Tai Po Dragons are the 2016-17 Women’s National League 1: Grand Championships Winners after a comprehensive 19-0 victory over Revolution SRC in the final.
Author: simon
T20 Blitz @ Tin Kwong Road – 11 March, 2017
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A fantastic T20 Blitz organised by HK Cricket attracted a sellout crowd to Tin Kwong Road at the weekend who enjoyed the smash smash bang cricket as it rained 6s. The big name international players showcased their skills and the Hong Kong players responded impressively and contributed massively to the success of the tournament.
Respect to the team owners who put the money up to enable the Blitz to happen, looking forward to next year already!
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Nizakat Khan Shines Bright
Super Saturday at the T20 Blitz saw three games played as a sellout crowd saw some thrilling batting from Nizakat Khan, Marlon Samuels, Ian Bell and Kyle Coetzer.
The first match of the day started at 7:45am and saw Kowloon Cantons play Hong Kong Island United. Dwayne Smith, the tournament’s leading run scorer at the start of the day’s play, made 22 as he and Babar Hayat shared an opening stand of 41 in the PowerPlay.
Three quick wickets saw the Cantons stumble to 52 for three as both openers and Calum MacLeod fell in quick succession. It could have been worse for the Cantons when Marlon Samuels was dropped on 13 by Saeed Ajmal.
Samuels made the most of his good fortune as he went on to score 51 from 36 balls. That Samuels innings combined with an excellent 46 from Ashar Zaidi allowed the Cantons to make 168 for seven from their 20 overs.
Until now the Hong Kong Island United side have relied heavily on their captain, Misbah-ul-Haq. The Pakistan Test skipper had not been dismissed making 82 and 84. In this match he made just six runs before he was dismissed by Zaidi.
Ian Bell, returning to the side having missed the last match with a bruised foot, made an excellent 59 from 50 balls, but without any support the chase fell away to allow the Cantons to win by 44 runs.
In game two it was the Hung Hom JD Jaguars taking on City Kaitak in a high scoring affair. The JD Jaguars made 193 for four from their 20 overs, getting there thanks to a remarkable 120 not out from Hong Kong international, Nizakat Khan, who smashed 10 sixes. It seemed at the innings break that the JD Jaguars were well placed to win and make the final.
It wasn’t to be as the explosive City Kaitak batting line allowed them to chase down the win in just 17.1 overs. A 51 run opening stand between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kyle Coetzer set the platform for the chase before quick fire innings from Waqas Barkat and Nicholas Pooran let them get the rate under control. Pooran was particular impressive, scoring six massive sixes on his way to 48 from 19 balls.
That win meant that the JD Jaguars would need to wait on the result of the final group game between City Kaitak and Hong Kong Island United on Sunday to see which of them make the final.
While one place in the championship game is still up for grabs on the last day of the tournament, the Kowloon Cantons returned for their second match of the day to destroy Galaxy Gladiators Lantau by 64 runs to book themselves a place final.
A brutal batting display from Babar Hayat and Calum MacLeod saw the Cantons post the highest total of the tournament so far – a massive 220 for three.
It would take something very special for the Galaxy Gladiators to reach that total, and they would need some of their star men to fire. The Lantau side struggled to get going, and despite a breezy 31 from captain Anshuman Rath they stumbled to 64 for six with Kumar Sangakkara and Jesse Ryder both falling cheaply. With those big hitters gone they could not force a win and were out of the tournament.
In the end Galaxy Gladiators were all out for 156, with a decent half century from Mohammad Awais the only real bright spot.
Sunday’s morning game between City Kaitak and Hong Kong Island United will decide the second spot in the final. A win by City Kaitak and they will play the Cantons for the Hong Kong T20 Blitz title, a Kaitak loss and the finals berth is decided on net run rate.
If you can’t make the ground the games are being live streamed on the Cricket Hong Kong’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
Additional Reporting: HK Cricket
Photos: Panda Man
Axelle Red @ MOM Livehouse – 11 March, 2017
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An enthusiastic crowd enjoyed Belgian singer Axelle Red‘s acoustic gig at MOM Livehouse. Singing in French and English Axelle dug deep in her songbook for a show full of fan favourites.
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Grand Final Preview: Valley Black v Gai Wu Falcons
The two clubs have dominated women’s rugby in recent seasons, Valley Black and Gai Wu Falcons, will face off in their fourth successive Grand Championship Final at King’s Park (4.30pm). The last seven Grand Finals have seen at least one of the two taking part, with Valley claiming five titles to Gai Wu’s two over that period.
Both clubs have been instrumental in the vast improvement in the skill level and quality of local women’s rugby in recent years and games between the two are tight and fiercely competitive. Valley won the 2016-17 league title with an 8-7 win over Gai Wu on the final weekend – extending their unbeaten run to 40 matches. While last year’s Grand Final was also won by Valley 12-10 with a last-gasp try from ex-New Zealand international Olivia Coady.
In addition to Coady, Saturday’s Grand Final will feature ex-Samoan captain Bella Milo, returning to fitness for Valley, and potentially as many as 20 Hong Kong internationals on the park. “Having so many internationals on the pitch supports the development of women’s rugby in Hong Kong,” said Gai Wu coach Lai Yiu-pang.
After last year’s thriller Lai is again looking forward to putting on a Grand Final for the fans:“It’s going to show off high performance women’s rugby. We need tight games like this. Winning 70-nil or 50-nil, doesn’t help us develop as players or as a team, so I’m looking forward to a close game.”
While a positive for the Hong Kong team, the high number of international players can make life difficult for the coaches. “The players on both teams know each other from national duties. They know each other’s style and strengths,” said Valley coach James Elliot.
“It may be that the side that tries something unexpected on Saturday could make the difference,” Elliot added, while refusing to be drawn on what tricks he may have up his sleeve.
Valley will have its strongest team available with Coady returning to the captaincy after being rested last weekend. The back row of Coady, No.8 Amelie Seure and Toto Cheng has proven devastating this season. “Our regular force is ready – Bella, Olivia, Frenchie [Seure] and Colleen Tjosvold and Adrienne Garvey in the backs are all available,” Elliot said.
The Falcons will be without some key players: Aggie Poon Pak-yan – who fractured a rib in the build-up to this year’s semi-final – scored all of Gai Wu’s points in last year’s Grand Final. While Melody Li Nim-yam is still out after picking up an injury on the sevens team’s tour to New Zealand.
“We just prepare as best we can,” said the placid Lai. “It was our target to return to this match at the beginning of the year and now we’re here. I’m quite optimistic and the team are really looking forward to it,” said Lai.
“This is what Grand Finals are all about, each side giving their all to be the one standing at the end. It’s always about playing 80 minutes, but in a Grand Final, that’s even more true – as we found out last year.”
Prop Cherry Wu, in her first season with Gai Wu, is also out with a dislocated shoulder putting added pressure on the pack to step-up. That battle up front is likely to determine the outcome. Gai Wu have an edge in the tight five, while Valley boasts the most dangerous back row in the league. “We’re looking for quality ball from the pack, especially in the set piece, to create opportunities,” said Lai.
Elliot is confident Valley can snuff out those opportunities:“I expect them to use their forwards quite a bit. But our structures are good, and our defence is strong, especially on the line. We’ve got real strength around the ruck. Our forwards love contact and our backs like to run, so I think it will be a high-intensity match,” he said.
While Gai Wu was lifted by their last battle with Valley, Elliot discounted its impact on the final, saying, “That was a different scenario. We had to be conscious of things like points differential, while Gai Wu was going all-out for tries with the league title on the line.
“They will probably take penalty shots if they’re on offer – and so will we, as both teams have good kickers. In this game, you shouldn’t come away from opportunities without points,” said Elliot. “This time it’s much simpler for both clubs – win at all costs.”
Additional reporting: HK Rugby
Photos: Gozar Images
Rath, Botha and Misbah Brighten Day Three
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Day three of the Hong Kong T20 Blitz saw more big hits as the tournament continued to defy the grey skies and brighten the day for a lively crowd.
Misbah ul Haq blasted 82 from 42 balls on day two and he went past that score on the third day of the tournament as he was again the mainstay of the Hong Kong Island United innings against Galaxy Gladiators Lantau in game five of the tournament.
The United team were in serious trouble at 62 for four after nine covers and needed their captain to rescue them. Misbah made 84 not out from 50 balls as he took the HKI Untied team to 177 for seven off their 20 overs.
While Misbah was imperious, his innings wasn’t chanceless. When he was on eight he edged Ryan Ten Doeschate through to Sangakkara but the Sri Lankan great could not hang on to a very difficult catch. From there he consolidated and then accelerated. Misbah passed 50 from 39 balls before scoring 34 runs from the next 11 balls he faced as he took his side to a competitive total.
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The Pakistan Test Captain’s was not enough, as the Galaxy Gladiators Lantau raced to victory thanks to half centuries from Anshuman Rath and Kumar Sangakkara. The two elegant left-handers shared a stand worth 111 runs in 12.2 overs. 19-year-old Anshuman once again shone as the Hong Kong international made 53 from 47 balls to anchor the chase as Sangakkara blasted his way to 70 from 42 as the Galaxy Gladiators won by eight wickets with an over to spare.
In match six the Hung Hom JD Jaguars took on the Kowloon Cantons. The Cantons won the toss and elected to field first; with a slight drizzle in the air they wanted to be chasing. The Jaguars got off to a poor start and were reduced to 49 for four with both their big hitters Daren Sammy and James Franklin dismissed. They could have been bowled out inside their 20 overs but a man of the match performance with the bat from Johan Botha enabled them to reach 164 for nine from their 20 overs.
Botha made 65 from 37 balls as he shared a stand of 80 with Jonathan Foo who made 34. There have been some massive scores already in the second edition of the T20 Blitz – not least by the Kowloon Cantons who chased down 200 in less than 15 overs on the first day of the tournament. The real danger man for the Cantons was Dwayne Smith who scored 121 from 40 balls in his first innings of the tournament.
Smith could not find the same timing as that marvelous hundred and made just 10 from 14 balls before he holed out. With Smith gone the pressure then on Marlon Samuels who had also scored runs in that first game. Samuels made just 22 before he too was caught in the deep.
A decent innings of 45 from 31 balls from Scotland’s Calum MacLeod kept the Canton’s hopes alive but when he lost his wicket to Franklin the chase fell apart with the JD Jaguars winning by 18 runs.
Saturday’s Day 4 sees three matches taken place, with the first starting at 7.45am! All five teams will be in action with the Cantons playing twice in front of a sell out crowd. If you can’t make the ground the games are being live streamed on the Cricket Hong Kong’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
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Additional Reporting: HK Cricket
Photos: Panda Man
Women’s Rugby Grand Championships Finals Fixtures – 11 March, 2017
Rugby photo: Gozar Images
Abigail Reynolds and The Ruins of Time: The Lost Libraries of the Silk Road
British artist, Abigail Reynolds, winner of the BMW Art Journey will unveil her project The Ruins of Time: Lost Libraries of the Silk Road at Art Basel later his month.
A five-month-long exploration into the complex religious and secular narratives of Europe and Asia, Reynolds journeyed along the Silk Road by motorbike to investigate the sites of former libraries she discovered in her research, and document what she found at each location. You can read her fascinating travelogue here http://bmw-art-journey.com/journey/abigail-reynolds
Reynolds said of the project, “A library is a compendium of knowledge, a group identity. I went to places where all that meaning has been voided, recently or in the distant past. The journey itself was challenging and huge, encompassing three quarters of the globe, traversing multiple cultures, none familiar to me. The journey brought me to the edges of my knowing, just as the lost libraries brought me to the edge of visuality.”
Reynolds’ journey took her to sites in China, Uzbekistan, Turkey and Iran dating from 291 BC to 2011. Where she gathered material in various forms including 3D scans, photography, microscope imagery, written text, plans and cataloguing systems. Based on this extensive research, she has created a cluster of book forms, prints, collages and moving-image works which will be on display at Art Basel.
Images, texts and other documents originating from the trip are going to be included in a book – thus completing a journey that both starts and ends with the institution of the library.