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Historic Babar Hayat Century Gives Hong Kong Upper Hand

A sensational maiden first class century for Babar Hayat led Hong Kong to a commanding total of 307 for six at stumps on day one of its ICC Intercontinental clash against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Dubai on Wednesday. On a day of many firsts, Babar Hayat’s knock of 113 was also the maiden century for Hong Kong in first class cricket and the highest individual score by a Hong Kong player in the ICC Intercontinental Cup to date.

Hayat, who battled through 83 overs of heavy dust and ever-changing wind, reached his century with a sweep over square leg for a boundary. He put on a 106-run partnership with debutant Kinchit Shah (62) for the second wicket and a 139-run partnership with skipper Tanwir Afzal (90 not out) for the sixth wicket, the highest sixth-wicket partnership of tournament to date as well as the fourth highest overall.

Kinchit was one of four young players to make their international debut during the match, and opened the batting alongside fellow debutant Anshuman Rath (9), who timed the opening ball of the match perfectly to score a boundary. Chris Carter scored seven and Aizaz Khan was still at the crease on eight at stumps.

The loudest cheers of the day, however, were for 23-year-old Babar Hayat, who was delighted with his historic achievement: “It was great out there. Scoring 100 for Hong is great. It’s the first first–class 100 for Hong Kong, and I am so proud of myself.” However, he was quick to point out that the other batsmen had also performed well: “I’m cramping a bit now and a bit stiff, but I was thinking that I should play all 96 overs, but I got out to a good ball. But Tanwir has also batted well, and Kinchit has done really well too.”

Hong Kong Coach Simon Cook was full of praise for the centurion: “It’s outstanding to see someone like Babar really put their hand up like that. We spoke in Hong Kong about what position he’d like to play, and I challenged him to come into that number three position and really make it his own. There’s a couple of other players really wanting to bat at three, so its good competition for the squad to have guys really want to make those positions their own.”

“He’s going great guns at the moment, as well as all the other batters. We had four guys get past 50 in the Nepal warm up game, and then Babar getting 70 against England and 100-odd here, we’ve got Kinchit who scored a half century here as well, and Tanwir who’s not out on 90, going into tomorrow, it’s looking pretty strong for us. Having six wickets down is good, we are just ahead in terms of the balance, and we’ll look to kick on tomorrow.”

The coach was particularly pleased with his side’s ability to adapt to the difficult weather conditions. “They’ve done really, really well. They’ve adapted themselves. It’s been very hot, the sun is a factor, the wind, the dust swirling around – for the guys who’ve spent that much time out there, Babar in particular, it’s a testament to his concentration and mental skills to see it through.”

Left-hander Kinchit Shah was equally delighted with his maiden half century: “It definitely feels good to start your first class career for Hong Kong and score some runs for the team. I was out there for a long time but I was lucky to have someone like Babar who strikes the ball well. That releases the pressure for us. He just kept reminding me that it’s a long way to go, so I just kept batting and playing my game.”

The 19-year-old said that changing weather had not dampened his desire to stay on the pitch as long as possible: “It was difficult to see at times, after lunch the umpires were worried. But we stuck at it, and we just wanted to play on and score some runs.”

Play continues on Thursday at 0930 local time (Hong Kong Time 01:30pm) at ICC Academy 1, Dubai, UAE.

Decoding Privacy

In the twelve months since the Umbrella Movement’s street protests, one of the many topics now openly discussed locally is privacy, the right to privacy and personal data protection. Stories abound in the media, both locally and internationally, of people’s phone, text and email conversations being read, stolen, sold, published mis-used without their consent.

Among this increased awareness of privacy, locally Hongkongers are (too) slowly becoming aware of a need to protect their personal data. In the past everything about you from medical history, job resume, where you live, id card/passport numbers, bank details etc was stored on paper or digital files in separate boxes and computer systems in different buildings spread across the SAR. The emergence of the ‘cloud’ and the lax data security that many government departments and companies have in place mean that all this data is easily accessed by those who don’t have your best interests at heart.

As part of The Law Society of Hong Kong annual ‘Law Week’ privacy and decoding the importance of it figure prominently. While the discussions in “Teen Talk” section may be targeted to teenagers the information is pertinent to all – and it’s to be hoped that the Law Society will post the information and discussions online for all to peruse – especially with the spate of police prosecutions thrown out for fabricated evidence and personal data hijackings.

Aimed at enriching the legal knowledge of young people through discussions and sharing, while encouraging them to analyze law-related social issues from different perspectives. As the program, under the theme of “Decoding Privacy”, kicked off in over schools across Hong Kong Mr. Nick Chan, Council Member of The Law Society of Hong Kong said, “Teen Talk has been well received by teachers and students, and we are pleased to see that the number of participating schools hits a new high this year with 125 schools from 18 districts. Evolving from the previous all-day forum to a combined format with both physical and sedentary elements for this year’s programme, we hope the participants will enjoy the “Legal Scenario Play Competition” and the “Teen Talk Legal Knowledge Orienteering Race”. The former requires students to reflect on various real-life scenarios designed by the Law Society, including internet security, cyber-bullying, privacy issues, civil and criminal cases.”

He added, “The popularity of social media and smartphone applications may compromise the security of personal data, which young people (and many others) are seldom aware of and thus do not know how to protect their privacy. In the view of this, “Teen Talk 2015” adopted the theme of ‘Decoding Privacy’ to address the misunderstandings of young people on privacy and legal issues through discussions, and to remind them of the vulnerability of cyber space. We also want to enhance their awareness of public affairs and legal issues, and encourage them to apply what they have learnt to protect themselves and the others.”

As students of all ages have demonstrated over the last couple of years, they are the people most concerned about Hong Kong and its future. The legal system and specifically it’s impartiality is a cornerstone of that future. But so is understanding your legal rights, protecting your privacy and sadly video recording all interactions with the police. It’s to be hoped that “decoding privacy” will help people understand the value of their personal information and the need to protect their digital privacy just as much as they do their physical privacy.

Hayat and Carter Shine in Historic England Clash

An 81-run partnership between Babar Hayat and debutante Chris Carter was not enough for Hong Kong as the side lost its first ever 50-over encounter against an almost full strength England side containing Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Jos Butler, Alex Hales, Moeen Ali by 169 runs in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

Chasing 343 for victory in the historic encounter, Babar smashed 78 runs from 81 balls, including eight boundaries, to top score for Hong Kong. He was joined the crease by debutant 18 year-old Chris Carter with the score at a precarious three for 59, and the pair put on 81 runs for the fourth wicket. Carter added a composed 34 runs from 44 balls for the highest partnership of the match.

Earlier, England scored 342 runs for the loss of eight wickets, with left-hander Moeen Ali smashing top scoring with 71 runs. Hong Kong captain Tanwir Afzal led from the front and claimed two wickets for 40 runs, while Haseeb Amjad and Nadeem Ahmed also took two.

Chris Carter was thrilled with debut on the international senior stage and said, “I wasn’t expecting to play, I was 12th man, so that was awesome. It was good to play against that calibre of player.” The Hong Kong born Carter said his call up to keep wicket after a minor injury to Jaime Atkinson required enormous focus. “I don’t usually get nervous wicket-keeping, I get far more nervous batting, but that was the most nervous I’ve ever been. But you just have to be positive and put those thoughts out of your head.” He added that there was one moment of the match he will never forget, “When Chris Woakes bowled me a bouncer that I hit over mid-wicket that was pretty special.”

The match served as a warm up match for Hong Kong’s crucial ICC Intercontinental Cup and World Cricket League Championship encounters against the United Arab Emirates, and coach Simon Cook was pleased with his team’s performance and said, “It’s a credit to Hong Kong really, with three grounds and 300 cricketers, to be able to produce cricketers at that level is incredible. What we need to do is continue producing the cricketers underneath, and that is part of my job. It was a huge learning curve for our players. We spoke after the match and I challenged them to think about the things to take away from the match to help them improve as players.”

England’s Chris Woakes said, “We have an important series coming and we need to hit the ground running, so this was an important game for us. I think the Hong Kong side should take credit for how it played today. We could have scored a bit more, but they got eight wickets down in the end. The way they batted showed that they can play against a strong England side. I think the future is bright for Hong Kong cricket. You have to take these experiences and learn from them, so as long as the side does that, I don’t see why it can’t move forward.”

At Abu Dhabi: England XI beat Hong Kong XI by 169 runs
Toss: England XI won the toss and decided to bat first
England XI 342/8, 50 overs (Moeen Ali 71, Alex Hales 64, Jason Roy 42)
Tanwir Afzal 2/40, Nadeem Amjad 2/58, Haseeb Amjad 2/80)
Hong Kong 173 all out, 40.2 overs (Babar Hayat 78, Chris Carter 34)
David Willey 4/43, Reece Topley 2/18, Adil Rashid 2/46)

Hong Kong XI
Tanwir Afzal (Captain), Mark Chapman, (Vice Captain), Aizaz Khan, Anshuman Rath, Babar Hayat, Chris Carter (Wicketkeeper), Ehsan Nawaz, Haseeb Amjad, Jamie Atkinson, Kinchit Shah, Nadeem Ahmed, Ninad Shah, Nizakat Khan, Waqas Barkat, Waqas Khan

Jordi Lo and Dorothy Yu Make History

Bowlers Jordi Lo and Dorothy Yu today made history by winning, respectively, the men’s and women’s singles titles at the Hong Kong International Bowls Classic. This is the first time a Hong Kong bowler has won the women’s singles competition.

In the men’s competition, Jordi Lo faced Andrew Duncan from Ireland in the final. Despite losing the first set 3:11, he came back strong on the second to force the match into tie-break. Lo won the 3-ends tie-breaker 3:2 to became only the second Hong Kong bowler to lift the title.

In the women’s competition, all four semi-finalists were local players so it was guaranteed that the trophy would remain in Hong Kong for the first ever time. At the end it was Hong Kong international Dorothy Yu who emerged victorious, defeating Millicent Lai from the Seabird Sports Club to win the title.

The annual International Bowls Classic, which started on Saturday with the Singles, will continue with the Pairs competition throughout the week. The final of the Pairs will be on Sunday 15 November.

Hong Kong International Bowls Classic
Date: 7-15 November, 2015
Venue: Kowloon Bowling Green Club, Kowloon Cricket Club and Club de Recreio
Tickets: Free
More info: www.hklba.org.

International Friendly: Hong Kong 5:0 Myanmar @ Mong Kok – 7 November, 2015

Hong Kong hosted Myanmar on Saturday afternoon in Mongkok Stadium in an international friendly match. The home side displayed great attacking prowess and delighted their supporters by scoring five unanswered goals in a convincing victory.

Hong Kong got off to a dream start, when in the 3^rd minute Jaimes Mckee connected with a Ju Yingzhi corner-kick and headed the ball into the Myanmar net, giving the home side an early lead.

Myanmar came close to equalizing in the 6^th minute when Hong Kong failed to effectively clear the visitors’ corner-kick and the ball fell to Aung Thu but the Myanmar striker hooked his shot wide off the Hong Kong goal.

The game got bogged down until the 33^rd minute when Hong Kong’s Leung Chun-pong danced past several Myanmar defenders, penetrating deep into the visitors’ box, before seeing his shot smartly palmed away by the keeper. Chan Siu-ki was on target with the rebound and scored into an empty net, making it 2:0.

Hong Kong almost added another goal in the 42^nd minute when Jaimes Mckee’s smart pass sent Chan Siu-ki through the Myanmar defense. The Hong Kong striker pulled the trigger but saw his quick-shot hit the goal-post..

Hong Kong made it 3:0 in the 45^th minute when a beautiful build-up between Xu Deshuai and Lo Kwan-yee saw the ball delivered to a surging Jaimes Mckee. The Hong Kong speedster shook off his marker before calmly slotting the ball home.

The home side almost extended its lead in the 50^th minute, when Alexander Akande teed up the ball nicely for teammate Alessandro Ferreira. The latter stepped up to the pass and drilled the ball towards the Myanmar goal, only to see his shot sail marginally over the crossbar.

Hong Kong found the back of the net again in the 66^th minute when Lam Ka-wai picked out Cheng King-ho with a neat forward pass and the full-back alertly sent the ball towards the Myanmar goal-mouth. Alexander Akande’s quick-shot was blocked by a Myanmar player but Alessandro Ferreira made no mistake and smashed the loose ball home, 4:0.

Myanmar had a rare chance on the 74^th minute when Kyaw Zin-lwin dodged a tackle only to see his low-shot hit the side netting.

The home side was at it again on the 75^th minute when Lam Ka-wai, displaying great vision, sent Alexander Akande through with a defence-splitting pass. The latter did not disappoint and finished off the attack by flicking the ball past the Myanmar keeper and into the empty net.

It was almost 6 in the 90^th minute, Cheung Kin-fung’s cross from the left created havoc inside the Myanmar box and the ball squirmed into the path of Cheng Kin-ho but the Hong Kong full-back side-footed his shot wide of the Myanmar goal-post.

Olympic Games Rugby 7s Qualifier Day 1

An empty HK Stadium reverberated to the screams of the $100million relaid grass pitch as it was torn to shreds during the first day of the Asia Rugby 7s Rio Qualifier.

Hong Kong’s women comfortably won their first two games, but were completely outplayed by Japan in the day’s final pool game. Tomorrow’s first pool game against Kazakhstan will decide who plays Japan in the final for a spot at the Olympics.

Hong Kong Women’s Squad for Olympic Rugby 7s Qualifiers

Hong Kong Women’s Sevens coach Anna Richards has picked an experienced squad for the first leg of the Asian Olympic qualifiers, captained by Christy Cheng Ka Chi after pre-season captain Royce Chan Leong Sze failed to recover from injury.

With seven Hong Kong Women’s Sevens appearances under her belt, Cheng has proven a more than capable captain, leading the squad to its first Asian Sevens cup win at the opening event of the Series in Qingdao, China.

Richards was pleased with the build-up and the final squad selected. “We were pretty much able to select from our first choice squad with the exception of Royce who was coming off a long injury lay-off. Ultimately she was impacted when we changed the forwards-backs split. We have gone with seven backs, which meant that we couldn’t carry a specialist hooker. Royce is obviously disappointed but we know her leadership abilities and that she and all of the girls in the squad will be backing the team fully.

“We are fortunate to have Christy, who has stepped into the captaincy seamlessly. She’s been vice captain for several years and has captained Hong Kong at 15s so she is a great leader and has performed extremely well in the series,” said Richards.

Other influential veterans picked include vice-captain Natasha Olson-Thorne who has battled her way through injuries this season but continues to make her mark felt with fierce midfield running and clinical finishing. She was the second leading scorer for Hong Kong over the season with six tries from two tournaments.

“Natasha is doing well after being injured in Qingdao. That injury set her back a bit for the finale in Sri Lanka, but since then she has worked hard to get her fitness levels back and will be an important part of what we need to do next weekend.”

Candy Cheng Tsz Ting, Amelie Seure and Lindsay Varty are also experienced campaigners along with Aggie Poon Pak Yan, who has been the superstar of the Asian Series this year, finishing as topscorer with 17 tries and 121 points from two tournaments. Poon will need to maintain her form next weekend with the team relying on her finishing abilities.

Richards has also shown faith in 22-year old Chong Ka Yan, who only made her senior squad debut in September.

“Ka Yan gives us more speed in the backline which is always useful. It’s going to be a tough tournament and we can’t expect players like Aggie Poon to play every minute of every game if we want to be successful. It will be great to be able to call upon Ka Yan. She can add some real firepower for us off the bench,” Richards said.

With some dropouts in the women’s competition, the complexion of the tournament has changed. All of the six participating women’s teams will be in a single pool with the top two teams emerging from the round-robin pool stage advancing to the final.

“It’s not ideal to have teams dropping out late, and it’s a real shame for the girls in those teams. Now with the single pool competition, it makes for a very tough tournament to come out on top,” Richards added.

But Hong Kong is well prepared according to Richards: “We have been training well and we have the self-belief that we can win at this level. There are always more things you want to work on, but the girls are in a good place and with strong support from the local crowd I think we can get through.”

Richards is stressing consistency to her charges. “We have to replicate what we did in Qingdao where we minimised our errors and played consistently. If we can do those things and hold onto the ball we know we can put points on the board. But we have to make sure our approach is correct.

“The players have been working so hard and they have been playing together for a few years now and that builds real strength within the side. Our performance on the Series has given them the belief that they can win and that was a huge hurdle for us in the past. We didn’t have that belief a year and a half ago.

“That self-belief combined with what we hope will be great support from the hometown fans will be invaluable. The girls are mentally stronger and are in a good place heading into the qualifier,” Richards concluded.

Hong Kong Women’s Sevens Squad
Christy CHENG KA CHI (Captain), Amelie SEURE, CHENG Tsz Ting, CHONG Ka Yan, KWONG Sau Yan, LAI Pou Fan, Lindsay VARTY, Natasha OLSON-THORNE (Vice Captain), NAM Ka Man, POON Pak Yan, SHAM Wai Sum, Stephanie CUVELIER.

Magna Carta in Hong Kong

The British Consulate-General has confirmed the public exhibition of an original Magna Carta as part of worldwide celebrations of its 800th anniversary.

Magna Carta established for the first time the principle that everybody, including the sovereign, was subject to the law. The most famous clauses of Magna Carta declare that no free man shall be imprisoned without trial by his equals or by the law of the land, and that no-one shall be denied justice.

Sir Winston Churchill once hailed Magna Carta as a reaffirmation of a supreme law which is above the King and which even he must not break. Those who value the rule of law and due legal process have always held Magna Carta in the highest respect ever since its enactment.

This 1217 copy of Magna Carta will be displayed alongside the only surviving copy of the King’s Writ, a letter sent by King John from Runnymede in 1215 to royal officials in each English county, announcing the terms of Magna Carta.

“It is very meaningful to be able to bring Magna Carta to Hong Kong. This is a seminal legal document. Its principles have stood the test of time. They are corner stones for the legal systems of both the United Kingdom and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.” commented the British Consul General, Caroline Wilson, who then continued “The Magna Carta exhibition is the perfect occasion to celebrate our shared common law heritage and the close links between our legal systems. I hope that members of the public will take the opportunity to see, with their own eyes, this historic document close up. And to learn about what it represents.”

Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen also welcomed the tour saying that “The rule of law, which the Department of Justice has been doing its utmost to uphold, is the bedrock of Hong Kong’s success. Our common law heritage is not just preserved but allowed to develop under the Basic Law which implements the principle of “One Country, Two Systems”. Magna Carta is an embodiment of a number of core values such as equality before the law and access to justice which the community of the Hong Kong SAR shares. In this regard, we are privileged to have an opportunity to be involved in one of the celebratory events for the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, which is the tour of its 1217 copy to the Hong Kong SAR, allowing the general public here to better understand the enduring relevance of the rule of law in a modern global context.”

The Magna Carta will be on display to the public from Wednesday 11-14 November at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Gallery, 5/F One Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty.

Magna Carta
Date: 11-14 November, 2015
Venue: Sotheby’s Hong Kong Gallery, 5/F One Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty.
Tickets: Free