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Hong Kong v PNG – 6 November, 2016

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A fair sized crowd enjoyed a sunny day’s cricket at Tin Kwong Road where Hong Kong lost to PNG in the second of three 50 over internationals.
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Hong Kong Beat Papua New Guinea by 106 Runs

Captain Babar Hayat anchored Hong Kong to victory by 106 runs in the first One Day International against Papua New Guinea at Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground.

Hayat top scored with 77 in a Hong Kong innings that rebounded from 111-6 to reach 269 all out. On a turning track, that total proved enough as Papua New Guinea were dismissed for 163 after having been well in the match at 100-2 after 17 overs.

It was the introduction of spin that changed the course of both innings, Hong Kong fell from 105-2 to 111-6 after Mahuru Dai dislodged Nizakat Khan for 45.

But Hayat survived the carnage to make 77 off 95 balls, which in the end was hampered by a groin injury that could be put the skipper in doubt for the remainder of the series.

In the PNG innings it was Anshuman Rath who turned the tide for Hong Kong as the left arm tweaker picked up 3-22 from 10 overs. Hong Kong’s two other spinners Nadeem Ahmed (3-37) and Ehsan Khan (2-37) were also among the wickets.

“It was a great moment for me as first game as captain to get the win and to play well,” captain Babar Hayat said. “There was a lot of turn out there and our spinners bowled really well. I’m not sure about the groin, I will see the physio tomorrow and decide whether I can play in the next match.”

Hong Kong coach Simon Cook was particularly pleased “I was really happy with how we stuck in there after we lost wickets, the guys in the lower order made some important contributions that helped us get to a decent target.”

“The wicket definitely deteriorated in the afternoon, which probably made our target a more difficult proposition for them. I’m looking for us to improve our rotation of the strike in the next game, which will hopefully equal a few more runs from the top order.”

One Day International Series: Hong Kong v Papua New Guinea
Date: 4, 6, 8 November, 2016
Venue: Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground
Tickets: $500, $30 from Ticketflap

Additional reporting and image: HKcricket

Hong Kong Name Squad For Papua New Guinea ODI Series

HK Cricket announced a 14 man squad for this weekends three-game ODI series against Papua New Guinea that will be held at Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground on the 4th, 6th and 8th November.

Former captain Jamie Atkinson makes his return after his absence due to work on the recent tour of the UK and Ireland. While ICC World T20 squad member Kinchit Shah has been recalled to the line-up, and the selectors have also named a new face in Kyle Christie.

“We welcome back Kinchit who has been in prolific form at the start of the domestic season and answered the coaching staffs request for runs,” Director of Cricket Charlie Burke said. “Kyle is Hong Kong born and currently playing in Perth Western Australia, we’re looking forward to having another pace option who is also a very handy batsmen.”

“Jamie is available for the home series against PNG, however won’t travel with the squad to face Kenya due to work,” Burke added. “We have come off a good series in the UK and we have a really important WCLC round against Kenya to come in mid November so this is a really important series for us and an opportunity for guys to push for a place in the best XI”

Hong Kong v Papua New Guinea ODI Series
1. Afzal Tanwir (Pakistan Assoc.), 2. Ahmed Nadeem (DLSWCC), 3. Ahmed Tanveer (KCC), 4. Atkinson James (KCC), 5. Carter Christopher (KCC), 6. Christie Kyle (Kalamunda Cc – Perth, Wa), 7. Hayat Babar © (DLSWCC), 8. Khan Aizaz (VC) (KCC), 9. Khan Ehsan (DLSWCC), 10. Khan Nizakat (HKCC), 11. Khan Waqas (DLSWCC), 12. Rath Anshuman (HKCC), 13. Shah Kinchit (KCC), 14. Wasif Shahid (DLSWCC)

Hong Kong v Papua New Guinea
Date: 4, 6, 8 November, 2016
Venue: Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground
Tickets: $500, $30 from Ticketflap

Additional reporting and image: HK Cricket

HK Cricket Round-up: 29-30 October, 2016

Kowloon Cricket Club‘s dominant start to the season ended at the hands of rivals Hong Kong Cricket Club as the One Day Premier League title race remains wide open.

A late collapse saw KCC dismissed for 207, a target which HKCC knocked off with more than 12 overs and five wickets to spare. At one stage KCC had reached 166-3 in 35 overs thanks to contributions from in-form Hong Kong players Kinchit Shah (65) and Jamie Atkinson (58). But their dismissals saw KCC lose 41-7 and the unbeaten streak looked vulnerable.

Ryan Buckley‘s off-spin claimed 4-29, while Raag Kapur took 3-31.

Aside from losing a wicket in the first over, HKCC were rarely troubled in the chase as Hong Kong players Anshuman Rath (56) and Nizakat Khan (47) did enough to put the hosts in a strong position. For KCC, Tanveer Ahmed took 3-47 in a result that saw HKCC keep their Premier League title hopes alive.

Chasing teams had the better of both matches in Sunday’s Premier League, with the Cricket Hong Kong Independents XI scoring their first win of the season against Pakistan Association Cricket Club.

Chasing 271 for victory, CHK XI reached the target with three balls to spare in a thrilling contest at Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground.

Earlier, Ahsan Abbasi‘s late launch at number seven yielded 74 off 61 balls to catapault PACC to what looked a competitive total.

But a steady hand of 91 from opener Matt Stiller laid a solid foundation for CHK XI, before Hong Kong player Shahid Wasif made an unbeaten 59 off 57 balls to finish the chase.

Additional reporting: HK cricket

Kinchit Shah Smashes Century to Continue Prolific Form

A run-feast at Kowloon Cricket Club was headlined by a blazing century from 20 year old Hong Kong international Kinchit Shah, who continued his dominant start to the season in the Elite League.

Shah smashed 132 off 79 balls in an innings that included 12 fours and 9 sixes. The knock helped KCC Templars post 306-8 from 49 overs against Hong Kong Cricket Club Scorpions who made a valiant chase but fell short on 287-6. James Redmayne starred for the Scorpions scoring 108 off 99 balls in a losing effort.

But for Shah, the century continued a stellar start to the season, which has seen him score 271 runs in five innings at an average of 90. Those runs have helped him regain a place in the Hong Kong team for the upcoming series against Papua New Guinea.

“Honestly, it’s the hunger to get runs,” Shah said. “I’ve always been told that I would get a nice 30-40 and never get a big score. Yesterday I was in a similar situation where I saw myself getting a quick 35-40, and that’s where I started fighting against myself to ensure I put on a big score and help my team get to 300+.

“It was one of my best innings I’ve played so far in domestic cricket so far but I have also previously scored a 100 in premier league against HKCC at their home ground while chasing 300+ and we won the game!”

Shah’s form surge is no coincidence, during the off-season in India, Shah pushed himself through a brutal training regime, which involved strength sessions in the morning and two hours of cardio at night after work.

“Since the Asia Cup in February, I’ve lost 10 Kilos. I feel as if my feet are moving faster and I am able to push myself better in difficult situations,” Shah said. “After the World Cup, I took some time to reflect upon things. One of the biggest worries I had was my weight and I felt as if I was too heavy. So I knew I didn’t have any more international matches in the next 5-6 months and decided to lose weight. ”

“I am now more confident before going into the PNG series with some runs behind me. But I feel it is important to not let myself relax and I need to start from 0 in every innings I play,” Shah added.

Additional reporting and image: HK Cricket

ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifiers Match Report: Hong Kong v Thailand – 15 October, 2016

Hong Kong who began the tournament so brightly ended it with four consecutive defeats. The bowling was pretty good throughout the tournament with different players stepping up each game. But too many batswomen were out of form and not even able to rotate the strike – putting extra pressure on the two players who were making runs.

While Hong Kong’s tight bowling caused a lot of run-outs, in general Hong Kong’s fielding was not on a par with the other teams taking part. And with four pretty evenly matched sides, it’s the little things that make the difference.

After losing to Thailand on the final day of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifiers Hong Kong finished bottom of the table at the end of the round robin tournament. Thailand won the championship and booked a place in the global qualifiers for the England 2017 World Cup.

Hong Kong had a shaky start to the match, losing three wickets in the first four overs. Moved to the opener, Keenu Gill scored 11 runs from 14 balls.

Captain Mariko Hill scored 11 off the same number of balls, but her short time in the crease was a major blow for the home team.

Playing for the first time in this tournament, Wing-Ki Lai scored 16, while Yasmin Daswani provided 17 runs coming in at number 7.

Thailand Captain and all-rounder Sornnarin Tippoch (pictured) did most of the damage, with 2/11.

Thailand’s chase was strong from the start despite losing a wicket in the third over. Opener Sirintra Saensakorat smashed a team-high 36 including 4 fours.

Eventual Player of the Tournament Sornnarin Tippoch scored 17 to give Thailand a fifth win out of six games in the tournament.

“I think everyone came off the field saying ‘we’ve tried our best’. We put our hearts out to the very end.” said Hong Kong Captain and Batsman of the Tournament Mariko Hill.

“This was my first tournament in Hong Kong. The support was awesome. It means a lot. I have never gotten Batsman of the Tournament before. Mentally, I was never strong. Getting this award, for my batting especially, really puts confidence to myself,” said Hill.

Match Summary
Hong Kong 83/7 (20 overs)
Thailand 86/3 (18.5 overs)
Thailand won by 7 wickets (with 7 balls remaining)
Scoreboard: www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/1059680.html

Additional reporting and image: HK Cricket Association

ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifiers Match Report: Hong Kong v China – 14 October, 2016

Hong Kong’s World Cup aspirations ended when they were not able to beat China, as the teams split the two ‘Cross-border Derbies’ at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifiers. China have bounced back from being 0-3 to win two matches in a row. While Hong Kong having won their first two games have lost three in a row.

Aggressive running from China and some missed fielding from the home team contributed to China’s total of 114. On the flip side, the running and occasional miscommunications between batsmen resulted in four run-outs for China.

But the 71-run partnership between Feng-Feng Song (36 off 34) and Zhuo Huang (31 off 34) was killer partnership for Hong Kong.

Two wickets in each of the 12th and 14th overs gave Hong Kong some hope, but Cai-Yun Zhou’s 16 off 9 towards the end made it a strong total for the visitors.

Hong Kong’s chase did not pick up enough pace until Captain Mariko Hill entered at number four. She continued her recent form scoring 38 off 35 balls. But she didn’t have the support needed and they were 18 runs short of the target after 20 overs.

Juan Wu of China was the key limiting Hong Kong’s score with 3/11.

“We had a great first over (bowling), we took one wicket and lost only one run. But after the first over things started to turn around,” said Mariko Hill after the match. “We have got nothing to lose now. There is still an Asia Cup spot left. We are going to fight our heart out.”

Match Summary
China 114 all out (19 overs)
Hong Kong 96/6 (20/20 ov)
China won by 18 runs
Scoreboard: www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/1059678.html

Additional reporting and image: Hong Kong Cricket Association

ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifiers Match Report: Hong Kong v Nepal – 13 October, 2016

Poor batting and game management by Hong Kong, especially their senior players, saw Nepal survive a nail-biting finish to beat the hosts by 6 runs and draw level in second-placed in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup -Asia Qualifiers on four points.

Batting first, Nepal’s innings was salvaged by number eight batter and eventual Player of the Match Karuna Bhandari. Her 19 not out, off 27 balls in the last six overs of the innings proved to be the difference. Indu Barma’s 15 in the first half of the innings was also crucial to Nepal’s 75 runs in total.

Hong Kong’s spinner Ka-Man Chan picked up where she left off before the rest day, taking for 3/11. Keenu Gill was also a consistent performer with 2/9.

Hong Kong’s response started off well with opener Ka-Ying Chan’s 18 off 21 and Keenu Gill’s 10 off 19. Captain Mariko Hill scored 13 off 16 from number 5. But Hong Kong collapsed going from 33/1 to 58/9. After an elaborate celebration of Mariko Hill’s wicket – who was out looking to smash the ball around, when with Hong Kong’s required run-rate at less than three an over all that was needed was for her to milk the singles, rotate the strike and stay there till the end – Nepal’s bowlers calmed themselves and finally picked up the last wicket with two overs and two balls left.

Karuna Bhandari was the top wicket taker with 3/17, capping an all-round performance.

“It was disappointing today. I thought we bowled and fielded really well. We just panicked on the bat. It was uncharacteristic of the girls today,” said Hong Kong Women’s Coach Charlie Burke.

“Credit to Nepal, they kept fighting and fought really well. It shows how close this competition is. These are four sides which competed very well over the last six years. We are going to play China (tomorrow) who are very confident after their win today. Last game against Thailand, so it will be interesting to see the Thailand versus Nepal game tomorrow. We can only control what we can do and see what happens,” added Burke.

Both matches tomorrow will be played at Hong Kong Cricket Club, with Thailand vs Nepal at 9:30 am and China vs Hong Kong at 2:00 pm. Entry is free.

Match Summary
Nepal 75/8 (20 overs)
Hong Kong 69 all out (17.4 overs)
Nepal Women won by 6 runs
Scorecard: www.espncricinfo.com/hkg/content/team/19.html

Additioanl reporting and image: HK Cricket Association