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Hong Kong Beat Nepal by 6 Wickets

Hong Kong vs Nepal

Tournament hosts Hong Kong began the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup – Asia Qualifiers tournament and their very first international match on home soil with a victory after a calm run-chase saw them defeat Nepal.

Nepal won the toss and elected to bat, but did not have the perfect start losing opening batsman Jyoti Pandey to the fourth ball of their innings. Nirmala Kumari Shahi, who top scored with 18, steered the innings through the first ten overs before being fourth out with the score on 42.

Hong Kong’s bowlers were able to limit the run rate throughout Nepal’s innings with good tight bowling and by taking regular wickets. Nepal’s highest partnership was just 16, and they were all out for 77 with four balls left of their 20 overs.

Skipper Mariko Hill, Ka-Man Chan and Sau-Har Chan each took two wickets for Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s response got off to a strong start thanks to opener Sze-Wan Yip who scored 33 runs off just 39 balls. Yasmin Daswani added 15, while Player of the Match Mariko Hill (10 not out) and Shanzeen Shahzad (11 not out) completed a comfortable chase in the 17th over.

Captain Mariko Hill was extremely proud of her team’s performance. “It’s a massive boost for us, it will give us a lot of confidence as we performed how we wanted,” Hill said “We’ve never played international cricket at home so to see our family and friends here means a lot. We’ve got China tomorrow and it will be a completely different game, the HKCC outfield is so small so we will plan tonight and start again tomorrow.”

Match Summary
Nepal 77 all out (19.2 overs),
Hong Kong 78/4 (16.3 overs)
Hong Kong won by 6 wickets (with 21 balls remaining)
Scorecard: www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/1059670.html

China vs Thailand

In the first match of the day, Thailand opened the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup – Asia Qualifiers tournament with a big victory over China at Tin Kwong Recreation Ground.

Openers Nattakan Chantam (14) and Sirintra Saensakorat (19) provided a good platform for Thailand. While an unbeaten 24 from Ratanaporn Padunglerd gave Thailand a mid-innings push with 24 not out as they finished their 20 overs with 107 runs.

Zhou Caiyun led China’s bowler with 2/27 in four overs.

It was a one-sided affair when China batted. Zhou Caiyun was caught off the fourth ball of the innings for a duck and they never recovered. The second wicket came in the second over when Song Fengfeng was caught behind for 9 and wickets fell steadily afterwards. China were eventually all out for 32 runs after 12.1 overs without a single player reaching double figures.

Suleeporn Laomi and Wongpaka Liengpraert each took two wickets for Thailand. Player of the Match was Thai Captain Sornnarin Tippocj.

Match Summary
Thailand 107/6 (20 overs)
China 32 all out (12.1 overs)
Thailand won by 75 runs
Scorecard: www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/1059669.html

Additional reporting and images: HK Cricket

Battle of Victors @ HKCEC – 8 October, 2016

HongKongers were out in numbers to cheer on Rex ‘The Wonder kid’ Tso at The Battle of Victors fight night. After a hard fought 10 rounds against Japan’s Ryuto Maekawa, Rex won a unanimous points victory to bring his record to 20-0. The tough fight, fought with a generous amount of sportsmanship and mutual respect, saw the boxers go toe-to-toe for extended periods and had chants of Rex, Rex reverberating around the HKCEC.

The kid is growing up! He still lacks that knock-out punching power that will earn respect from the very best. Ryuto took a lot of punches, and dished out a fair few, but never looked remotely afraid of getting knocked down by Tso.

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There wasn’t much on the undercard, Raymond Poon Kai-ching received a thunderous cheer after winning his second pro bout with a knock-out. But you have to feel for Australian James Gibbs on his professional debut. After giving up a career as a miner to become a boxer, he was knocked down, and almost out, by the first punch he received inside 20 seconds of the first round. He lasted less than another minute before the the referee stopped the fight.
Click on any photo for the full gallery of images

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Psychedelic Timelapse Hyperlapse Hong Kong Video

https://vimeo.com/185292301

Hong Kong Timelapse & Hyperlapse (https://vimeo.com/185292301)

Photographer Kirill Neiezhmakov has created a stunning video to capture his impressions of Hong Kong. Shot in September 2015 this is not your typical timelapse video. It’s a timelapse / hyperlapse video with a hefty dose of psychedelic elements and a tight soundtrack.

The video was made using two Canon cameras, a variety of lenses and a GoPro Hero 4. Post production was done in Adobe After Effects, Lightroom and LRTimelapse.

Women’s Rugby Fixtures – 8 October, 2016

Alan Fang, the Man Behind Hong Kong’s Formula ePrix

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As the Cental Harbourfront is transformed CEO of the Hong Kong Formula e Prix Alan Fang, the man who has quite amazingly managed to make this event happen – Chapeau Sir – walked bc around the track and pit lane and gave an insight into some of the problems involved in organising Hong Kong’s first street race. “Logistically it’s a massive undertaking, getting all the various government departments to sign-off was hard as often their needs and desires conflicted and as this is the first event of this kind in Hong Kong – government officials are naturally erring on the side of caution and extra safety”.

bc, like many fans may be, was disappointed to see that many of the grandstands are set a fair way back from the track. The reason Fang says is simply safety. “The cars are reaching speeds of up to 240km/h, these concrete blocks bordering the track are over 4 tonnes each. If, and we hope it doesn’t happen, car meets block then the car is designed to disintegrate to protect the driver and shards of carbon-fibre will be flying everywhere”.

If you bought an e village ticket you will not be able to see the racetrack, and will only be able to watch the racing on the big tv screens

When bc asked why? Fang replied “It’s principally safety, the layout of the track meant it was hard to ensure that enough evillage fans could safely see the track. We worked on 60%, could we safely ensure that an extra 5,400 race fans could watch the track. It wasn’t possible, so we opted for none. There are car manufacturer booths, race team tents, games, food, entertainment etc in the evillage at prices comparable to outside. We want people to have fun, enjoy the racing and experience the technology”.

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Fans walking between the evillage areas and on the public paths and the bridge to the Star Ferry will find the racetrack screened off. This is not Fang explained because the organisers don’t want you watching the race for free, but rather on police advice to keep the flow of people moving and not create unsafe bottlenecks caused by those looking to watch the race. The screens will undoubtedly frustrate some, but walking the area and given our civil servants fear of the new and different and their terror of being blamed if something goes wrong – you can’t really expect much else at this first running of the event.

It means the only ‘free’ places where you can watch the race live will be from the Apple Store, HK City Hall balcony and the IFC roof terrace. Unless that is you have friends with an office overlooking the track or know someone in the PLA barracks. The mini wheel is open as normal.

Ali Russell Formula e’s Director of Communications expanded further “Fans should not come expecting something like the Formula 1 events they’ve seen on television, this is Formula e. I compare it to skiing and snow-boarding – same, same but completely different.” He continued “The noise and atmosphere is, more like other sports, generated by the fans, the cars produce an aerodynamic whine passing through the air but are otherwise completely silent. This means the drivers can hear the fans, and they can (like regular drivers) hear their car”.

Concluding Russell said “Enjoy us for what we are, don’t judge us on your expectations based on another sport. Outside of Formula 1 these are some of the best drivers in the world”. bc would use the analogy that football and rugby are both balls sports, the match experience is very different for each, but we enjoy watching both.

If you don’t have a ticket, some evillage tickets are on sale on the day, the race is also live on free local TV.

Photos: Jayne Russell, bc magazine

On the Road to England 2017

The Hong Kong Women’s team are eager to shine on home turf during the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 – Asia Qualifier 2016 which starts this Sunday.

China, Nepal, Thailand and Hong Kong will compete in a round-robin tournament where each team will play everyone twice. The top ranked team will earn a place in the global qualifiers for England 2017.

Captain Mariko Hill is looking forward to the tournament. “The pre-tour to India has boosted everyone’s confidence, so I’m sure everyone is looking forward to displaying their abilities.”

“Hosting an ICC event is rare let alone playing on home soil! We understand the conditions better and we hope to use this to our advantage. We can then plan strategies ahead of time according to the ground conditions and the team we are playing against,” said Hill.

“We are among the favourites to win the tournament. I have full faith and confidence in my team mates that we will too, seeing how hard we have trained over the last few months. Although I have some personal goals, the overarching goal for me is simply to contribute as much as I can to the team reaching the ICC World Cup Qualifiers next year,” added the captain.

Chloe Ip is one of the newer members of the Hong Kong team, after being scouted in a programme designed to find Hong Kong-born cricketers abroad.

“I was born in Hong Kong but moved to Australia with Mum and Dad when I was three years old, and my relatives are still live in Hong Kong,” said Ip.

“I don’t think it has really fully sunk in yet. Hopefully I will get picked to play at some stage during the tournament and wear the Hong Kong shirt. It will be an honour. The whole family living here are very excited and proud of the prospect of this happening.”

“Even though I’ve grown up in Australia I haven’t forgotten my roots and family history. Hong Kong has been close to my heart and I’ve been back as much as possible to visit. I am fitting in well with the girls, they’ve welcomed me with open arms from the first day. I enjoy the cultural diversity within the squad a lot.”

ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 – Asia Qualifier 2016
Date: 9-15 October
Venues: Kowloon Cricket Club, Hong Kong Cricket Club, Tin Kwong Recreation Ground
Tickets: free.

Additional reporting and image: HK Cricket

Match Report: Uni-Pirates 5-35 City – 1 October, 2016

A new and as yet unnamed DB Pirates & University combined team for 2016-17

A new and as yet unnamed team took the field at the weekend as the combined forces of the University Unicorns and the DB Pirates faced their first challenge of the new season on a warm sunny Saturday afternoon at Sandy Bay. The Uni-Pirates squad consists mainly of players from the Summer Elementary Course, many of whom first picked up a rugby ball as recently as June, and a few veterans from the DB pirate enclave.

The home team kicked-off their National League 2 game against an experienced City Ladies team in high spirits and backed by the cheers of home crowd. Stout defence blunted the City attack and and the Uni-Pirates earned their first offensive scrum. And here’s where City’s experience told, you can practice and practice scrums on the training field but a match scrum is a vastly different beast and the Uni-Pirates conceded a penalty. Quickly taken by the visitors who passed it along their back line for the first try of the match.

Buoyed by the score City Ladies took control of the game, enthusiastic defending by the Uni-Pirates however kept them from adding to the scoreboard. The home town ladies though did not learn their lesson from the first try and conceded another as City successfully took advantage of another quickly taken penalty. The Ladies then added two more tries before the half time.

After the break, City remained on the front foot scoring two quick tries with some excellent back line moves. The plucky Uni-Pirates weren’t disheartened and kept plugging away looking for an opening and confidently seized their chance when it appeared. Awarded an offensive scrum on the City ten metre line the pack secured the ball and scrum-half Estelle Barbaroux sneaked through on the blind side, broke a couple of tackles and scored a fine try under the posts. A happy moment for the home crowd and the new team as they celebrated their first try of the season.

Despite the home team try, City were in complete control of the game and scored a seventh try before the final whistle for a final score of 35-5.

The crowd were generous in their applause of the players, congratulating the far more experienced City victors and celebrating the Uni-Pirates first game of 15s and their debut in the league.

Forwards:
Amoy Hugh-Pennie, Kon Chan, Meg McGrath, Monica Ariwi, Chona San Lopez-Aguila Alcantara, Florence Li, Catherine Greg Osburn, Debby Cheung, Jackie Philbrick Douglas, Renee McCreadie, Julie Buddle

Backs:
Sienna Stubbs, Estelle Barbaroux (Captain), Bonbon Jan, Hiuyi Cheng, Karen Shahar Gafni, Celine Malunes, Mandy Smith, Joyce Leung, Lai Ka Yan

Tries:
Estelle Barbaroux

Match Report: HKCC Ladies 10-19 Valley Reds – 1 October, 2016

The weekend’s fixture was the first match of the season for the HKCC Ladies who entered the new campaign with no pre-season games and a couple of new members playing with the team for the first time. Not the best preparation, but that didn’t prevent HKCC putting up a spirited display against Valley Red.

The match started with HKCC kicking off, and forming a great defence against the Reds causing them to knock the ball out over the sideline. As both teams struggled for meaningful possession a line break from Valley into HKCC’s 20 was stopped by flanker Maddy Witt. In the ensuing maul Valley slipped through a gap in the reforming defence to score the first try of the game.

This early setback energised HKCC who probed deep into Valley’s territory. The pressure told as Valley knocked on. From the resulting scrum the ball reached HKCC’s new fly-half Josie Jolley who, driving at the Valley’s defence gained some hard fought yards. Disaster struck though, a step from the try line as HKCC knocked on… At the resulting scrum HKCC packed away their disappointment, recomposed themselves and won the scrum leading to a nice try from Mandy Witt.

The remainder of the first half saw many big tackles, great attacks and defence from both teams, rolling into half time with the score 5-5.

The intensity increased after the break and Valley scored their second try through a gap in HKCC’s defence. HKCC bounced back with some great gain line attacks which saw the Reds commit numerous fouls, giving HKCC several penalty opportunities. The fierce commitment of both teams saw the referee issue several yellow cards during the half. HKCC got the better hand of that advantage and the ensuing penalties, allowing them to work as a team to attack deep into the Red’s territory and score a try from inside center Carolyn Champion. An unsuccessful conversion, left HKCC trailing 12-10 late in the last quarter.

Valley took advantage of a lack of concentration from HKCC scoring a try from a ruck straight after the kick-off. The conversion soared between the posts, giving Valley a 19-10 lead. HKCC pushed hard looking for a third score to give Valley a nervous last few minutes, but committed a couple of fouls and Valley edged a hard fought match.

Forwards:
Wawa Li, HoiYi Li, Terri Lau, Allison Mak, Kiki Kemp, Nobuko Oda, Lauren Petersen, Kon Chan, Joanna Harvey, Mhairi McLaughlin, Katie Rowbot, Maddy Witt, Josie Jolley

Backs:
Lynda Nazer, Stephanie Zhang, Brenda Chan, Carolyn Champion, Serene Yee, Margaret Chan

Tries:
Maddy Witt, Carolyn Champion