Women’s Rugby Results – 20 February, 2016

valley black league winners 2016

Premiership

Tai Po Dragons 0-15 Kowloon
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 16:30

Gai Wu 12-49 Valley Black
@ Kings Park, Kick-off: 18:00

USRC Tigers 37-10 CWB Phoenix
@ King’s Park, Kick-off: 19:30

Women's Premiership - 20 February, 2016

National 15s

Valley Red 7-10 CWB Pheasants
@ KGV, Kick-off: 16:30

USRC Tigers v City
@ Tai Hang Tung, Kick-off: 16:30

Gai Wu 12-5 Revolution SRC
@ KGV, Kick-off: 18:00

Women's 15s - 20 February, 2016

Tai Po Dragons 14-12 HKFC Fire
@ Tai Hang Tung, Kick-off: 15:00

Police 15-12 HK Scottish
@ Police Boundary Street, Kick-off: 18:00

Women's 10s - 20 February, 2016

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 Lose Despite Magnificent Babar Hayat Century

Babar Hayat - ICC

Hong Kong have been beaten in a thriller in their opening Asia Cup qualifier against Oman in Dhaka. Chasing 181 runs to win, Babar Hayat smashed the fourth fastest Twenty20 International century of all time off just 50 balls but Hong Kong still fell five runs short.

Hayat ended up on 122 off 60 balls, his innings included 9 fours and 7 sixes. “I was happy with the way I played but we should have won the game so I should be a lot happier, to end up on the losing side is never a good thing,” Hayat said “When you are chasing a big total you have to be aggressive so I just tried to do this and everything kept coming out of the middle. It’s the best innings I’ve played and my first hundred in T20 international cricket so I am happy with this.”

Hong Kong at one stage required 45 runs off the last three overs but rocketed back into contention when Hayat hit four sixes in an over that went for 27. “I’ve never done that before,” Hayat said “I did target that bowler and at that stage we had no choice but to go for it, I thought from there we deserved to win.”

However some accurate death bowling from Oman prevented Hong Kong from achieving the remaining 18 runs off 12 balls. Coach Simon Cook paid high praise for Hayat’s innings and lamented the fact it did not result in a win.

“Outstanding innings, he’s become a lot more consistent over the last few months and again proven why he’s the best batsman in Hong Kong,” Cook said “He controlled the innings perfectly and it showed that we let them get 20 runs too many because even with a fantastic innings by Babar, he still ended up on the losing side.”

While Hayat’s century was the highlight of the match, a controversial incident caused a stir when Hong Kong’s Mark Chapman fell victim to a mankad and Cook wasn’t impressed. “Yes it’s in the laws but I think it goes against the spirit of the game when you’re not at least giving a warning,” Cook said “Ultimately it’s a cowardly way out really, if you’re battling against one another, man against man, out in the middle and you choose to go down that route to get a wicket and win the game, it’s not really in the spirit of cricket.”

Oman v Hong Kong - 19 February, 2016

Oman won the toss and chose to bat, the innings got off to a solid start as Jatinder Singh (42 off 35 balls) added 34 with opening partner Zeeshan and 41 with No. 3 Vaibhav Wategaonkar to move them to 75 for 1 at the 10-over mark. Left-arm spinner Nadeem Ahmed dismissed both Jatinder and Wategaonkar in the 11th over, but every member of Oman’s middle order chipped in to ensure there was no loss of momentum. Adnan Ilyas (23) and Aamir Kaleem (19) were dismissed in quick succession after putting on 38 for the fourth wicket, before Mehran Khan (28* off 16) and Amir Ali (32* off 13) gave the innings an explosive finish, adding an unbroken 50 runs for the sixth wicket, off just 24 balls.

Hong Kong’s next match is against UAE on Sunday – a must win game to keep their qualification hopes alive.

Oman v Hong Kong - 19 February, 2016

Source: HK Cricket Association, Image: © ICC

Valley v Gai Wu Highlights Regular Season Final Weekend

valley-womens-rugby-28-nov-2015

A women’s Premiership triple-header at King’s Park will feature an end-of-season clash between league champions Valley Black and their longstanding rivals, second-placed Gai Wu Falcons (18.00). Valley, currently on the longest unbeaten streak in Hong Kong rugby, will put their run of 25 matches without loss on the line on Saturday. A win over the Falcons will complete two full league seasons without a defeat and position Valley to defend their Grand Championship title from last year.

The competitiveness of the two sides is such that Valley’s last reverse came at the hands of Gai Wu in the 2013-14 Grand Championship, a match decided by a single try. In a hard-fought contest between the two sides earlier this season, Valley muscled their way to a 15-3 victory – its smallest margin of victory this year – with a defining second-half performance. On Saturday, they will look to again keep the action focused in the centre of the field.

Valley coach Chris Garvey commented “Gai Wu are extremely quick on the wing and have probably the best front row in the Premiership but we should have an edge in midfield. Our forwards continue to do an admirable job, while our back line has become extremely competitive, having previously struggled to get the ball over the line enough to make bonus points. Now we have girls on the bench who can come on and perform. There are no passengers in this side.”

Valley and Hong Kong veteran Colleen Tjosvold echoed Garvey: “We’ll be looking to exploit our contact area skills and stop their wide attack. We play a good territory game and can inch our way up the field if necessary. It will be a good game, but more about attrition than blinding long runs. They go for discipline and running down the flanks. We look to our contact strength to keep up unrelenting pressure.”

“The success we’ve had gives you confidence but also a lot of pressure,” adds Tjosvold. “You’re expected to keep it up. The pressure is always on – every team wants to beat us. You can’t win every game. I’m always confident, but you never know what’s going to happen.”

gai wu

Gai Wu coach Lai Yiu Pang is keen to topple the league winners, with an eye on staking an early claim on the Grand Championship, as the two sides are the leading contenders to advance to the season’s finale match. He expects his side to maintain possession and build phases in attack, capitalising on their superior fitness. “Conditioning is our strength, and we need to make it count,” he says.

He can draw on almost a full squad against Valley, as a number of players have returned from injury ahead of the play-offs, but the team will miss Tang Wai Kwan, a “key asset” according to Lai, who is grounded after receiving a red card last time out.

Vice-captain Melody Li chimes with her coach:“Valley are physically stronger, so we need to put up a solid defence which has been our training focus. We have to apply pressure to contain them and we have been working harder on our defence patterns.”

With both teams boasting numerous Hong Kong internationals there is much respect shared between the sides. “Gai Wu are a great club, with a lot of talented individuals,” says Garvey. “They’ve had a bit of a rough season with injuries, but some of their girls have been together for 8, 9, 10 years. They are a tight unit.” Lai admires the strength of Valley’s scrum, “which allows them more time and space to build their attack, and their captain Bella Milo, a former captain of Samoa, is a big weapon.”

There is little doubt that the two teams represent the cream of Hong Kong’s Women’s Rugby. Gai Wu boast around ten Hong Kong internationals, while Valley could field an entire side of national representatives, with 16 Hong Kong internationals across both fifteens and sevens, along with the totemic Milo and fullback Olivia Coady, who has represented New Zealand.

While the favourites for the Grand Championship final are Valley and Falcons, both coaches cautioned that they are not counting third-ranked USRC Tigers out of the hunt. The Tigers are coming into form, including a recent win over Gai Wu – just its second loss on the season – a key result that deprived the Falcons of the opportunity to capture the league title and the automatic bye to the Grand Championship semi final that accompanies it.

By virtue of their successful league defence Valley will advance directly to the Grand Championship semi-finals, while the six remaining teams will contest knockout matches for the remaining three slots. The semi-finals and final are “a whole new game,” says Tjosvold. “Even with everything we’ve done, it’s a new scrap. We’re excited.”

As the on-pitch action moves toward its climax, both coaches reflected on the growth and success of the women’s game this season. In particular, both welcomed the introduction of the Super Series, which saw the best players from across the Premiership redistributed to create three teams for a round robin series. Garvey, who is also the Assistant National Women’s XVs coach, says “The Super Series has been wonderful. As a result of availability problems for some of the lower sides, the Premiership has almost turned into two levels. The lower levels have some excellent players but they lack the chance to play enough competitive games. So the Super Series has been excellent and should be repeated.”

Lai, who is also HKRU National Performance Coach (Development), agrees that the Super Series is boosting development and notes that the Premiership is getting stronger, “HKFC and Tai Po Dragons were close at the beginning of the season before injuries cost them and National League One also has more clubs now, indicating that the women’s rugby population is growing. More resources for coaching and training will definitely help close the gaps between clubs.”

Garvey agrees saying, “Kowloon and Tai Po are very young clubs, and if they can get two or three seasons under their belt, they will develop. It’s not a short-term project but with the individuals they’ve got, and maybe some recruitment from overseas, we can have a really competitive Premiership.”

Find the full list of women’s fixtures for the 20 February, 2016 here

Source: HKRU

Women’s Rugby Fixtures – 20 February, 2016

womens-rugby-20-February-2016

Women’s Rugby Results – 13 February, 2016

HKFC Ice 20-10 CWB Phoenix

Premiership

HKFC Ice 20-10 CWB Phoenix
@ HK Football Club, Kick-off: 18:00

USRC Tigers 29-0 Kowloon
@ Kings Park, Kick-off: 18:00

Tai Po Dragons 0-78 Valley Black
@ KGV, Kick-off: 18:00

National 15s

City 10-17 Gai Wu Fawkes
@ Shek Kip Mei, Kick-off: 15:00

CWB Pheasants 17-17 USRC Tigers
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 16:30

Revolution SRC 10-13 Valley Red
@ Shek Kip Mei, Kick-off: 18:00

National 15s - 13 February, 2016

Photo: Phoebe Leung

HK Cricket Match Reports: Sunday 14 February, 2016

Sunday Championship – 14 February 2016

There was no love lost on the cricket pitch over Valentine’s Day with KCC Templars, HKCC Scorpions and Pakistan Association all claiming bonus point victories.

HKCC Scorpions v KCC Infidels
At Hong Kong Cricket Club, HKCC Scorpions recovered from the loss of both openers with only 20 runs on the board to post 206 in 41.4 overs against KCC Infidels. Mark Chapman was the best of the Scorpions’ batsmen with 52 while Suhaib Ahmad was the pick of the Infidels’ bowlers with 4/38 from 7.4 overs while Sunny Bhimsaria claimed 3/27 from seven.

A devastating opening spell by Scorpions’ skipper Matt Rafter reduced Infidels to 4/23 while further strikes by Mark Chapman and Raag Kapur had them in tatters at 8/56. Tobias Raper wrapped up the tail as Infidels were all out for 79 in just 27.4 overs. Ankur Vasishta was the only Infidels batter to reach double figures with 39. Rafter finished with 3/5 from six overs while Raper claimed 3/9 from 3.4 overs.
At HKCC: HKCC Scorpions 206 from 41.4 overs beat KCC Infidels 79 from 27.4 overs by 127 runs.

KCC Templars v DLSWCC Knights
At Kowloon Cricket Club, KCC Templars fared better with a 107-run victory over DLSWCC Knights.

Templars batted first after winning the toss but they were soon in trouble at 3/12 with Lamsam, Shroff and Atkinson all back in the pavilion. Niaz Ali and Amanat Khan made the early strikes for the Knights. Ryan Campbell and Ninad Shah steadied the ship with a 72-run partnership and Campbell went on to top-score with 73. The Infidels lower order backed him up with some good contributions including 37 from Imran Arif and 46 not out from skipper Ashley Caddy as Templars reached 222 all out from 48 overs.

The Knights reply never got going and they lost wickets at regular intervals. A 44-run fifth wicket partnership them over the 100 mark but from 4/102 they slumped to 115 all out. Nasir Hameed’s 30 was the Knights’ top score on the day. For Templars, Waqas Barkat claimed 3/33 while Imran Arif picked up 3/8.
At KCC: KCC Templars 222 from 48 overs beat DLSWCC Knights 115 from 36 overs by 107 runs.

Pakistan Association v Headwin Tritons SLCC
In the third match of the day played at Mission Road, Pakistan Association scored a 150-run victory over Headwin Tritons SLCC.

Pakistan Association made the most of their toss win to smash 8/384 in 47 overs off the hapless SLCC bowling attack. Tanvir Afzal top-scored with a brilliant 104 while Hamed Khan (39), Sunny Singh (54) and Butt Hussain (76*) also made useful contributions.  The Pakistan Association batsmen shared a number of impressive partnerships too with stands of 45 for the first wicket, 64 for the fifth wicket, 111 for the sixth wicket and 80 for the seventh.

The SLCC reply got off to an impressive start as their openers put on 82 for the first wicket with Khizar Hayat scoring 44 while Imran Muhammad hit 52. Their momentum continued with Mehtab Ali (42) and Asad Rasheed (54), but from 4/222 the SLCC innings subsided quickly and they were all out for 234. For Pakistan Association, Mohsin Khan claimed 3/36 from eight overs while Kamran Mohammad picked up the best figures of the match with 4/43 from his nine over spell.
At Mission Road: Pakistan Association 8/384 from 47 overs beat Headwin Tritons SLCC 234 from 43.3 overs by 150 runs.

HK Cricket Match Reports: Saturday 13 February, 2016

Saturday Championship – 13 February 2016

As the Saturday Championship reaches the sharp-end of the season, places in the top 5/bottom 5 are still to be determined in each division.

Saturday Championship Division 1

HKCC vr KCC Crusaders
At Hong Kong Cricket Club, HKCC Nomads secured their place in the top five with a hard-fought victory over KCC Crusaders.

Crusaders found themselves batting first after being sent in but they recovered well from a shaky start to post 7/173 from their 35 overs. Chief contributors were Damian Kelleher with 66 and Ashley Caddy with 31 – the pair adding 111 for the third wicket. However their dismissals saw the innings stall somewhat and Nomads did well to restrict them to that score. Toby Brown was the pick of the Nomads bowlers with 4/15 from his four over spell.

Nomads’ reply got off to a poor start and they were soon reduced to 3/30. Ravi Mulchandani hit 32 as he and Toby Brown added 52 runs for the fourth wicket while Brown and Max Abbott then followed with a 48-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Brown eventually fell for 41 and Abbott 47 but their efforts helped get Nomads over the mark with nine balls and four wickets to spare.
At HKCC: KCC Crusaders 7/173 from 35 overs lost to HKCC Nomads 6/176 from 33.3 overs by four wickets.

KCC Saracens v DLSWCC Sarjan
At Kowloon Cricket Club, KCC Saracens defeated DLSWCC Sarjan by six wickets.

Batting first after winning the toss, DLSWCC Sarjan scored 7/166 from their 35 overs with Aftab Hussain hitting 36.

Saracens’ skipper Sunny Bhimsaria top-scored with 73 not out in his team’s reply, which included a 67-run third wicket partnership with Ansh Lulla, who scored 31. Saracens scored the winning runs in 32.2 overs for the loss of four wickets.
At KCC: DLSWCC Sarjan 7/166 from 35 overs lost to KCC Saracens 4/167 from 32.2 overs by six wickets.

Saturday Championship Division 2

Taipan CC v DLSWCC Spartans
In Division 2 action at Mission Road, Taipan CC maintained their unbeaten run this season with a narrow victory over DLSWCC Spartans.

Spartans batted first after winning the toss and they reached 9/204 from their 35 overs with Muhammad Haseeb scoring 74 while Haroon Arshad contributed 30. The pair combined in a fifth wicket partnership worth 60 runs. For Taipans, Hassan Khan claimed 4/41 from six overs while Manjinder Singh picked up 3/34 from his seven.

Amanat Khan picked up three wickets as Taipans were reduced to 6/77 in reply. However Taipans’ lower order batsmen Dharam Singh (41), Hassan Khan (31) and Jagmeet Brar (31) combined well to get them over the line in the last over with the last pair at the crease. For DLSWCC Spartans, Amanat Khan finished with 4/42 from his seven overs.
At Mission Road: DLSWCC Spartans 9/204 from 35 overs lost to Taipan CC 9/208 from 34.5 overs by one wicket.