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HK Cricket Match Report: 2016-17 Season Opening Weekend

The 2016-17 domestic cricket season got underway and the opening weekend’s results were headlined by a historic victory to the Cricket Hong Kong Sportsroad Dragons, who secured their first ever victory in the Elite League.

Playing against Sri Lanka Cricket Club, the Dragons were dismissed for 227, which they posted largely thanks to captain Damien Yee’s 91 off 129 balls. He shared a 119-run partnership with Anthony Marrin, who scored 40. The last six wickets fell for just 17 runs, which meant the Dragons only batted 46.3 of their alloted overs. Mukhtar Ahmad took 4-44, which included the key wickets of Yee and Marin.

In response, SLCC were cruising at 160-2 after just 23 overs with Akbar Khan smashing 73 off 69 balls. But his dismissal triggered a collapse as the Dragons dismissed SLCC for 212. Opening bowler Henry Siu took 3-36, including the last wicket to fall.
Scorecard – https://www.crichq.com/#matches/425297/1st_innings

In Division 1, Hong Kong Cricket Club Wanderers triumphed in a tight match against Pakistan Association.

Pakistan Association batted first but were rarely able to get their innings going with Ahsan Ali (59 off 79) the only batsman to score over 25. Angus Robson took 4-30 and Chris White 4-38 as Pakistan Association were dismissed in the 38th over for 150.

But they made a strong response with the ball, reducing HKCC to 37-4 and 72-5 to make for a nervy chase. But from there Stuart Tohill (65*) and Ravi Mulchandani (35*) guided the Wanderers to the target in the 46th over.
Scorecard – https://www.crichq.com/#matches/425301/1st_innings

The other match of the weekend was played on Saturday in the Championship League Division 2 where Diasqua Little Saiwan had a comfortable win over the Centaurs.

The Centaurs were knocked over for just 97 with Suresh Ghevariya (4-11) and Anik Shah (3-17) doing the bulk of the damage.

Despite losing a couple of early wickets, DLSWCC reached the target in just the 16th over with six wickets to spare.
Scorecard – https://www.crichq.com/#matches/425654/1st_innings

The Championship League Division 1 between KCC Tartars and CCC Jing Sun was washed out.

Nizakat’s Hot Streak Continues as Hong Kong Win by 40 Runs

Hong Kong defeated Ireland by 40 runs in the first of a two-game Twenty20 International series at Bready Cricket Club in Londonderry.

Carrying on from his outstanding form in the Intercontinental Cup game in Belfast last week, Nizakat Khan’s 62 off 43 balls led the way for Hong Kong as they posted 169-5 from 20 overs.

In response, Tanwir Afzal’s opening spell of 2-18 gave Ireland to much work to do in the last 10 as they were dismissed for 129.

It was the onslaught in the opening overs from Nizakat, whose innings included 7 fours and 2 sixes that set the tone as Hong Kong raced to 63-1 after the first six overs.

Nizakat then combined with Babar Hayat (49 off 31) for a 56-run second wicket partnership that took Hong Kong to 97-2 in the 12th over. Ehsan Khan provided the finishing touches with 29 off 22 balls to lead Hong Kong to an above-par total.

In reply Tanwir Afzal bowled four straight overs at the top of the innings and took 2-18 to leave Ireland reeling at 34-4 after 6 overs.

The Irish mounted a charge through Greg Thompson (44 off 32) and Kevin O’Brien (32 off 24) but the required rate proved too much as Hong Kong ran out easy winners. Aizaz Khan finished with 3-10.

Match Two: 6 September 10.30pm (HK time).

https://youtu.be/H_vDgrj04V0

Highlights: Ireland v Hong Kong 1st T20i (https://youtu.be/H_vDgrj04V0)

Simon Cook
“It’s good to get off and running and particularly against Ireland who are a strong side. The boys played well. Getting off to a decent start, which is something that has dogged us for the last few games, helped with a change in the batting order at the top with Nizakat going in. To get 60 off the first six overs was outstanding and Babar carried it on.

“If you want to level criticise Nizikat it’s been about his consistency, so to bat well in both innings in the four-day game and come here and start hitting with calmness and a solid base is a credit to him. Pleased to see some genuine consistency coming along. Opening is a different role for him, which he practiced in Sri Lanka recently and did well.”

Babar Hayat
“I think the pleasing thing was that everyone contributed. It was a team effort and everyone did their job. Really pleased with how I played – luckily I got a free hit at the start of my innings, which gave me some momentum. First win as Captain and just really proud to get the win for Hong Kong and really proud of my teammates – it will be a good lift to our fans at home. It’s pleasing to get the win but we need to work on our fielding – we were sloppy today but we can come back tomorrow and fix that.”

Additional reporting: HK Cricket Association, Scorecard: Cricinfo

Men’s Domestic Cricket Leagues Restructured

Babar Hayat in action against Hong Kong Cricket Club in the Hong Kong Premier League One-Day Tournament

Hong Kong’s domestic leagues have been revamped for the 2016-17 season in a move designed to provide more quality cricket for players aspiring for national selection.

The 35-over a side Saturday competition has been renamed the Championship League, while the 50-overs a side Sunday competition has been renamed the Elite League.

The changes are not just cosmetic with the new Elite League split into two divisions, the first made up of six teams and the second with seven teams in a move designed to ensure more competitive matches for the top teams.

“After the success of splitting the Championship league into two divisions it was a no brainer to adopt a similar change in the Elite league to ensure we have more meaningful games across all levels and formats,” said Hong Kong Cricket Association (HKCA) Director of Cricket Charlie Burke.

“We have seen more juniors playing in senior leagues in the last few years as a result and it has also encouraged the stalwarts or the older generations to find a place they enjoy playing as well as finding it competitive.”

“The support from the clubs in making these changes have been fantastic and as a result we will see more competitive competition in both the Championship and Elite leagues in 2016-17.”

The Premier League has also been moved under the National Performance program meaning it’s funded by HKCA. The Premier League Independents team which was a conglomerate of the smaller Hong Kong clubs will now be funded, managed, selected and coached by HKCA.

“As an ODI nation it is vital to have a clear pathway and an opportunity for aspiring cricketers to have a platform where they will get noticed. Having the Premier League comprising of the best 55 players in Hong Kong is critical for the performance of our National team,” added Burke.

“We have 15 contracted players now and these players need an opportunity to be challenged at a domestic level and the selectors need a platform from where to offer contracts. Strong performances will be rewarded with selection in the National squad as we continue to prepare and work towards the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers.”

“An encouraging sign has been the amount of players that have now gone from Premier League Cricket into the National squad in the last two seasons. The cricket community will see a bigger, better competition along with the clubs now ensuring a dedicated program for their elite players. We are also looking to schedule a fixture between last season’s Premier League Team of the Year and the National Squad.”

The 2016-17 season kicks off on September 3 with Pakistan Association and USRC battling it out in the Women’s T20 competition followed by the KCC Tartars vs CCC Jing Sun at Mission Road and DLSWCC Spartans vs Centaurs CC at PKVR Park in the Championship League.

Men’s cricket in Hong Kong
There are presently three main competitions in men’s cricket – the Premier League, the Elite League played on Sundays and the Championship League on Saturdays.

The Premier League
Features the top players in Hong Kong with five teams competing in three formats – two-day matches, one-day 50-over matches and Twenty20 matches. Teams competing in the Premier League are Hong Kong Cricket Club, Kowloon Cricket Club, Little Sai Wan Cricket Club, Pakistan Association and a fifth team comprising the best players from the other clubs – called the Cricket Hong Kong Independents XI.

Elite League
Round-robin 50-over competition that is contested in two divisions. The best players from this competition also play in the Premier League.

Championship League
A 35-over competition featuring two divisions of 10 teams. Teams play the other teams in their division once, followed by a play-off series to determine the competition winners and the promotion and relegation placings. Matches are generally played on Saturday afternoons starting at 1PM.

Hong Kong Fall Short, Despite Nizakat Khan Century

A brilliant century from Nizakat Khan wasn’t enough for Hong Kong as Ireland triumphed by 70 runs in their Intercontinental Cup clash at Stormont.

Hong Kong claimed the last three Irish wickets for nine runs to dismiss the hosts for 230 in their second innings – but the target of 310 for victory proved too much.

Hong Kong, who had just 18 First Class appearances in the team compared to Ireland’s 943 were not disgraced, as Nizakat’s 123 kept the visitors with a fighting chance deep into the fourth and final day. Hong Kong were eventually dismissed for 239 in their second innings.

Nizakat became just the third batsman to score a century in a First Class match for Hong Kong, which came from 181 balls. He had also scored 69 runs in the first innings. Unfortunately, he couldn’t garner enough support with Babar Hayat and Nadeem Ahmed’s scores of 28 the next best for Hong Kong.

The win moves Ireland back to the top of the Intercontinental Cup table, while Hong Kong remain in fourth place.

IRELAND 316 (G Wilson 95 Tanwir Afzal 4-63 Nadeem Ahmed 4-73) & 230 (J Anderson 59 Tanwir Afzal 3-53 Nadeem Ahmed 3-65) def HONG KONG 237 (Anshuman Rath 73* Nizakat Khan 69) & 239 (Nizakat Khan 123 T Murtagh 4-29)

https://youtu.be/MT-8nP4IJaI

Highlights: Ireland v Hong Kong D4 (https://youtu.be/MT-8nP4IJaI)

Interview with Nizakat Khan
“I think we’ve improved a lot as a team – the guys are getting mature. Ireland are a top team and more experienced than us – this match shows clearly that we can compete against these big teams. We are fit now and no complaints from us we are looking forward to the T20s.”

“I need to give credit to Mark Wright who has helped me with my batting and to Cambo (Ryan Campbell) and Cooky (Simon Cook). I was full of confidence before the game and I knew I would perform – it was unfortunate we lost but every one chipped and we will build on that for next game.”

“It felt really good to make a 100 – when I came here I just wanted to score a hundred and it was an amazing feeling – it wasn’t easy but I just fought to the end. I’m happy with myself but I know I still have a lot of improvement to make.”

Interview with Simon Cook
“I can’t help but look back on that first session where we leaked 40 or 50 runs and that put us behind the game on a low scoring pitch and you can’t give them that sort of head start and it came down to that at the end. We fought valiantly in the last innings here. Nizakat was outstanding but no one played with him.”

“In defeat we had so many positives and to bat 100 over in the first innings and 80 overs in the second was a great effort. We have played some really good cricket and I think a few here were surprised as to how much of a fight we put up. I’m really happy with how we played but disappointed with the result I was confident we could win the game after our preparation.”

“This morning’s wickets set up our momentum – we thought we could chase 300 down and at lunch time we weren’t in a bad position. But a couple of quick wickets we were back on the back foot. We felt if we could bat the whole day we would win and we were 17 overs short of that.”

“Nizkakat has been working really hard on a technical change in how he combats the short ball he’s worked really hard. After all his hard work I was confident he was going to perform because the last week he was hitting the ball so well in the nets and as soon as he went out to the crease he was moving really well. When he’s playing like this he’s looking like a million dollars and a First Class cricketer but he needs to keep pushing to make his game as consistent as possible. He could be one of the top Associate batters in the world.”

Ireland Lead Hong Kong by 278

Ireland maintained the upper hand on day three despite the Belfast weather playing havoc with the day’s cricket. When bad light eventually stopped play for the final time, Ireland had reached 199-6 from 51 overs, with an overall lead of 278.

As in the first innings Hong Kong fought hard keeping the hosts honest after Ireland had reached 101-1 and were looking to set up a day three declaration.

The hopes for a result in what’s a pretty tight match were hindered by the loss of 45 due to the on-off showers that frustrated throughout the day.

The day’s highlight for Hong Kong were two wickets in successive overs from 18-year-old debutant Tanveer Ahmed (2-22) with two short pitched deliveries. While Tanwir Afzal (2-36) picked up two wickets, including the important scalp of in-form Gary Wilson for 25 on what proved to be the last ball of the day.

For Ireland, John Anderson batted superbly including some deft reverse sweeps in making 59.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evk1-lpyPcY

Highlights: Ireland v Hong Kong D3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evk1-lpyPcY)

Tanwir Afzal on Day 3
“I think we recovered well – in the first innings we leaked runs with the new ball but we executed our plans well today” Afzal said.

After not such a good start in the first innings, I’ve bowled better and I just tried to contain the runs and bowl in the right areas. It was great for Tanveer to pick up a couple of wickets as well, I’m happy for him. He’s a talented young bowler.”

“Personally, I feel our spinners have bowled well in both innings and spun the ball a lot but when the Irish spinners bowled it didn’t turn as much so hopefully it plays the same for tomorrow. There’s a bit of movement with the new ball so our openers will need to survive.”

“They will be looking for another 30 or 40 runs, but we batted well in the first innings and we have big man Babar who will be ready to fire. I think we are still in the game if we can get the last four wickets quickly.”

“It was a really tough day with the weather making the ball wet and it was quite dark and tricky for batsmen and fielders to pick up the ball. Both teams are looking to win the game and hopefully the rain stays away tomorrow to give us a chance.”

Additional reporting and scorecard: HK Cricket, Cricinfo

Anshuman Rath and Nizakat Khan Half-Centuries Lead Hong Kong

An attritional second days play means Hong Kong will have to overcome a first innings deficit of 79 after being dismissed for 237 on day two of their Intercontinental Cup match against Ireland.

After losing two wickets in the first over of the day, two quality innings from Anshuman Rath (73*) and Nizakat Khan (69) were the highlight for Hong Kong who grafted all day long but lost wickets in bunches.

A partnership of 101 between Nizakat and debutant Ninad Shah (38) repaired the initial damage, while Waqas Khan (27) was the only other player to reach double figures.

Rath was left unbeaten at the other end when Tanveer Ahmed was the last man dismissed with just 8 balls left in the day.

The Ireland bowlers were relentless all day with spinner George Dockrell (3-46) and Peter Chase (3-50) the pick of the bowlers.

Play will resume at 6pm HKT with some rain forecast for the final two days in Belfast.

https://youtu.be/HRZKvacUlUQ

Highlights: Ireland v Hong Kong D2 (https://youtu.be/HRZKvacUlUQ)

Interview with Nizakat Khan
“Yeh we fought hard and just tried to hang in there after losing the two early wickets. When I was out there with Ninad we were just talking to each other a lot out there to urge each other to hang in there.”

“Their bowling was very disciplined and we got no loose balls, so we had to work really hard to score runs and they have bowled to their plans, which have succeeded most of time.”

“I think we are still short of runs and we wanted to get closer to them so tomorrow is crucial for us. We have to take early wickets so can give ourselves a score to chase down.”

“I’m pretty happy with myself – although I was looking for a big score. I was playing really well which was pleasing after I’ve worked really hard with the batting coaches in Hong Kong on a few things. And I felt really good so hopefully I will get a big score in the second innings.”

“Anshy played really well – his innings was what we really needed but unfortunately no one stuck with him. He played to the conditions and looked solid. His innings at the end there has kept us in the game.”

Additional reporting HK Cricket Association, scorecard Cricinfo

Babar Hayat, HK’s New Cricket Captain

Babar Hayat has been announced as the new Captain of Hong Kong’s cricket team ahead of the tour of United Kingdom and Ireland.

The HKCA selectors appointed the 24-year-old after Tanwir Afzal elected to stand down as Captain to focus on his own performances.

Babar will lead a 14-man squad on a testing tour that includes Hong Kong’s Intercontinental Cup clash against Ireland and two One Day Internationals against Scotland.

“I am honoured and extremely proud to be named captain of Hong Kong,” Babar said. “It is a privilege to even play for Hong Kong so to be given this opportunity is very humbling and a challenge I’m looking forward to. I must thank Tanwir for his efforts – the team has come a long way since he took over the captaincy and I’m sure I’ll be using his experience on the field. We have some exciting new faces for the upcoming tour, which will be a test in Ireland and Scotland’s home conditions. I’m really excited to lead this young team.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiKHv51ZS-k

Hong Kong's Babar Hayat 122 off 60 balls against Oman (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiKHv51ZS-k)

Babar, who has played 43 Twenty20 matches for Hong Kong since debuting in 2012, famously hit 15 off the last over against Afghanistan to qualify Hong Kong for the 2016 ICC World Twenty20. But it’s been his progress in recent months that has impressed.

“Babar thoroughly deserves this opportunity from the summer he has had,” Director of Cricket and selector Charlie Burke said. “His fitness and his determination to take this team and Hong Kong cricket forward really excites me. He has led from the front in training and shown he is ready for a leadership role. I have no doubt that Babar will continue his impressive performances and led the squad from the front.”

Aizaz Khan has also been given his first leadership role in the team and has been appointed vice-captain in the absence of Mark Chapman. Aizaz, 23, has played 39 Twenty20 matches for Hong Kong after making his debut in 2011.

Hong Kong’s squad includes two new faces with Ehsan Khan and Shahid Wasif selected for their first national team tours.

2016 Hong Kong squad for the tour of United Kingdom and Ireland
Babar Hayat (Captain, DLSWCC), Aizaz Khan (Pakistan Association), Tanwir Afzal (Pakistan Association), Nadeem Ahmed (DLSWCC), Tanveer Ahmed (KCC), Chris Carter (KCC), Ehsan Khan (DLSWCC), Nizakat Khan (HKCC), Waqas Khan (DLSWCC), Adil Mehmood (KCC), Ehsan Nawaz (KCC), Anshuman Rath (HKCC), Ninad Shah (KCC), Shahid Wasif (DLSWCC)

Hong Kong to Host ICC 2016 Women’s World Cup Qualifier – Asia

The road to the next Women’s Cricket World Cup is a long one but Hong Kong’s talented squad will play the first series of matches in their attempt to qualify at home after the International Cricket Council have awarded Hong Kong hosting rights of the ICC 2016 Women’s World Cup Qualifier – Asia, which will be held in October this year.

China, Nepal and Thailand will join Hong Kong in a round-robin tournament from the 9th-15th of October, at the Tin Kwong Recreation Ground in Mong Kok, with a place in the global qualifying tournament guaranteed for the winning team.

“The ICC 2016 Women’s World Cup Qualifier – Asia is an exciting opportunity for the top Women’s teams in Asia,” ICC Development and Programs Manager Andy Hobbs said. “The winner of this event will progress to the ICC 2017 Women’s World Cup Global Qualifier and have the opportunity to play against some of the top Women’s teams in the world and of course the chance to make it to the very pinnacle of Women’s Cricket at the world cup itself”.

The decision to award Hong Kong rights to host the tournament is yet another boost for local cricket in a year when Hong Kong has hosted its first ever One Day International, appeared in the ICC World Twenty20 and launched a new event, the Hong Kong T20 Blitz.

“We are thankful to the ICC for electing us to host the first ever Women’s World Cup Qualifier – Asia,” CEO Tim Cutler said. “We will be working closely with the government to ensure Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground is at the best standard it can be for this international event.”

“Our ladies are the pride of our indigenous development programmes with over half of the squad being of Hong Kong Chinese extraction. Witnessing the success of “big sister” China is particularly pleasing, and the HK v China matches are sure be the highlight for many.” Cutler continued “Such a diverse range of cultures make up our local cricket community and with a particularly large, proud, Nepalese community we expect to welcome some great crowds into the grounds over the course of the tournament.”

ICC 2016 Women’s World Cup Qualifier – Asia
Date: 9-15 October, 2016
Venue: Tin Kwong Recreation Ground
Tickets: tbc