bc magazine

Last Minute Christmas

traditional-roast-turkey-dinner

It’s late December, where has the year gone? The seasonal music and decorations that have been up for months have inured you to Christmas, yet suddenly it’s here and you’ve got nothing prepared… bc’s here to help with it’s ‘instant’ traditional Roast Turkey Christmas meal – no cooking involved, although you will need to warm some dishes up to fully enjoy them.

Starter
Smoked salmon + Rainbow Salad
Smoked salmon: IKEA offers packs of frozen smoked salmon (Lax Kallrökt) $66 for 200g.
Rainbow Salad: black chickpeas, carrots, peas, corn, potatoes, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, parsley from Maya Takeaway, $88.

Main
Roast Turkey, roast potatoes, parsnips, red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce.
Roast Turkey: Great Food Hall in Pacifc Place have around 12 cooked US Roast Turkey per day $120/kg (4-6kg). Buy at the cooked food counter including Christmas Day. They also offer cooked roast beef, lamb and gammon if you prefer something other than turkey.
Roast potatoes: Great – $18/100g (cooked); M&S – $45/300g (need cooking)
Parsnips: M&S – $50/300g (need cooking)
Brussels sprouts: Great – $18/100g
Red cabbage braised with Bramley apples: $45/300g Marks & Spencer
Turkey gravy: $69/540g Marks & Spencer
Cranberry sauce: $59/300g Marks & Spencer
Stuffing: sage and onion/ cranberry & orange stuffing from M&S
Bacon wrapped sausages: sadly we couldn’t find this staple side dish in a cooked version.

For vegetarians: mediterranean vegetable stew / chickpea patty simmered in tomato sauce both $88 from Maya.

Dessert
Christmas Pudding with Brandy Butter
Christmas pudding: Great: several choices, M&S: $379/907g
Brandy Butter: $59/195g M&S or you can make it yourself it’s just butter beaten with sugar and brandy, or pick up a can of classic Bird’s custard and add a dash of brandy/ rum for a good alternative.

Cheese
Great’s cheese room is one of the unsung wonders of Hong Kong, the choice is varied, delicious and if you’re used to US and European cheese prices, expensive – but it’s Christmas so indulge.
A cheaper alternative is www.cheesebytom.com: cheddar 250g/$35, Brie 250g/$50 and other cheeses. Deliveries to Central and Lantau.

Christmas Cake + Mince Pies
Finding a good tasty Christmas cake is hard, especially one with marzipan and Royal icing
Christmas Cake: Great and M&S have several choices at different prices from $89 up – including the Hand Decorated Bauble Bar Cake (left) with marzipan and royal icing at $379. Most are more like fruit cakes than Christmas cake which is a shame as the two are subtly different in taste.
Mince Pies: Again Great and M&S have several choices, but none have a taste that leap out and say buy me!

Store Details + Contacts:
Great Basement Pacific Place, Admiralty Tel: 2918 9986 www.greatfoodhall.com
IKEA Causeway Bay, Shatin, Kowloon Bay www.ikea.com.hk
Marks & Spencer various stores www.marksandspencer.com
Maya Takeaway 173 Des Voeux Road, Central. Tel: 2111 4553 www.mayacafehk.com

Edit: 24 Dec – Added Christmas cake photo and updated text

The Great European Carnival @ Central Harbourfront

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2015/Great-European-Carnival/i-KNprRL2

The Great European Carnival returns to the Central Harbourfront today for a three month residency. Unlike last year’s inaugural event which took several weeks for all the rides to open, this year’s carnival is almost fully formed – courtesy of seven months of liaison with the relevant departments to get safety and fire certificates etc approved.

The midway is far more engaging this year, there’s more energy, rides and games are closer together and better distributed through the fairground. Compared to last year there are several more rides and a better mix. A couple of new rides are the log flume and the rollercoaster. For those who love to scream, last year’s favourites remain so bring something for those vocal chords! There’s a considerably smaller ice-rink, while the dodgems are still the most legal fun you can have impersonating a HK taxi/minibus driver.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2015/Great-European-Carnival/i-tx8pGcd

This year’s food court is more compact and right next to the stage area (in the centre of the carnival) so you can sit and eat while enjoying whatever’s on the stage. Castelo Catering, the sole food concessionaire, is again offering big pans of paella ($40) curry and rice ($60), pizza ($60) kebabs ($60/$70) burgers and noodles. Portions sizes are good and while it could never be called gourmet it’s certainly edible and negates any need to bring your own food. Look out to for the English fudge shop, 3 chunks for $30. There’s a distinct lack of places to buy drinks, so on a sunny day bring some water.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2015/Great-European-Carnival/i-gB7fzQQ

Rides and games are paid for in tokens, and as last year a token costs $10. Food, drinks etc are cash only.

This year’s GEC is a noticeable improvement on last year, even the ‘grass’ is better… But a few unsolvable kinks remain. It’s gonna be busy, so enjoy the queues! The games staff are salaried so there’s no ‘barking’ and hustle as they tout for your business. It would undoubtably be complicated to institute an individual commission system but it would incentivise away the apathy and maybe energise the game staff.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2015/Great-European-Carnival/i-ksgn9GJ

Great European Carnival
Date: 11am-11pm, 17 December 2015 – 21 February 2016
Venue: Central Harbourfront
Tickets: $125

Spain 59-12 Hong Kong – First Test, Match Report

As it looks towards the future Hong Kong’s Women’s XVs lost 59-12 to Spain yesterday (15 December) in its first ever test match against a non-Asian opponent. Hong Kong will have a chance at redemption in the second test on Saturday, 19 December, in Madrid.

After the match, Hong Kong Coach Jo Hull said, “It was obviously a tough score line, but going into this series our focus is squarely on us as a team and our individual and collective performance goals. This is how we will measure our success and the goal is clear now in how we improve from the first match to Saturday, and how we adapt to a much faster and more physical game of rugby like we saw from Spain.

“This week is about building for the future, and to do that we need to expose ourselves at this level internationally,” Hull added.

The biggest questions for Hong Kong to answer ahead of Saturday were posed by the Spanish pack, which dealt most of the damage, particularly with ball in hand, as each forward carry saw Spain regularly collecting large chunks of territory. Spain’s support play was also superb, as they repeatedly sucked in the defence before releasing the ball to the backline with numerous gaps to exploit.

Hong Kong’s backs were unable to get much positive play generated until the second half, when they proved that with good ball they can equal the Spanish attack. With the set piece under significant pressure, Hong Kong’s backs were tasked with tackling for most of the match – any ball they did receive usually was attached to a sizable Spanish defender flooding into the backline.

The team’s commitment in defence was solid, although first-up tackling was an issue early in the match. Spain quickly gathered momentum early by using their forwards in space from the ruck and maul. They methodically moved the ball deep into Hong Kong’s territory scoring their first try in the 6^th minute.

More tries followed, most of them scored by the Spanish pack, and Hong Kong was trailing 17-0 by the 15^th minute. Spain added 14 more points in the second quarter to take a 31-0 lead at halftime.

Hong Kong responded well in the second half with Aggie Poon Pak Yan scoring early on. Poon collected the ball from a Spanish miscue on a well-placed high ball, taking cleanly before dashing 40 metres for the try. Adrienne Garvey’s conversion brought the score to 38-7. Poon later left the match injured and her availability for Saturday’s test could be in question.

Natasha Olson-Thorne, made an impact after coming on as a reserve in the second half. Her physical presence rallied the defence as she repeatedly made the solo tackles that had eluded Hong Kong for much of the match. The addition of reserve scrumhalf Chloe Mak Ho Yee was also instrumental in fueling Hong Kong’s improved performance after the break. Mak added pace to the attack and showed good tactical awareness in shifting the point of attack to unbalance the Spanish defence.

In the 70^th minute, Olson-Thorne scored Hong Kong’s second try, a fine solo effort. With the forwards cleanly claiming the ball from an attacking line out, Olson-Thorne entered the line at pace before fending off her opposite number to create a gap in the defence and race away untouched for a long try. Garvey’s conversion was wide leaving Hong Kong on 12 points to Spain’s eventual 59.

Hull singled out the performances of Mak, on her international debut, and reserve prop Jasmine Cheung Shuk Han who also came on in the second half: “It was a great performance from Chloe. She will be one to watch for the future and Jasmine coming on in the second half really helped give us a physical edge as well,” said Hull.

Despite the result, there were many positives and Hull recognised the team’s continued effort on a tough outing, saying:“I’m hugely proud of the team. They showed great character, particularly in the second half when we had more possession and started to build some phases. For many of these players this is a new level of rugby; however we now need to learn, front up and get a much better start on Saturday.”

Hong Kong v Spain
1. Lau Nga Wun, 2. Karen So, 3. Lee Ka Shun, 4. Chow Mei Nam (Captain), 5. Claire Forster, 6. Melody Li, 7. Christy Cheng Ka Chi, 8. Amelie Seure, 9. Sham Wai Sum, 10. Rebecca Thompson, 11. Stephanie Cuvelier, 12. Colleen Tjosvold, 13. Adrienne Garvey, 14. Lau Sze Wa, 15. Poon Pak Yan,
Substitues: 16. Royce Chan Leong Sze, 17. Cheung Shuk Han, 18. Winnie Siu, 19. Cheng Ching To, 20. Lo Wai Yan, 21. Mak Ho Yee, 22. Natasha Olson-Thorne, 23. Cheng Tsz Ting.

Raul Garcia’s photos from the first test
https://picasaweb.google.com/107614371220763372643/AmistosoEspanaHongKongFemenino?feat=embedwebsite

Mariko Hill to Play in Women’s Big Bash League

Hong Kong’s Mariko Hill is one of eight players from the ‘developing cricket nations’ given a chance to take part in the inaugural rebel Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) in Australia.

The players, selected following the recent ICC Women’s World T20 Qualifier in Thailand, from China, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Ireland, Scotland, Thailand and the Netherlands have been selected to join the eight rebel WBBL clubs as part of the WBBL Associate Rookie Program – a joint initiative between Cricket Australia (CA) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) to develop emerging players in non-traditional cricket countries.

Each of the rookie players will train with their rebel WBBL club during a two-week placement and attend home matches during that period. In the event of an injury to a contracted player, rebel WBBL clubs will be permitted to use their Rookie as a local replacement player, which would not contribute to the club’s overseas player limit.

ICC Associate and Affiliate member nations Ireland, Scotland, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, China and the Netherlands each nominated up to three players to be considered for selection ahead of the ICC Women’s World T20 Qualifier.

Nominated players were considered by a selection panel consisting of Cricket Australia’s Women’s Youth Coach Cathryn Fitzpatrick, former England player Holly Colvin, former Bangladesh Test Cricketer Aminul Islam, and ICC Head of Global Development Tim Anderson, with the final selections made after observing players throughout the tournament.

“The women’s game has made great strides in recent years, with participation numbers, investment levels and playing opportunities all at record highs,” said ICC Head of Global Development Tim Anderson. “‎The introduction of the WBBL continues this momentum, and, with the support of Cricket Australia, it is great to have some of the best Associate and Affiliate players involved in this event.”

These are the players chosen for the rebel WBBL Associate Rookie Program:
Miranda Veringmeier (Netherlands) – Adelaide Strikers
Norma Ovasuru (Papua New Guinea) – Brisbane Heat
Kim Garth (Ireland) – Hobart Hurricanes
Mariko Hill (Hong Kong) – Melbourne Renegades
Wu Juan (China) – Melbourne Stars
Rachel Scholes (Scotland) – Sydney Sixers
Suleeporn Laomi (Thailand) – Sydney Thunder
Laura Delany (Ireland) – Perth Scorchers

For more on Mariko Hill take a look at this ICC profile
http://www.icc-cricket.com/videos/media/id/5882/mariko-hill-hong-kong-feature

Tai Kwun Announces First Batch of Outlets for the Central Police Station

Meaning Big Station, Tai Kwun (大館) was the colloquial name used by police officers and the public alike to refer to the former Central Police Headquarters and the law enforcement complex. The name has been adopted as a reminder of the historical importance of the compound by The Jockey Club CPS Limited the not-for-profit operator set up by The HK Jockey Club Charities Trust to operate the centre for heritage and art at the ‘revitalised’ Central Police Station compound.

“Tai Kwun aims to transform the once closed compound into a centre for heritage and art for all to enjoy, and a key aspect of openness is to bring in operators offering diverse services at a broad price range to cater for the different needs of the visitors,” said Euan Upston, Director of CPS as he announced the first group of companies allocated space.

“To support the integration of heritage, art and leisure elements, these outlets will be located at various parts of the site, providing service points for the visitors along heritage interpretation routes and between art and culture venues in the compound,” Mr. Upston said.

Lifestyle Investments has been appointed to provide integrated cultural and leisure services at the Central Magistracy building under the name “The Magistracy”. It will supposedly include a combination of art galleries and art workshops with free entry, alongside food and beverage outlets, lifestyle components and retail shops across 2,100 square metres of space.

A court room and the connecting holding cells in the building, with a combined area of approximately 200 square metres, will be used by the Tai Kwun heritage programme team for heritage interpretation programmes.

David Sarner, the CEO of Lifestyle Investments said, “We are honoured and excited to have the unique opportunity of participating in revitalising such an important symbol of Hong Kong history and contributing to the development of contemporary art and conservation of heritage in Hong Kong. Not only is the iconic Neo-Classical building a symbol of Hong Kong judicial history, but it is also physically configured in such a way that allows an opportunity to activate the magnificent maze of court rooms, magistrates’ chambers and holding cells into a dynamic and vibrant integrated outlet, a destination within a destination.”.

Hong Chi Association, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to providing services to people with intellectual disabilities and their families, will operate a food and beverage social enterprise called FT2, which stands for “farm to table”. The outlet will serve fresh farm food and provide a platform to show the artistic talents of the people with intellectual disabilities.

The outlet is on the ground floor of D Hall of Victoria Prison, the oldest dateable building in the compound. The space will be adjacent to six prison cells preserved for heritage interpretation and exhibitions, and will have open access to the adjoining Prison Yard.

“In line with our vision, FT2 will provide eight employment and training opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities,” Aldan Kwok, General Secretary of Hong Chi Association said.

Menya Musashi has been appointed to operate an approximately a noodle shop on the ground floor of the Superintendent’s House and C Hall, two connected prison buildings bordering the police complex and the Central Magistracy. “With minimalist decoration compatible with the environment, we shall offer affordable, value for money food and drinks for visitors looking for a short break during their exploration of various parts of the site,” Frederick Che, Marketing Director of Menya Musashi said.

Selection of operators for another approximately 11 food and beverage outlets will be announced in 2016.

Hong Kong Women’s XV for December’s Spain Tour

The Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU) has announced the squad for the upcoming tour (12-21 December) of Spain. The 25-woman strong squad will be the first Hong Kong XV to play a test series overseas against non-Asian opposition when they take the field in Madrid.

Hong Kong will play Spain on Tuesday (15 Dec.) and Saturday (19 Dec.) although both sides are expected to experiment with their selections in the opening match. Currently there’s no information as to whether the games will be watchable in Hong Kong.

The final squad features a core of national team players including those from the sevens squad, who recently returned from participating in the final stage of Olympic qualification for the Rio 2016 Games. Hong Kong finished third overall in the qualification process, securing their spot in an international repechage tournament next year for the sole remaining women’s berth at the 2016 Games in Rio.

“We’ve got a good mix of young players and experienced campaigners such as Christy Cheng and Royce Chan from the sevens set-up, but we were keen to make sure that we selected a squad for the future so there is a balance of experience and potential for the future,” said Hong Kong Women’s XVs coach and HKRU Women’s Performance Manager Jo Hull.

The squad features a concentration of players from the two strongest HKRU Premiership sides, Valley and Gai Wu Falcons. Chow Mei Nam, who plays No.8 and captains Gai Wu Falcons, currently in second on the Women’s Premiership league table, will lead Hong Kong for the first time on the tour.

“Although she has only played twice for the national team – in last season’s Asia Rugby Women’s Championship, she is already a huge leader in everything we do. Over the last three or four months she has proven that she is one to watch for the future. Physically she has the size to compete at this level. She’s a strong ball carrier who we’ll be relying on heavily in the coming games. But she also embodies the team’s values. She is a teacher by day and her work rate is inspirational to the rest of the team,” Hull added.

Valley’s Adrienne Garvey is the vice captain and is one of eight Valley players in the squad. Valley is undefeated in the Women’s Premiership, extending their winning streak to 20 matches across two seasons after winning the double last season without a loss.

Gai Wu are runners-up on the table with a game in hand, and nine of their players have been selected including the ‘Gai Wu Express’, Aggie Poon, the top scorer on the Asian Sevens Series this season. USRC Tigers and Hong Kong Football Club both have three representatives in the final 25 with Kowloon and Tai Po Dragons each having one player represented.

Sevens captain Christy Cheng Ka Chi has been named to the Tour, alongside Poon, Amelie Seure, Natasha Olson-Thorne, Sham Wai Sum, Kwong Sau Yan, Candy Cheng Tsz Ting and Stephanie Cuvelier from the squad that recently competed in Tokyo. Other elite athletes from the rugby sevens programme at the Hong Kong Sports Institute named include Royce Chan, Melody Li Nim Yan, Colleen Tjosvold and Garvey.

Hull and the selectors have tipped four potential new caps including Valley’s Rebecca Thompson who previously represented Hong Kong at age grade level and has recently returned from studying overseas. Hong Kong U20s sevens captain Aileen Ryan of Hong Kong Football Club has also been selected, along with Kowloon’s Mak Ho Yee, another U20s sevens player and National Age Grade representative, rounding out the three new caps in the backline.

“Our four new caps show great potential for the future,” said Hull. “Ryan, Thompson and Ho have come through the Age Grade programme as one of our key aims for the Tour is to groom young players. There are a number of exciting U19 players coming through at the moment and we wanted to ensure that opportunities to progress into senior rugby are provided.”

Jasmine Shuk Han Cheung is the only uncapped player selected in the forwards after having impressed selectors on her return to Hong Kong from studying overseas. “Jasmine brings a strong physical presence to the side. She has been playing in England and adds some valuable experience and knowledge to the team,” added Hull.

Spain finished ninth overall in the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup after being grouped in the same pool with the eventual finalists England and Canada. Spain beat Kazakhstan 18-5 to advance to the ninth place play-off where they dispatched South Africa 36-0. The results indicate the challenge ahead for Hong Kong who lost their most recent test to Kazakhstan 40-0 in Almaty this spring.

“We expect a physical challenge from Spain, but they also have a full-time sevens squad which is obviously going to be a factor. They are good with ball in hand and fast, building out of their sevens capability, so it will be an excellent opportunity for us to gauge where we are,” said Hull.

“Spain are good, but we are focusing more on our own processes rather than our opponents. We have some talented players and can play dynamic rugby. We’re never going to be the biggest or the strongest team on the park, but we have an experienced front row that we will rely on heavily. We also have huge experience in the backline so we want to move the ball around.

“It’s very easy to say ‘we’re building’, but that is our mindset as we look from the next few months to four of five years from now. It’s important for the players to gain experience now.

We’ll be looking to see which combinations work on Tour and will focus on some key performance goals rather than judging success purely on wins and losses. Having said that, we want to show our strengths to the women’s rugby world and a win would be nice,” Hull concluded.

Hong Kong Squad, Spain Tour 12-21 December, 2015
Forwards: Karen So Hoi Ting, Amelie Seure, Royce Chan Leong Sze, Cheng Ching To, Christy Cheng Ka Chi, Chow Mei Nam (Captain), Claire Forster, Tammy Lau Nga Wun, Lee Ka Shun, Melody Li Nim Yan, Lo Wai Yan, Jasmine Shuk Han Cheung, Winnie Siu Wing Ni.
Backs: Adrienne Garvey (Vice Captain), Aileen Ryan, Cheng Tsz Ting, Colleen Tjosvold, Kwong Sau Yan, Lau Sze Wa, Mak Ho Yee, Natasha Olson-Thorne, Poon Pak Yan, Sham Wai Sum, Stephanie Cuvelier

Photo: HK Rugby Union

Operation Santa Claus + US Meat Export Federation: Eat and Donate

Christmas and the festive period are about celebrating and sharing, now with Operation Santa Claus (OSC) and the US Meat Export Federation it’s easy and free to combine the two. Simply choose one of the promotional dishes at a participating restaurant and 15% of the cost of the dish is donated directly to Operation Santa Claus to help someone less fortunate than you enjoy the holiday period. There is no charge or cost to you, simply enjoy your meal featuring quality US beef or pork.

The restaurant groups participating in this festive giving include the Aldente Group, Concept Creations, The King Parrot Group and the El Grande Group. There’s a wide choice of dishes and most menus run throughout December – although check each outlet for exact details. For more information on US meat see www.usmef.org.hk

The Aldente Group OSC Christmas menu features four dishes at it’s AlDente restaurants in Soho, TST, Wanchai and Harbour Road: U.S. Rib Eye steak (Char-grilled to your preference, accompanied with a giant king prawn, roasted veggies and fries. $188); Chicken Saltimbocca (US chicken breast with sautéed spinach, prosciutto, sage and cheese, mushroom sauce, mash and veggies. $149); Sirloin Steak (USDA certified Angus beef, char-grilled to your liking. Served on a bed of fire roasted veggies and fries with choice of mushroom or pepper sauce. $198) and Grilled Sea Bass (Chilean Sea Bass char-grilled, served with grilled veggies, mash with lemon capers butter sauce. $189).

At Tinello: Beef Tagliata (USDA certified Black Angus sirloin marinated with fresh rosemary and natural seasoning, served with radicchio, arugula, slow roasted tomatoes and shaved parmesan. $198); Pork Parmesan (Milanese style – US pork chop, breaded with herbs, parmesan, served with fine french beans, mash potatoes and tomato coulins. $168); Saltimbocca di Polo $159 and Grill Sea Bass $198. Angus offers US Sirloin Steak (wet aged minimum 4 weeks, $248); Grill Sea Bass ($198); US BBQ spare ribs (1/2 slab $148); Pork Loin (French cut – tender and juicy grilled U.S premium pork served with gratin potato, sautéed peach and sage. $178) and Grilled Sea Bass $198.

The El Grande Group outlets Inn Side Out, HK Brew House, Fatt’s Place, Slim’s, Hop House are offering US Pork Sliders – 4 pulled pork sliders and chips.

Concept Creations new outlet Frites Causeway Bay OSC menu features Frites Xmas Cordon Bleu Special: USDA pork loin pounded thin, herb breaded and filled with Virginia ham and cheese then pan fried and served with a salad and Frites souffle, $275. Frites Xmas Rossini Special: USDA Black Angus prime tenderloin, seared foie gras, truffle mash potato with Kriek beer jus and Amarena Fabbri Cherries, $525.

At these King Parrot Group outlets El Cid, Coast, Island Seafood, Mijas and Tong’s Road House Seafood and Grill a Christmas Operation Santa Claus Menu is available until the 6 December and 15% of all sales will be donated to support the 22 charities supported by OSC in 2015. At El Cid the menu includes US Beef and paprika soup baked with fillo pastry($50), US beef kebab ($100), Deep -fried sous vide US beef brisket ($80), grilled US prime ribeye steak with sea salt ($360) and US Beef Tenderloin with daily catch seafood ($450).

For more on this year’s Operation Santa Claus visit www.operationsantaclaus

Babar Hayat and Mark Chapman Smash Hong Kong to Victory

Mark Chapman bludgeoned a six to complete a consolation win, as he and Babar Hayat put on an unbeaten 127-run partnership to lead Hong Kong to an eight-wicket victory in the final T20I against Oman in Abu Dhabi on Thursday (26 November).

Chasing 150 for victory, both Babar (65*) and Chapman (63*) struck their highest ever T20I scores in a third-wicket partnership that spanned 14 overs. Their stand was the fifth-highest for the third wicket in T20I history, and the highest ever by an Associate side. It is also the highest-ever partnership in Hong Kong’s T20I and ODI history.

Both batsmen were still at the crease when Chapman struck a mighty six to take the side to 155 for the loss of only two wickets in 18.3 overs. The win also proved a consolation victory in the three-match series, after Oman won the first T20I by six wickets and the second by four runs.

Babar’s historic knock is the highest-ever T20I innings by a Hong Kong player, and came off only 45 deliveries, including four fours and three sixes. Chapman’s innings is the second-highest for Hong Kong, and came from 41 balls, including three fours and three sixes.

The side looked like it might be in trouble when it lost opener Kinchit Shah (5) in the second over, and then Anshuman Rath (20) in the fifth over. However, the two hard hitters showed no signs of pressure as they pushed the ball around for singles in between the boundaries.

Babar brought up his half century with a boundary in the 15th over, while Chapman’s came two overs later after the pair scampered between the wickets for two runs.

Earlier, captain Tanwir Afzal won the toss and sent Oman in to bat, and the side quickly set about putting runs on the board. Khawar Ali (18) and Zeeshan Maqsood (23) put on 34 runs at a run rate of 9.71 before Haseeb Amjad struck in the fourth over to dismiss Khawar, caught at long on by Babar Hayat.

New batsman Aaqib Sulehri was helped back to the change rooms on the very next ball, with Haseeb’s delivery striking his foot and forcing him to retire hurt. After Aizaz Khan dismissed Zeeshan Maqsood four overs later, Adnan Ilyas (49) and Aamir Kaleem (46 not out) combined for a 101-run partnership, scoring at well above a run a ball until Haseeb struck on the last ball of the innings with a plumb delivery, knocking out the stumps to dismiss Adnan one run short of his half century, on 49 runs, to see Oman post a total of 149 for the loss of four wickets.

Hong Kong’s Aizaz and Haseeb each claimed two wickets.

Hong Kong captain Tanwir Afzal was thrilled with his side’s clinical performance: “I think our approach today was really good. I am so happy that throughout this long tour, we’ve had some injuries, but we still have had guys who’ve done really well with the ball and in the field. We’ve struggled a bit with the batting, but it worked in this game and hopefully it is a good sign for us looking forward to our next game against Afghanistan.”

The skipper believed that the victory will put his team in a good mindset for the final match of its tour, a one-off T20I against Afghanistan on Saturday. “I think today was a very comfortable win against Oman, I think we really worked hard and we learned a lot from the last two games, and it is good for us, going forward. We have a few changes in the batting order and different roles, so it is a really positive sign that we clicked in this game, and hopefully it will work in the future.”

Hong Kong Head Coach Simon Cook was delighted with the record-breaking partnership: “Babar and Mark came out and were outstanding, it’s as good a run-chase as I’ve seen in T20 cricket, you don’t often get 100-partnerships in T20, and we’ve had one of the best ones here. To get an over-par score and knock it off with nine balls remaining was an outstanding effort. The two guys who got runs today really took ownership of that partnership, and ownership of the game, and they controlled it and really never let Oman into the game from probably the 10th over onwards.”

He believed that his charges would take some valuable lessons from the series loss to prepare for Saturday’s one-off T20I against Afghanistan. “The first two games, I think the word ‘frustrating’ was used, and I would probably use it again today – it is frustrating because if we’d played half as well yesterday as we did today, we would have probably taken this series 3-0. But as it is, we go down 2-1, but having learned a lot of really good lessons.”

“The win will fill the guys with a lot of confidence, certainly with a run-chase as emphatic as that. The Afghan bowlers will provide a challenging test for our guys, and also with the ball as well. So there is still a lot of work to do, but a lot of confidence can be taken from this run chase and how it was constructed, and how it was finished off in such a clinical fashion.”