to the middle with play resuming with a free hit that Daswani duly obliged by slashing once again through backward point. The 50 partnership came up in the 9th over and with that the heavens opened once again. Play resumed for a 3rd time with a revised target of 83 off 18 Overs. Miyaji returned and made the breakthrough bowling Gill (53-1). Ishimoto claimed the wicket of K Chan caught by Wicket Keeper Yamaguchi for 2.

A late flurry of wickets including Daswani, Hill and Shahzad added some late drama but Hong Kong went on to win by 5 wickets and are the 2017 East Asia T20 Champions.

Hong Kong are deserving winners of what has been an excellent tournament. All 4 teams at various stages of the week have shown high levels of skill, passion and commitment. The future of Women’s cricket within the region is in good health.

Hong Kong (85/5) beat Japan (90/4) by 5 wickets (Duckworth/Lewis method)

Player of the Tournament: Yasmin Daswani (Hong Kong)

Batter of the Tournament: Yasmin Daswani (Hong Kong)
Bowler of the Tournament: Etsuko Kobayashi (Japan)

Additional reporting and images: HK Cricket

Daswani Scores 77 as Hong Kong Rout Korea

Hong Kong fresh from their opening day win against China took on a Korean team looking for their first win of the competition. Captain Mariko Hill won the toss and elected to bat first in humid conditions on what looked an excellent pitch at Kowloon Cricket Club.

Yasmin Daswani, who top scored in Hong Kong’s impressive opening win, is in a rich vein of form and quickly set out to pressure the Korean attack with a number of back foot cuts and pulls. Hong Kong progressed smoothly to 35 for no loss after 6 overs.

Korea made the initial breakthrough with Gill finding herself short of her the crease after being sent back by Daswani and then struck quickly again with Chan being caught off the bowling of Park. Captain Hill strode to the crease at 45-2 with plenty of overs left to bat. Daswani continued to punish any error in length particularly through the leg side. At the halfway stage Hong Kong were nicely placed at 65-2 with Daswani on 34 and Hill on 12.

The Hong Kong innings then accelerated with 50 runs coming in the next 4 overs and Daswani reached her second successive half century with a beautiful shot through mid-wicket. With 4 overs to go Hong Kong were 121-2 with Daswani on 60 and Hill on 30 and looked set for the second successive 160+ score.

Tight Korean bowling kept the score in check. The 100 partnership arrived in the 19^th over before Daswani was run-out in the final over for an excellent 77. Hong Kong finished on 151-3 with Hill unbeaten on 40.

The Korean opening pair of Kim and Baek hoped for a strong start to the chase. Ho opening the bowling from the far end picked up 2 wickets in the opening over dismissing Baek caught and bowled for 0 and Choi first ball. The Korean batswomen struggled to score in the face of some tight bowling by Ho and Chan.

The introduction of left arm spin in the form of Chan Sau Har proved an instant success with 2 quick wickets reducing Korea to 29-4 inside the first 9 overs. Shahzad was bought into the action and instantly got amongst the wickets dismissing Song.

Kary Chan added some icing to the cake by picking up two late wickets to hand Hong Kong a comfortable victory by 92 runs. Hong Kong go into tomorrow’s dead rubber, and final preview, against Japan full of confidence.

Result: Hong Kong 151-3 beat Korea 59-8 by 92 runs

Player of the Match: Yasmin Daswani (77 runs)

Full scorecard here