Pleasant conditions greeted the two teams for the opening match of the East-Asia T20 Championships. Hong Kong Dragons skipper Ady Lee won the toss and elected to field first.
The Dragons kept the powerful Hong Kong A batsmen to a reasonable 1/39 after the power play with the skipper the best of the bowlers with only 11 runs off his 3 overs including the wicket of left handed opening batsmen Ninad Shah with a superb off cutter.
The going was tough for the ‘A’ side as they struggled to rotate the strike with Jonathan Foo entering the attack with his crafty off spin. Hong Kong ‘A’ keeper Chris Carter found it tough against the spin of Foo making only 6 off 23 deliveries before being trapped on the crease for LBW.
Hong Kong ‘A’ needed some intent and to build some pressure against the Dragons. Entered former national vice captain in Waqas Barkat who built a strong foundation with opener Raag Kapur before he went for a well-made 52 and continued on with Awais Mohammad, the pair then putting on a quick fire 38.
However the Dragons made it tough for themselves after dropping Waqas Barkat three times, all when he was in single figures. Hong Kong ‘A’ still struggled to find the gaps and boundaries only reaching their 100 at the end of the 17th over.
However, Barkat then smashed the Dragons death bowlers for four boundaries and two towering sixes straight down the ground. The last three overs went for 42 runs and is an area the Dragons will need to improve on if they are to challenge for the title.
Hong Kong ‘A’ set a respectable 143 for victory and started well with the ball as they took three early wickets. National Squad member Adil Mehmood bowled with some pace that Dragons hadn’t really experienced previously and were looking in trouble at 3/10.
Enter the Caribbean Premier League star Jonathan Foo who hit his first ball blistering down the ground for four of Mehmood, Foo combined with Wai pilled on a quick 40 runs in just 5 overs. The two of them smashing 3 sixes and 3 fours in the 40 run partnership to take the Dragons to 4/50 in the 9th over.
Requiring over 8 an over for victory, Foo continued the challenge to the bowlers as he mixed brutal strength and timing to smash 68 off just 38 balls before miss timing a on drive to provide an easy catch at point off Lamplough, who finished the innings by taking the final two wickets and restricting the Hong Kong Dragons to 102 all out in the 20th over.
Scores in Brief: Hong Kong ‘A’ 4/142 (Kapur 52, Barkat 40*, Awais 22, Foo 1/7, Lee 1/25) defeated Hong Kong Dragons 102 (Foo 68, Wai 21, Lamplough 4/11 Mehmood 1/8, M.Khan 1/16) by 40 runs
Man of the Match: Jonathan Foo
At Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground Hong Kong ‘A’ beat HKCA Dragons by 40 Runs
Hong Kong ‘A’
Waqas Barkat (Captain), Giacomo Lamplough (Vice Captain), Adil Mehmood, Awais Mohammad, Akbar Khan, Chris Carter, Daljeet Singh, Ehsan Nawaz, Mohammad Huzafah, Mohsin Khan, Ninad Shah, Raag Kapur, Saad Mohammod, Simandeep Singh, Tanveer Ahmed, Waqas Khan.
Coach: Jawaid Iqbal, Assistant Coach: Tanwir Afzal
HKCA Dragons
Ady Lee (Captain), Jet Lee, Anthony Marrin, Bobby Chan Ka Ming, Colin Lau, Damien Yee, Danny Lee, Eddy Ang, James Chan, Jonathan Foo, Rob Lee, Ron Lau, Li Kai Ming, Michael Zheng, Nigel Sun, Simon Hung.
Coach: Chris Pickett