bc magazine

National Cricket Squads Announced

With an extensive series of matches scheduled for later in the year the Hong Kong Cricket Association (HKCA) have announced the men’s National Squad and National ‘A’ Squad for 2016-17.

The Hong Kong team will tour Ireland and Scotland in late August and September. They will play Ireland in a First Class, Intercontinental Cup match and two Twenty20 Internationals. Scotland will then host two One Day Internationals in Edinburgh where Hong Kong will attempt to retain the Braidwood Cup. Hong Kong will also face Kenya in a World Cricket League Championship clash in November.

HKCA Director of Cricket Charlie Burke is very optimistic about the squads: “It is a very clear sign by the selectors that they have selected players based on performances and also with one eye on the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers which will be played in 2018.”

“The young squad is vibrant, enthusiastic and dedicated. It’s always nice to have a few fresh faces which lifts everyone. The squad will be the most competitive I have seen in my time in Hong Kong, this only encourages me with the fact we have some big tours coming up later this year, and the importance of domestic performances,” added Burke.

National Squad
Afzal Tanwir 阿夫扎 (Pakistan Association) *
Ahmed Nadeem 簡均倍 (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC) *
Arif Imran (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Ahmed Tanveer 廷伊華 (Kowloon Cricket Club) *
Atkinson James 艾堅遜 (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Barkat Waqas 高域斯 (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Chapman Mark 查普曼 (Hong Kong Cricket Club) *
Caddy Ashley (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Carter Christopher 基斯卡達 (Kowloon Cricket Club) *
Shah Ninad 沙利勒 (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Shah Kinchit 金赤沙 (Kowloon Cricket Club) *
Kapur Raag 卡普華卡 (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Hayat Babar 巴巴凱逸 (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CCc) *
Lamplough Giacomo 積卡姆 (Hong Kong Cricket Club) *
Li Kai Ming 李啟銘 (HKCA Dragons) *
Mehmood Adil 亞迪 (Kowloon Cricket Club) *
Mcaulsen Cameron 麥國麟 (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Khan Ehsan (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Khan Nizakat 穆罕默德汗 (Hong Kong Cricket Club) *
Khan Aizaz 艾扎茲 (Pakistan Association) *
Nawaz Ehsan 納瓦茲 (Kowloon Cricket Club) *
Rath Anshuman 阿舒曼華夫 (Hong Kong Cricket Club) *
Khan Waqas 瓦格斯汗 (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Subramanyan Jhathavedh (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Wasif Shahid (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Sodhi Kabir (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
*Contracted Players

National ‘A’ Squad (including Under-19s)
Bukhari Daniyal (Pakistan Association)
Bhimsaria Sunny (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Gorawara Adit (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Khan Akbar 簡卡巴 (Vagabonds CC)
Khan Anas 安納斯簡 (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Khan Mohsin 甘莫斯 (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Khan Mohammad (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Lulla Ansh (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Manglik Ahan (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Mohammad Saad 馬力山 (Vagabonds / Pakistan Association)
Mohammad Haroon Arshad 哈利 (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Mohammad Huzafah (Pakistan Association)
Mohammad Awais 艾小文 (USRC-MCC)
Mulchandani Ravi (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Robson Angus (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Sharma Vishal (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Sheopuri Tej (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
Singh Karandeep (Diasqua Little Sai Wan CC)
Singh Simandeep 冼文迪 (Kowloon Cricket Club)
Umar Mohammad (USRC-MCC)
Zafar Sikandar (USRC-MCC)
Ur-Rehman Ateeq (Kowloon Cricket Club)

Source: Hong Kong Cricket Association

Women’s XV Squad for Asian Championship Annouced

Hong Kong Women’s XV will play a home and away series against Japan to settle the 2016 Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) after perennial contenders Kazakhstan withdrew from the competition. The tests will be played before the respective Hong Kong v Japan men’s fixtures with the women opening their campaign at home at 1:30pm this Saturday (7 May) at HK Football Club – entry is free, so head down and cheer on our talented women.

Coach Jo Hull yesterday announced her debut squad of 28 players for the ARC campaign, which will include the two matches versus Japan and a game against Singapore on 14 May. With Kazakhstan’s withdrawal, Hong Kong’s tour of Spain last December – the first and hopefully not last ever tour for the Women’s XV outside of Asia – looks even more vital in hindsight.

Hull agreed that that opportunity will now prove even more useful than initially expected, saying, “I think now is when we’re going to see the pay-off from the Spain Tour. We have pretty much been working non-stop since we came back with the group and the players have had time to reflect on the tour and the physicality and skill level required in the elite women’s game. The last few months have been focusing on implementing what we have been working on since Spain.”

Hull has placed a premium on experience in the squad with 18 of the players coming from the Spain Tour. Of the ten not present in Spain, five come in from the sevens programme in experienced campaigners Christine Gordon, Lai Pou Fan and Lindsay Varty, and up and comers Nam Ka Man and Lee Tsz Ting. Those five join several of their fellow HKSI elite athletes in the ARC squad, with 13 of the 28 players coming from the sevens set-up including captain Natasha Olson-Thorne.

Also returning to the squad after a lengthy recovery from injury is the influential Rose Fong Siu-Lan, a top class player who will be a massive addition to the side. “Rose has been working really hard and it is great to have her back,” said Hull, who previously coached Fong in the United Kingdom. “She is a quality fly-half who can help direct our game on the pitch. Saturday will be her first test match since her injury and I know that she is really looking forward to returning.”

Reflecting the dominance of recent Premiership seasons, the majority of the squad come from Gai Wu Falcons and league title and grand champion winners Valley, with 12 and six players respectively in the final 28. USRC Tigers have six representatives followed by Kowloon and Hong Kong Football Club with two each. Gai Wu No.8 Chow Mei Nam will captain the squad with Valley’s Adrienne Garvey as vice-captain, reprising their roles from Spain.

Hull continued “Our back row is a real strength. Our tight five, while not overly experienced in numbers of caps, has really improved in their fitness and in mastering the unique skillsets required for their positions while our backs are hugely experienced and have some real pace.”

Hull is particularly excited about the new culture developing around the team since the Spain tour. “We’ve seen a huge improvement in the work the team has put into their strength and conditioning, something which has been helped by our access to the facilities at the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi).

“With the recent tests in Spain, this year’s inaugural Super Series competition, the growing competitiveness of the Premiership and the facilities at THEi, I would say that this is the best and most intense build-up the Hong Kong Women’s XV have ever had ahead of a competition. The training centre at THEi is a fantastic resource and has not only enhanced our performance but helped focus the environment within and around the team,” Hull added.

“We target to take two from two against Japan, but we fully respect what they bring to the table and we don’t say that lightly. We haven’t beaten Japan for a long time, although we have come close on recent occasions. We know Japan will be supremely fit and ferocious in the contact area. The key for us is how we match that physicality and how we manage the game beyond the set piece. We want the players to express themselves. The team are getting much better at playing what is in-front of them and playing with innovation and we want them to feed off the occasion and the opportunity to play Japan at home.”

Hong Kong Women’s Squad for the Asia Rugby Championship 2016:
Chow Mei Nam (captain), Adrienne Garvey (vice-captain), Natasha Olson-Thorne, Rose Fong Siu Lan, Colleen Tjosvold, Li Nim Yan, Karen So Hoi Ting,Amelie Seure, Chan Ka Yan, Cheng Ching To, Christine Gordon, Claire Forster, Ku Hoi Ying, Tammy Lau Nga Wun, Winnie Siu Wing Ni, Cheng Tsz Ting, Chong Ka Yan, Mak Ho Yee, Poon Pak Yan, Sharon Tsang Shin Yuen, Lee Tsz Ting, Nam Ka Man,Cheung Shuk Han

Buen Provecho!

One of the oldest cultures in the world, Mexicans have had plenty of time to perfect their cuisine – and that they have. Brimming with flavour, subtle spices and sauces, Mexican food has become a local favourite over the last decade; but the Mexican experience goes much further than tacos or enchiladas. With that, you’ve barely skimmed the surface. There’s plenty of dishes to chose from in a country where eating is a quintessential part of the life.

Chiles: Mexican food wouldn’t be the same without chile. The first chiles were cultivated around 3000 BC, and used by Aztecs to cure respiratory and digestive ailments and reduce tooth and ear aches. High in Vitamin A, C and B, they were also used to make a deep heat rub. With over 100 varieties of chile, they ARE the flavour of Mexico, with the average Mexican consuming more chile each year than either onions or tomatoes.

As the Mexican Consul General explained though, it’s not the spice that the Mexicans love but rather the taste of the chile they’re addicted to. Chiles have a wide range of tastes and some can actually be rather sweet. One general rule applies – the smaller the chile, the hotter it is, while a yellowish orange vein or interior is another dead giveaway for a spicy pepper. Contrary to belief, the spiciness is in the veins and not the seeds, which are hot only because they are in contact with the vein.

Corn: Corn is both nutritionally and spiritually important. The first ear of corn was planted around 5000 B.C. with Indians believing God had moulded humans from corn. There are over 700 dishes that use corn as a base including various syrups, desserts, tacos, tortillas and quesadillas, Although bread was once the main dividing factor in the country with Europeans favouring wheat bread and Mexicans, corn based tortillas, mechanisation helped the tortilla become more widely accepted, as the time consuming hand-milling process was replaced with machines in 1890’s. Despite mechanisation, tortillas are far from standardised, made as they are from white, yellow, blue or red corn. According to Mayan legend they were invented by a peasant 12,000 years ago to satisfy his hungry king – a multi purpose finger food that serves as a plate and a tasty wrap to almost any filling. The traditional deep fried and crispy taco is made from a tortilla, as are quesadillas (quesa meaning cheese).

Salsa: Salsa is one of the most common condiments in Mexico. It can vary in spiciness and flavour, with the basic salsa, the Mexicana, served with almost every meal and made from chile, garlic, tomato, water, lime juice, and onion. The most common is salsa verde, a classic Mexican hot sauce that accompanies everything from tortillas to broiled meat, which has bits of avocado added to give it a rich texture, and salsa costena, a hotter condiment which blends 2 varieties of chile.

Tequila: Tequila – part and parcel of enjoying Mexican cuisine. The best tequila is produced from the blue agave, a type of cactus found only in the region of Tequila, 50km north of Guadalajara, the capital of the state of Jalisco. Once considered the macho thing to drink, it has a much more refined reputation now.

Mexican Menu
Burrito: any combination of beans, cheese, meat or seafood seasoned with salsa or chile and wrapped in a flour tortilla.

Chilaquiles: crisp tortillas with chicken, onion, cream, fresh cheese and salsa

Empanadas: pastry turnover with either savoury or sweet filling that can be baked or fried

Enchiladas: meat or cheese wrapped in tortillas and covered in red or green salsa, cream and melted cheese

Frijoles: beans, of which there are almost 100 varieties

Guacamole: mashed avocado mixed with lime juice, chile or red pepper. Onions, tomatoes and coriander are sometimes added Nachos crispy corn chip often topped with cheese

Taco: a small folded corn tortilla filled with meat and other ingredients

Tortilla: a round flatbread made with corn or wheatflour

Quesadillas: a flour tortilla with savoury cheese filling, topped with sour cream and guacamole

Food Truck Festival @ PMQ

The Governments lame brained idea to introduce ‘Food Trucks’ to Hong Kong, when we already have some of the most amazing street food in the world, wanders down an expensive cul de sac at PMQ over the next 5 days.

There are four concept ‘food trucks’ at PMQ, as well as host of other tasty food outlets – so if you fancy grabbing a bite take a wander down. But in what is an all too familiar tale in recent years the rules and regulations imposed by the FEHD are well meant but idiotic and impractical.

The food truck festival is supposed to showcase the food trucks concept (the ones on show are far too small to be practical, but that’s a different matter) yet the FEHD rules prohibit any cooking inside the trucks (apparently they even prohibit serving food to customers from inside the truck…). So all the ‘cooking’ (actually re-heating as FEHD rules don’t allow actual cooking) is done behind the trucks.

The four participating restaurants masquerading as food trucks are:
Homie Cookies: Joyce Cheng’s home-made soft cookies ($20 each) and ice-cream sandwiches ($60) – pretty good.
A La Maison XXL Seafood and Grill: paella, lobster roll ($90), 12inch hotdog – friendly staff but small portions and nothing special enough to make visit North Point a priority.
Boomshack: burger ($80) triple cheese chicken waffle ($90) honey sriracha chicken waffle ($90) – solidly good, but with some authentic US food truck experience among the owners it would have been nice to see something more than just the same sandwiches you can buy slightly cheaper in the restaurant.
Superstar: Assorted Korean snacks $10-$50 – if you’re going to name your outlet Superstar then you need to deliver and on the first night they weren’t.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2016/Food-Truck-Festival-PMQ-4-May/i-dxXsghM

The real tasty bites are to be found in the booths at the back…
Munchies: delicious home-made donuts ($40) donut balls ($10)

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2016/Food-Truck-Festival-PMQ-4-May/i-z9p8n7c

Picada: colourful and tasty Chilean arepas snacks ($40) not on the restaurant’s regular menu.

Boomf: personalised marshmallows

And a fresh fruit stall where Andy the owner is using a hand-blender to turn watermelon and dragonfruits into fresh juices inside their own skins.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2016/Food-Truck-Festival-PMQ-4-May/i-Rd6K3Cp

There’s lots to drink, but sadly no seats. Running even a pretend food truck is expensive in HK so bring plenty of cash as prices are basically the same or higher than in the restaurants of the food truck vendors and booths.

Hong Kong Food Truck Festival 2016
Date: 4-8 May, 2016
Venue: PMQ
Tickets: Free
More info:
4 May – 6–10pm
5 – 7 May – 11am–10pm
8 May – 11am–9pm

HK Cricket Match Reports: Monday 2 May, 2016

Saturday Championship – Monday, 2^nd May 2016

Division 2
In a match played at PKVR Park on Labour Day, Laguna Gully CC beat Lamma CC by 97 runs.

Laguna Gully CC v Lamma CC
Laguna Gully opted to bat first after winning the toss and they got away to a good start with Rohit Garg (30) and Mangesh Mulgaonkar (30) putting on 58 runs for the first wicket. Both openers fell in quick succession in a flurry of wickets that saw Laguna Gully go from 0/58 to 4/81 as Tom Woods grabbed three wickets. Abhishek Desai held the innings together with his season’s best score of 75 and with Pranav Shah hitting 41, Laguna Gully reached a final total of 9/206 from their 35 overs. Woods added another wicket to his haul to finish with figures of 4/39 from seven overs.

The Lamma reply never got going as four of the top five batsmen fell for single digit scores. From 4/29 and then 6/48, there was no coming back for Lamma and their only highlight was 34 from Richard Abbott, batting at number 7. Lamma’s innings was wrapped up for 109 in the 28^th over with Shubam Metha claiming 3/18 from five overs for Laguna Gully.
At PKVR Park: Laguna Gully CC 9/206 from 35 overs beat Lamma CC 109 from 27.5 overs by 97 runs.

HK Cricket Match Reports: Sunday 1 May, 2016

Sunday Championship – Sunday, 1st May 2016

There were two games in the Sunday Championship with KCC Templars moving themselves into a strong position to claim the 2015-16 title following a dominant win at home while Scorpions thumped Vagabonds at PKVR Park.

KCC Templars v Pakistan Association
At Kowloon Cricket Club, KCC Templars stormed to a seven-wicket victory over leaders Pakistan Association to put themselves in the driving seat to win the 2015-16 title.

Pakistan Association opted to bat first after winning the toss but they lost wickets early and never recovered to post a challenging total. The Templars opening bowlers made inroads as Pakistan Association slipped to 3/34. Ahsan Abbasi steadied the Pakistan Association innings with a solid 45 while Manjinder Singh struck a few boundaries at the end to finish on 30 not out but they were dismissed for 171 in the 40th over. Imran Arif was the pick of the Templars’ bowlers with figures of 3/31 off nine overs.

The Templars’ reply got off to a disastrous start with their top three batsmen dismissed with only nine runs on the board. But from there it was one-way traffic as Chris Carter and Ryan Campbell reeled off the remaining runs in an unbroken third wicket partnership worth 166 runs. Carter finished unbeaten on 51 while Campbell struck 104 not out with victory achieved in 22.4 overs.

Templars victory means they will claim the 2015-16 title if they can beat Vagabonds in the last match of the season. Should Templars lose or if the match is abandoned then Pakistan Association will win the title.
At KCC: Pakistan Association 171 from 39.5 overs lost to KCC Templars 3/175 from 22.4 overs by seven wickets.

HKCC Scorpions v Shaffi’s Vagabonds
At PKVR Park, HKCC Scorpions thumped Shaffi’s Vagabonds by 171 runs in a match reduced to 48 overs per side due to a late start.

Batting first after winning the toss, Scorpions scored 3/269 from their 48 overs with Rory Caines (32) and Raag Kapur (73) building a strong foundation to their innings. James Redmayne (62*) and Giacomo Lamplough (71*) continued the momentum for Scorpions with an unbroken fourth wicket partnership worth 120 runs.

While the Scorpions’ batsmen had thrived, their Vagabonds counterparts struggled. Mark Wright and Matt Rafter grabbed two wickets each as Vagabonds slumped to 3/4 and then 5/25. Three run-outs didn’t help their cause and Vagabonds were eventually dismissed for 98 in the 25th over with Adil Jahangir’s 30 the only batting score of note.
At PKVR Park: HKCC Scorpions 3/269 from 48 overs beat Shaffi’s Vagabonds 98 from 24.2 overs by 171 runs.

A Russian Sacred Feast @ HK Cultural Centre – 7 June, 2015

Sergei Rachmaninoff is among the most popular composers of “classical music,” his works beloved for their intensely romantic melodies and rich harmonies. Some of his tunes have even been adapted for popular songs (“All by Myself,” “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again,” etc.). In Hong Kong he is best known for his piano music, especially two of his four concertos, but he also wrote outstanding symphonies and operas, as well as two major extended, unaccompanied choral works that reflect his deep Russian Orthodox piety: the Liturgy of St. John Chrisostom (1910) and the All-Night Vigil (also known as the Vespers), completed five years later.

Orthodox Christian practice forbids the use of instruments (other than bells) in church music, limiting its sound to that of the human voice. Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil finds its roots not only in traditional Russian sacred chant, but also in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s pioneering, elaborate choral setting of the same service. The Hong Kong Bach Choir, which in January 2005 sang a single movement from this magnificent work in a program of Vespers selections, here offers a more extended selection, chosen for the beauty and variety of the individual pieces.

As with Rachmaninoff, the theme of Orthodox Christianity plays a prominent role in the music of Rodion Shchedrin, perhaps the most illustrious living Russian composer (the Carmen Ballet, Anna Karenina – also a ballet – the opera Dead Souls, and five Concertos for Orchestra, among many others). But while his choral masterpiece The Sealed Angel (1988) incorporates sacred Orthodox texts, in the Church Slavonic language, it blends them with themes from Nikolai Leskov’s eponymous story. As the composer wrote, “The religious feeling runs through Leskov’s story. As though golden spangles of initial lines of Orthodox liturgical chants sung by Leskov’s Old Believers in hard times are scattered here and there.” In the end, the work is a modern Russian secular liturgy based on canonical Orthodox texts, and results in music of surpassing sensual beauty.

Programme
Sergei Rachmaninov: Selections from All Night Vigil, Op. 37
Rodion Shchedrin: The Sealed Angel

Performers
The Hong Kong Bach Choir
Featuring Soloist: Megan Sterling, Principal Flute of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Music Director & Conductor: Jerome Hoberman

A Russian Sacred Feast
Hong Kong Bach Choir
Date: 8pm 7 June, 2015
Venue: HK Cultural Centre, Concert Hall
Tickets: $240, $160, $80 from URBTIX
More info:
10% off: Members of the Law Society of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, Hong Kong Institute of Architects, Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors, Hong Kong Arts Administrators Association
15% off: Friends of the Hong Kong Bach Choir
50% off: Full-time students, senior citizens, people with disabilities and the minder, and CSSA recipients

Hong Kong Para-rowing Team Wins 4 Gold Medals at World Indoor Rowing Championships

The Hong Kong Para-rowing team won 4 Gold, 3 Silver and 1 Bronze Medals at the 4th INAS World Indoor Rowing Championships, 2nd INAS International Regatta and 9th International Para-Rowing Regatta at Gavirate, Italy on the 14-17 May, 2015.

At the 4th INAS World Indoor Rowing Championships Para-rower, Tsoi Ka Ming won the Gold medal at the Men’s Individual 500m event and broke the world record in 01:29.2, he has also capture the Silver medal in Men’s Individual 1000m event. While Lee Wai Yi and Liu Wang Sin swept the 2 Gold and 2 Silver medals in the Women Individual 500m and 1000m respectively.

At the 2nd INAS International Regatta, after a year of hard training, Hong Kong’s Para-rowing Team (Intellectual Disabled crew) won Gold medal in LTA mixed coxed four event.

The Hong Kong Para-rowing Team (Physically Disabled crew) also attended a 10 days intensive training camp organized by the FISA (International Rowing Federation) at the same venue. The Para-rowers, Chan Ka Man and Yau Chi Choi Daniel brought home a one Bronze medal in LTA Mixed Double Sculls event while, the silver medalist in recent Sydney International Rowing Regatta, Ajmal Victor Samuel was placed fifth among 24 countries in the AS Men’s Single Sculls event.

Source: Hong Kong, China Rowing Association
Editing: bc magazine