bc magazine

HK Beat UAE to Qualify for Asia Cup

In a rain-affected final of the Asia Cup Qualifier 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong beat the United Arab Emirates by two wickets (DLS method) to book their place in the Asia Cup.

A fine five-for from Aizaz Khan first helped Hong Kong restrict UAE to 176/9 in 24 overs, the innings affected by a long rain break, before Hong Kong found enough contributors right through their chase to get to their revised target of 179 with three balls left.

Hong Kong captain Anshuman Rath won the toss and elected to bowl first in the cloudy and humid conditions. A bigly game for both teams with the winners guaranteed a place in the Asia Cup – in the group with Pakistan and India.

The UAE innings – a two-part affair, of 15.2 overs first and then 8.4 overs, broken by a long interruption because of rain and a wet outfield – started well with the opening pair of Ashfaq and Suri negating the early movement making their way past 50 in the first 12 overs.

Tanwir Afzal made the initial breakthrough with an excellent delivery hitting the top of off stump to dismiss Suri leaving UAE 52-1. Aizaz Khan was bought into the attack and had made an immediate impression dismissing the UAE captain Mustafa for an 8 ball duck and Shahzad for 2 before play was halted for almost 4 hours with UAE on 65-3 off 15.2 overs.

The rain delay saw the match reduced to 24 overs per side. After the restart Ashfaq and Anwar attacked the Hong Kong bowlers with a number of boundaries struck with Ehsan Khan being targeted on a flat Kinrara wicket. Nadeem Ahmed made the breakthrough dismissing Anwar for 22 and Ashfaq who top scored with 79. A flurry of wickets and boundaries saw UAE through to 176-9 off their allotted 24 overs. Aizaz Khan was magnificent in taking 5-28 to lead the seam attack on a flat batting wicket.

Hong Kong, with the benefit of knowing their target and the number of overs at their disposal, started well with Nizakat Khan and Anshuman Rath, two of their most pedigreed batsmen. The two added 64 runs in just six overs to put Hong Kong in front before Rohan Mustafa had Nizakat’s number, sending him back for a 20-ball 38.

Then followed a good phase for UAE as Babar Hayat and Kinchit Shah followed Nizakat to the pavilion to leave the scoreboard reading 68/3, which became 82/4 in the 10th over when Ahmed Raza bowled Rath for 28.

The UAE were in front at that stage, but Christopher Carter (33 in 32 balls) and Ehsan Khan (29 in 24) made sure the game was back on an even keel with a 53-run stand for the fifth wicket. A dramatic game took another turn when Carter was run out and Mohammad Naveed struck twice in one over to leave Hong Kong at a precarious 147/7.

The closer the Hong Kong team got to the target the more the drama unfolded. Ehsan Khan and Aizaz Khan departed with 33 still needed and. The experienced duo of Tanwir Afzal and Scott McKechnie came together and played with a great deal of courage and experience to continue to whittle away at the target. The danger man for UAE (Naveed) returned to bowl his final over with the game in the balance. A full blooded pull for 6 by Afzal was followed by an audacious scoop over fine leg by McKechnie to leave 12 runs required with 12 balls remaining.

The dismissal of Afzal off the last ball of the 23rd over left Hong Kong needing 3 to win off the final 6 balls with 2 wickets remaining. The first ball offered the chance of a run out at the non-strikers end which was missed…… 2 off 5 needed. McKechnie looking to finish with glory missed his pull shot but scampered a single to 3rd Man…… 1 off 4 needed. The winning run saw the batsman scamper through for a bye after the keeper fumbled the ball standing back… Hong Kong win by 2 wickets with 3 balls remaining and qualify for the Asia Cup!

Hong Kong will now prepare for their Asia Cup opener against Pakistan, to be played in Dubai on 16 September, followed by the fixture against India, also in Dubai, on 18 September.

Hong Kong captain Anshuman Rath, acknowledged UAE’s efforts “The UAE batsmen batted tremendously well after the rain delay. To get that many runs in 10 overs is no joke on any ground. The momentum was with them, but we knew it was a good wicket. Games like that can go either way, so credit to UAE for playing such an awesome game. We knew we had the batting firepower to chase it down, and luckily that happened.”

UAE’s coach, Dougie Brown, was understandably very disappointed at the result. He said: “Gutted doesn’t even come close to describing the feeling right now. I think the guys deserve a hell of a lot of credit for the way they fought. We didn’t get everything right. We maybe didn’t bowl as well as we can do. We maybe didn’t field quite as well as we know we can, but to get into the position we did, to get into the position where we had the total to defend we ended up with, was a phenomenal effort. Credit to Hong Kong, they won some critical moments in a game of very fine margins.”

Additional reporting and images: HK Cricket, ICC

Hong Kong Lose to UAE by Six Wickets to Crash Out of Asia Cup

Hong Kong’s hopes of qualifying for the main round of the Asia Cup T20 were extinguished as UAE beat them by six wickets to move to the top of the points table with one game to play.

Babar Hayat’s run of form continued but Hong Kong fell to their second loss of the Asia Cup. Batting first, Hong Kong posted 7-146, with Hayat’s 54 off 45 balls the top score.

In response, UAE lost two early wickets but from there recovered to reach the target with 9 balls to spare.

Hong Kong were in the box seat at one stage with the score at 3-112 with six overs to go and a total of 160-plus looked likely. But the fall of Hayat saw the innings lose momentum, which is an area coach Simon Cook admits needs work.

Hong Kong v UAE - 22 February, 2016

“There is a common theme unfortunately that has cost us two games and that’s our batting in the last six overs,” Cook said “In both games we set really good platforms but unfortunately our lower/middle order hasn’t fired and it’s cost us. It has surprised me because it is normally a strength of ours”

With Hong Kong’s hopes of qualifying for the main stage of the tournament over, tomorrow’s match against Afghanistan will serve a crucial lead-in to the World T20.

“Everyone’s playing for their place in that World T20 team, there are a lot people pushing for places, here in this squad and the two new faces coming in next week.”

Nadeem Ahmed was again the pick of the bowlers for Hong Kong, he finished with figures of 1-17 off four overs. Mark Chapman (29 off 17) and Nizakat Khan (28 off 18) both looked in good form, but couldn’t convert.

The match against Afghanistan will be broadcast live on Star Sports, before the squad fly to India to begin training for the World T20.

Hong Kong v UAE - 22 February, 2016

Hong Kong at the Asia Cup 2016

HK Cricket team 2016

The Asian Cricket Council is holding the Asia Cup 2016 in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 24th February to 6th March 2016. The 13th edition of the Asia Cup will be the first played using the T20 format.

Hong Kong made their first appearance in the tournament in 2004 and reached the group stages in the 2004 and 2008 tournaments.

Along with hosts Bangladesh and Asia Cup 2014 winners Sri Lanka, the tournament will include Pakistan, India and a qualifier. The qualifier will be determined through a qualifying round (T20I) scheduled to be played from 19th to 22nd February 2016 in Bangladesh.

Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Oman and UAE will compete in the qualifying round. The winner of qualifier will move to main round to play against the four Asian Test playing nations.

Qualifier Match Schedule
Venue: KSOAS, Fatullah
Format: 20 overs a side

Hong Kong v Oman
Date: 19 February 2016
HK Time: 8pm

Hong Kong v UAE
Date: 21 February 2016
HK Time: 8pm

Hong Kong v Afghanistan
Date: 22 February 2016
HK Time: 8pm

Hong Kong Squad
Tanwir Afzal (Captain), Adil Mehmood, Aizaz Khan, Anshuman Rath, Babar Hayat, Christopher Carter, Haseeb Amjad, Kinchit Shah, Mark Chapman, Nadeem Ahmed, Ninad Shah, Nizakat Khan, Tanveer Ahmed, Waqas Barkat, Waqas Khan.

Man-of-the-Match Tanwir Afzal Smashes Hong Kong to Victory

Tanwir Afzal led from the front with a captain’s knock of 73 to lead his team to victory, and the top of the World Cricket League Championship (WCLC) table, with a 136-run win over host UAE in the second and final ODI of the series.

The day belonged to the Hong Kong skipper, who not only continued his winning streak with the toss, but went on to top score with a 33-ball 73 and snare three wickets in an unforgettable Man of the Match performance.Tanwir’s flashy 24-ball half-century was the equal third-fastest ever by an Associate player in ODI cricket. The knock steadied the sluggish Hong Kong innings and helped post a competitive total of 282 that had seemed unlikely earlier in the match.

After electing to bat, Hong Kong’s Anshuman Rath (53), Waqas Barkat (27) and Mark Chapman (27) all contributed runs, but the side regularly lost wickets and struggled for the most part to keep the run rate competitive. Three run outs in less than 13 overs added more pressure to the batting side, though it benefitted from three dropped catches in the field. With the score precariously placed at 159 for six from 36.6 overs, the skipper came to the crease, and quickly set about finding the buildings outside of the boundary rope.

Seemingly inspired by the captain’s fireworks, number nine batsman Aizaz Khan struck three consecutive sixes on his way to an unbeaten 37 from only 31 balls, and the pair put on a match winning 101-run partnership for the eight wicket at an astonishing run-rate of 11.22. The partnership was the highest stand for the eighth wicket in the competition, and the sixth-highest partnership overall.

Hong Kong piled on 109 runs in the last 10 overs, the second highest total by an Associate team in that part of the innings, to post a reassuring total of 282 for eight.

The UAE responded in similarly heavy hitting fashion, but stumbled with the loss of four early wickets to be 38 for four after 6.2 overs. Dangerman Shaiman Anwar held the innings together with a stylish 71, and the tailenders held their ground doggedly against the Hong Kong bowling attack for six more overs to add six runs, before Anshuman Rath delivered the final ball to dismiss the hosts for 146 runs in 40.1 overs.

The win seals a successful week for Hong Kong, which beat the UAE by 89 in the first WCLC ODI and by 276 in their four-day, first class ICC Intercontinental Cup clash.

Mark Chapman’s Century Powers Hong Kong to Victory

A record-breaking maiden century by Mark Chapman, making his ODI debut for Hong Kong, earned his team an 89-run victory in its World Cricket League Championship (WCLC) clash against host UAE in Dubai.

Making his ODI debut alongside Chris Carter, the 21-year-old vice-captain waltzed into the record books with an undefeated 116-ball 124, the second-highest ODI score ever made by a batsman on debut. Chapman is second only to West Indies’ Desmond Haynes (148), and he is the 10th player in ODI history to score a century on debut.

His undefeated knock of 124, which included two sixes and 11 boundaries, anchored the Hong Kong’s total of 298 for the loss of only four wickets after its 50 overs, before dismissing the UAE for 209 all out to record an 89-run victory.

Earlier, openers Anshuman Rath (36) and Kinchit Shah (34 retired) put on a 77-run partnership, but a collision between the two as they scampered between wickets sent Kinchit back to the dressing room with an injured shoulder. Number three Babar Hayat (45) continued his run-scoring streak and put on a 90-run partnership with Chapman, the highest partnership of the game. But it was Chapman, who arrived in Dubai on Saturday, who dominated the crease with a measured but aggressive knock that saw him still at the crease at the end of 50 overs.

Nizakat Khan added a career-best 28, and for the UAE, Ahmed Raza and Zaheer Maqsood picked up two wickets each.

If the UAE were intimidated by either the record-breaking centurion or the imposing run chase, it did not show it. Amjab Ali (18) and Shaiman Anwar (76) quickly set about striking boundaries, but the Hong Kong bowlers managed to take regular wickets around them. 18-year-old Anshuman Rath starred with three wickets 22 runs, while Haseeb Amjad picked up three for 49.

The sides will return for the second match in the two-ODI WCLC encounter on Wednesday 18 November.

Hong Kong’s Bowlers Rout UAE to Secure Historic Win

Hong Kong’s bowlers routed the UAE to secure an historic first ICC Intercontinental Cup victory with Babar Hayat declared Man of the Match for his two match winning innings. The win earns Hong Kong maximum points and moves the team up to third in the competition.

Hong Kong secured their magnificent 276 run victory when opening bowlers Haseeb Amjad and Aizaz Khan ripped through the UAE top order, claiming five wickets in the first 15 balls of the day while conceding only one run to leave the host reeling on five for six in under six overs.

With the UAE needing 377 runs for victory on the fourth and final day, the day could not have started worse for the host. Haseeb was on a hat trick with the first three balls, stunning the hosts to dismiss dangermen Amjad Ali lbw (1) and Usman Mushtaq (0), before narrowly missing the key wicket of Swapnil Patil. However, Patil fell the following over to 22-year-old Aizaz, who struck twice to dismiss Swapnil (0) and opener Asif Iqbal (3).

When Haseeb‘s medium-fast pace struck again in the following over, the UAE were at risk of being humiliated, but the lower-order mounted a disciplined defence, until Nadeem Ahmed broke through in the 21st over to send Qais Farooq (26) back to the pavilion. Nadeem took the last four wickets of the day, including the only UAE player to hit a half century (Laxman Sreekumar (61) to finish with figures of four for 40 alongside Haseeb’s superb figures of four for 10. Aizaz finished with a tidy two for twenty.

The four-day, first class clash saw Hong Kong showcase its all-round talents, with centurions Babar Hayat and captain Tanwir Azal the second and fourth-highest run-scorers in the competition to date. Haseeb is now Hong Kong’s leading wicket taker in the tournament, with 10 wickets in two matches, and he is second only to Ireland’s George Dockrell overall.

Hong Kong coach Simon Cook was delighted with the convincing victory. “The game has pretty much gone to script as far as we are concerned. This was the icing on the cake, to do it so convincingly in the first session. We had discussed about how important the first hour was today, and that would really set up the day, and it proved so, with the UAE losing five wickets for one run in the space of about 15 balls. That really set us up.”

Captain Tanwir Afzal could not contain his happiness with the result. “It was an amazing victory, our fist ever win in a first class game. I am so happy that the guys all showed up and did really well.”

“It was an amazing start from the first ball, and then the second ball, and then the next over was also an amazing start. The guys stuck with the plan, so I don’t think we needed more than three bowlers after that.”

He said that his side had not felt pressure on the final day of the clash. “The bowlers were very relaxed. They didn’t have pressure because we know that it was a big total, that UAE couldn’t chase that. We had our plans in place but we stuck with the basic things, and the guys did a really good job.”

Man of the Match Babar Hayat said the historic victory has an unforgettable one. “It’s a great day for Hong Kong, beating the UAE in a first class game – it is a special day for Hong Kong and for the whole team. It’s a really special day for us.”

“I am really happy with my batting performance. I used to bat number five or six, but I talked to Simon Cook and he said you are going to move up. I’m really happy batting at this position and am really looking forward to the next few games here on the same pitch, and hopefully get some more runs.”

The sides now turn their minds to their upcoming World Cricket League Championship matches, with the two One-Day Internationals to be played on 16 and 18 November in Dubai.

Hong Kong won by 276 runs
Man of the Match: Babar Hayat
Hong Kong first innings 378 all out, 125.2 overs
Babar Hayat 113, Tanwir Afszal 104, Kinshit Shah 62;
Asif Iqbal 3-38, Raja Adeel 2-104, Ahmed Raza 2-103

UAE first innings 181 all out, 92.3 overs
Swapnil Patil 75, Usman Mushtaq 45;
Anshuman Rath 4-34, Tanwir Afzal 2-21, Nadeem Ahmed 2-47, Ehsan Nawaz 1-19, Aizaz Khan 1-30

Hong Kong second innings 184 all out, 51.3 overs
(Babar Hayat 73, Anshuman Rath 32, Jaimie Atkinson 30;
Ahmed Raza 5-61Nasir Aziz 4-90

UAE second innings 105 all out, 29.2 overs
L Sreekumar 61;
Haseeb Amjad 4-10, Nadeem Ahmed 4-40, Aizaz Khan 2-20

Hong Kong Set UAE 382 to Win

A strong all-round team performance saw Hong Kong strengthen it’s grip on the game as they lead UAE by 376 runs with one day remaining in the four day ICC Intercontinental Cup match in Dubai.

Sixteen wickets fell on day 3, as Hong Kong captured first innings honours and six points after restricting their hosts to a first innings total of 181, an innings deficit of 197. Debutant Anshuman Rath shone in the critical morning session as he ripped through the lower order, taking four scalps for 34 runs.

Hong Kong then added 184 runs in its second innings as they looked for quick runs to establish a match winning lead. With the last Hong Kong wicket falling late in the day, the UAE was forced to pad up and bat for three overs, seeing out the last 15 minutes without losing a wicket. The host will return tomorrow needing 377 more runs for victory.

The day swung on the crucial morning session, with UAE batsmen Usman Mushtaq (45) and Swapnil Patil (75) putting on a 139-run partnership before 18-year-old Anhsuman Rath snared the key wicket of Usman. The wicket proved fatal for the host, which lost their remaining four wickets for 48 runs, with Anshuman also snaring the prized scalp of Patil in his four-wicket haul.

Not to be outdone, UAE skipper Ahmed Raza took full advantage of the ball in the afternoon session, ripping through the Hong Kong innings to finish with figures of five for 61, the best bowling figures of a UAE bowler to date in the competition.

Hong Kong, clearly in a hurry to put runs on the board in its second innings, completing the innings in less than two sessions to finish on 184 runs all out. Babar Hayat again led with the bat, striking 73 to become Hong Kong’s leading run-scorer in the competition, while Anshuman contributed a quickfire 32.

Coach Simon Cook believed his team’s bowling was key to the day’s success. “I think the partnership that Anshuman had with Nadeem was excellent, it really ripped the heart out of their batting, and it came off the back of some great work from Ehsan and Aizaz and Haseeb and Tanwir as well.”

“We identified this morning would be a crucial period in the game, and it proved that. We really put the UAE batters under a lot of pressure. And the fact that we bowled the previous evening so tight meant that when those wickets did come, the UAE hadn’t really gone anywhere. So to then dismiss them and give us a lead of 197 going into our second innings really helped us.”

The former English county cricketer said his team had handled the pressure well. “There’s a little bit of pressure when you know you have to bowl the opposition out for under your score, because in this competition, you get points for first innings leads, so that was a bit of pressure there. But I said to the guys to just stick to the process that was applied so well the day before, and the result will come – it’s just a case of being patient and being able to stick in there.”

Anshuman Rath was delighted with his four-for-34 on debut for Hong Kong. “The wicket was turning quite a bit, and that does help me as a spinner. I am just glad that I can contribute in a big way to the team.”

“I was having a chat to Simon Cook as to what we should do to get those batsmen out. They looked quite comfortable. So we the simple things well – we bogged them down, we tried to get as many dot balls as possible and make them make a mistake, and that is what happened. Both of them fell under the pressure.”

The final day of the four-day, first class ICC Intercontinental Cup match is Saturday, at 0930 local time at ICC Academy 1, Dubai, UAE, with the host chasing 377 runs for victory.

Captain Tanwir Afzal Stars With a Century and Two Wickets

Tanwir Afzal stars to put Hong Kong in the driver’s seat as he joined Babar Hayat with a century, before claiming two wickets as Hong Kong lead host UAE by 296 runs with two days’ play remaining in ICC Intercontinental Cup match.

Despite having to wait impatiently overnight for his maiden first class century, Hong Kong’s skipper Tanwir Afzal showed no signs of nerves as Wednesday’s dust and heat gave way to rain and an unfamiliar coolness, Tanwir displayed enormous calm in his first four-day match as captain, returning to the crease a dangerous 10 runs short of the historic milestone. The skipper selectively struck the ball before charging a Raja Adeel delivery and smashing it over the boundary rope to bring up his century, and the second for Hong Kong in two days.

When the skipper was dismissed two overs later for 104, Hong Kong had 330 runs on the scoreboard for the loss of seven wickets. The skipper had shared a 47-run partnership with debutant Aizaz Khan, who led a tail-end mission to add as many runs to the board as possible, with a measured 16. Ehsan Nawaz contributed 14 and number 11 Nadeem Ahmed struck 29 before lofting the ball to be caught at long-on and ending the Hong Kong innings at 378 all out just after lunch.

After lunch and a brief rain delay, Hong Kong’s bowling attack throttled the host’s batsmen, with Tanwir leading the way, claiming two quick scalps of Asif Iqbal (8) and Laxman Sreekumar (0) within 12 overs. The bowlers continued to pile on the pressure, with debutant Aizaz Khan and Ehsan Nawaz each picking up a wicket to help restrict the UAE to 82 runs in 54 overs, and a miserly run rate of only 1.51.

Skipper and centurion Tanwir was delighted with his knock, but was quick to point out that team performance is more important than that of an individual. “It’s quite good for me, but forget my performance, it’s about team performance. And so far, the team is doing well so I am so happy, and I am looking forward to the next two days.”

Having battled heat, dust, rain and wind in the first two days, the captain said the youth of his side was one of the keys to the team’s performance. “I think we are quite lucky that we have young players, they are quite energetic and they have so much hunger. So it is really helpful, because they love to play cricket. That energy really helps us.”

He continued: “On Middle East pitches, tosses really matter, so we are very lucky that we won the toss. The UAE team are quite experienced guys in this format, and this is just our second game, so the guys have shown up really well so far.”

The captain had a surprising summary of the changeable climate conditions. “I’ve not really played in such changing conditions before. It was quite good for us weather-wise for us when we started bowling, with the cloudy weather helping seam bowlers. We have four seam bowlers, so this kind of weather actually helped up.”

Reflecting on the first two days of the match, coach Simon Cook said: “Having any sort of lead is good, and a lead of nearly 300 is excellent. We probably would have liked a few more wickets. I thought the way our bowlers stuck to their task today out of the field, taking four wickets, only going just over 1.5 runs an over, was an outstanding over on that wicket, and what we’ve got to do is make sure we capitalise on that pressure tomorrow morning and not let them off the hook.”

The coach was delighted by the way his young charges were adapting to the longer format of the game: “There’s still a bit of work to be done but showing the guys how they can bat for 120 overs is outstanding. Two centurions – brilliant. A great platform up front with Kinchit and Babar, and then also to be able to bowl with control but also with purpose throughout the 50 overs today has been outstanding. The weather has been another first for me. Dust storms yesterday and now rain in Dubai! It’s been more like an English summer’s day here, with the constant on and off, and having to stop and start. The guys have stuck at it really well and switch on when they need to.”

Twenty-two-year-old debutant and first time wicket-taker Aizaz Khan was delighted with his maiden wicket wearing national colours: “It feels really good. It’s my first game and my first wicket for Hong Kong in first class cricket. The weather was really hot yesterday, and then today with the rain, it was really good to bowl in. With the overcast conditions, the ball was doing a bit, so it was good. We are in a really good position after day two, we’re 296 runs in front. Hopefully we start again tomorrow and get a few wickets early on.”

Play continues on Friday at 0930 local time at ICC Academy 1, Dubai, UAE.