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Opening Bat, Yasmin Daswani

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Ahead of the Women’s East Asia Cup bc spoke to Hong Kong’s new opening batswoman Yasmin Daswani about cricket, life and the desire to score her first century.

How did you start playing cricket?
I started playing in 2006 when my mum and I joined the HKCC Cavaliers. I was 12 and my mum wanted to us do a “mother daughter activity” together. Growing up in Hong Kong, my brother and I had little/ no connection to our Indian roots, and my mom thought that cricket (as one of the sports India excels at) would give us some connection to our heritage!

What skills do you need to make it as a cricketer?
A common misconception is that cricket involves a lot of standing around. Nowadays, in order to make it as a professional cricketer you need to be fit, strong, have good hand-eye coordination and stamina. Cricket involves diving around to stop the ball, sprinting between wickets as well as bowling, batting and throwing.

What does playing for Hong Kong mean to you?
I am honored to to represent Hong Kong. This is my home and it always gives me goosebumps seeing the Hong Kong flag at games.

Are HK women’s cricketer’s amateurs or professional? What do you do to pay the bills?
HK women cricketers are currently amateurs and are unpaid. We are hoping to change this by performing well in the next few tournaments, as doing so could secure vital funding for women’s cricket as a sport.

Earlier this year I worked at Cricket Hong Kong as a High Performance Assistant. I loved this role as I was able to get involved in tournaments such as the T20 Blitz and Netherlands Series. As we have gotten closer to the women’s tournaments, however, I have preferred to work more flexibly as an English tutor to support myself financially.

Best moment as a Hong Kong cricketer
Being awarded Player of the Tournament at an Under 19s tournament in Singapore.

What’s the state of women’s cricket in Hong Kong today?
Having come back to Hong Kong after being abroad at University, I was pleased to see how women’s cricket has progressed while I was studying. The number of participating teams has increased to a point where we now have a second development league. This is ideal as it provides a pathway for younger players.

While this is positive, the teams in the top league are still not as competitive as we would like them to be. Many clubs are still reliant on one or two national players—once these players are out a batting collapse usually follows. More needs to be done to develop younger players and to give them the opportunity to play at a high level- particularly since there is no longer an ACC Under 19 set up.

In addition, women’s cricket in Hong Kong is limited by a lack of facilities. Women are not able to play/ train on turf wickets regularly, which puts us at a disadvantage given that international games are usually played on turf.

With the long gaps in the international schedule how easy / difficult is it to improve and create a team feel?
There are significant gaps in the women’s international schedule- our last tournament was in September 2016! With such long gaps it is hard to build momentum and to keep motivated.

Our team has excellent rapport, however, and we drive each other to improve by encouraging friendly competition among ourselves- you should hear the sledging that takes place during league games! It really helps that we all get along so well, as even when we don’t have tournaments we are extremely active and push each other to train hard.

What are yours / the team’s aspirations?
Personally I want to score a century, my current highest score is 95. Team wise our current aspirations are to place first in the East Asia Cup and to qualify from the November World Cup Qualifiers. Doing so would give us HKSI points and would allow us to be paid as professional athletes. This would be life-changing, particularly as many players currently have to balance a full time job with the arduous demands of training-often at unsociable hours before and after work.

Do you feel you’ve reached your potential as a cricketer, or could you get better by perhaps playing overseas?
I took a hiatus from cricket while at University, and have found that since coming back I have been able to look at my game with a fresh pair of eyes. As the standard of women’s cricket in countries like Australia and England is much higher, I do believe that I could enhance my game by learning from more experienced female players abroad.

What advice would you give to women who are interested in playing cricket in Hong Kong?
Now is such an exciting time to be coming to the sport! Women’s cricket is developing rapidly with the ICC committed to provide more funding and structure in future years. For the first time ever we are able to watch every ball of every game in a Women’s World Cup, and the coverage for women’s cricket is only going to grow.

For youngsters wanting to represent Hong Kong in the future – I would say go for it 100%. Cricket is a such a sociable, fun sport and it cultivates a culture of respect towards your teammates, the opposition and the umpires. I have made lifelong friends playing cricket and will always treasure my years playing in and for Hong Kong.

What are your plans going forward?
I am currently on a (second!) gap year having finished university and secured a law job in London. I have been really lucky as my firm have been understanding of my cricket aspirations – they have allowed me to defer my start date until I have finished playing in the upcoming tournaments. In September 2018 I will start my job, however I will continue to play cricket with the Finchley Gunns in London. After I finish my training contract I want continue to play for Hong Kong!

Women’s East Asia Cup 2017
Date: 21-24 September, 2017
Venue: HKCC, KCC, Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground
Tickets: Free
More info:
21 Sept – HKCC
22 Sept – KCC
23-24 Sept – Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground

HK Sixes Returns in October

Cricket Hong Kong have announced that after a gap of five years the Hong Kong Sixes will return to the local sporting calendar on the 28-29 October 2017 at Kowloon Cricket Club.

The ‘fastest’ cricket format in the world will see eight international teams participating in matches that take just 45 minutes to complete. The Sixes will also look to take advantage of technology changes as Cricket Hong Kong aims to create a tournament with a distinct identity.

“Everyone in the cricket community here in Hong Kong is delighted to have the Sixes confirmed as being back on our calendar,” Cricket Hong Kong Director Jonathan Cummings said. “We love what the Sixes were and are passionate about bringing the best bits with us, but we won’t be satisfied putting on the same show as in 2012.”

“This will be the Sixes 2.0 and over time, we want to make this the most hi-tech, innovative cricket tournament in the world. The emergence of Twenty20 leagues around the world is great, but this is an opportunity to create a different a experience for cricket lovers and to engage new fans to the sport.”

“It’s a format where we aren’t bound by the traditional rules of the game, so we will be designing everything to provide maximum entertainment value and engagement.” Cummings said.

“We’ve already launched the Junior Cricket Sixes into local schools and we look forward to connecting that programme with the October event. Anyone can enjoy Sixes cricket, lots of big hits and great entertainment with no breaks.”

The Sixes will be held at the Kowloon Cricket Club with KCC President David Brettell commenting that “KCC is in full support of Cricket Hong Kong’s efforts to reinstate the event. We are delighted to welcome back the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes to the KCC and we are excited to be partnering with Cricket Hong Kong in their endeavour to bring a world class sporting event to Hong Kong”.

“We’d like to extend our thanks to Kowloon Cricket Club,” Cummings said. “The venue is perfect for Sixes cricket and they have the experience in providing world class hospitality and service and will host spectators to an outstanding weekend.”

Teams for the event will be confirmed within the next month with a minimum of six full member nations to participate.

HK Cricket Sixes
Date: 28-29 October, 2017
Venue: Kowloon Cricket Club
Tickets: tbc

Additional reporting and image: HK Cricket

Mariko Hill Relishing HKCC Willow Wielders 8th Straight Title

Although only 21 years of age, Hong Kong women’s captain Mariko Hill has won more titles than most would dare to dream about in a whole career.

For the eighth straight season, Hill was a part of the victorious Hong Kong Cricket Club Willow Wielders team that won the Women’s League. Prior to being knocked off this season by the HKCC Cavaliers in the women’s T20 league, the Willow Wielders had also won seven straight titles in the short-form format. Tally that up and it’s 15 senior titles that Hill has been a part of.

“Winning eight in a row is a great achievement not only as an individual but as a club as a whole. We are probably one of the first teams to achieve this and shows how consistent we are,” Hill said.

“Definitely ranks up there with one of my proudest achievements, we actually didn’t realise it straight after the game but when you think about it, eight years in a row is incredible. We also won seven T20 leagues in a row, which would have been eight if we weren’t beaten this year, so it’s quite remarkable.”

“Over time one of the things that we struggled with was people coming in and out but after a while we’ve built team unity and cherished the time we do get with each other. The coaching staff across those years has helped build that unity and work on our skills.”

Although only 14 when she first came into the team, Hill made an impact from her very first season in 2009-10, scoring a century during that season against Little Sai Wan. Now a genuine all-rounder, she’s a vital cog of not just the Willow Wielders, but also the Hong Kong women’s set-up, which was reaffirmed when she was selected as the tournament’s best batter for the ICC Women’s World Cup qualifiers Asia in 2016.

While captaincy duties with the Willow Wielders fall to Sara Young, Hill still plays a key role as a leader within the team.

“It’s different now, I used to be the young one that just turned up and had fun on the field but now being a senior player and Hong Kong captain and a role model, you need to bring a bit of maturity. But that’s not to say we don’t still have fun!”

“We were all quite new a few years ago so it was quite tough as a few of us had to dig deep but looking at the team now we are quite experienced. Particularly Ashley Hung – she’s come a long way from where she was a few years ago and become one of our main bowlers. Each player knows their roles now and we are more structured with our batting and bowling plans.”

So what’s the secret to the Willow Wielders success? Hill hints it might lie off the field as much as it does on it.

“Since Jasmine (Titmuss) came into the HKCC set-up as a coach, she’s brought the spirit of the game a lot more and we’ve really bonded as a team outside of cricket as well with dinners and people enjoying things rather than just cricket itself. This year meant a lot to all the club members after Anita Miles’ passing so wearing the club jerseys meant a lot to us.”

“There’s a lot coming for women’s cricket, the Hong Kong women’s squad have a lot of players from both our side and the HKCC Cavaliers, which shows the club have a great programme.”

And Hill will only have a short off-season with the Hong Kong women’s squad setting themselves for two important tournaments in the second half of the year. She wants to make amends for the disappointment of 2016 World Cup qualifiers where the team started with two victories only to lose their next four and miss out on progression.

“Looking back at last year we didn’t graft it out, but we can take that into account and go forward,” Hill said. “We don’t want that feeling again of disappointment so I’m looking forward to it.”

Aside from the World T20 qualifiers, the women’s squad will also host Japan, Korea and China in the East Asia Cup, which will be hosted by Hong Kong in September.

Additional reporting and images: HK Cricket

Womens Cricket Squad Announced

As the domestic season draws to a close HK Cricket’s selectors have announced the 19 players who’ll form the Hong Kong women’s squad, as they prepare for two key international tournaments later in 2017.

The squad will participate in the ICC Women’s World T20 qualifiers (East Asia Region) in August/September and the East Asia Cup, which will be hosted in Hong Kong. New full-time head coach Richard Waite is looking forward to the challenge.

It’s the first time Hong Kong’s women cricketers have had a dedicated women’s coach and Waite has been impressed with the talent available in his first two months in the job. “We’ve had open sessions to put all players through their paces. During the process of the open sessions, the level of commitment and hard work shown by all players involved has been terrific,” Waite said.

“The belief within the squad is extremely high and we are hungry for success. The next 4 months sees the squad step up their training, and I am extremely thankful with local cricket clubs for showing their support by enabling various fixtures to be played to give them as much game time as possible. This along with a potential training camp in Sri Lanka will put the girls at the peak of their performance and will be a hard side to beat. Our goal is is to qualify for the Women’s T20 World Cup and to win the East Asia Cup, we will work as hard as ever to achieve this goal.”

The team again will again be captained by Mariko Hill, with Waite happy with the balance of experience and youth. “Players like Emma Lai, Kary Chan, and Annie Ho can provide exciting role models for local girls to look up to and give them the passion to go out and play cricket. We have seen that the standard of women’s cricket is constantly being pushed forwards and we must ensure that we have a structure in place that produces a continual stream of talented players, with this in mind we have created an open development squad that will be beneath the national squad, giving us players for the future.”

Hong Kong Women’s Cricket Squad 2017

1. Mariko Hill (Captain)
2. Jenefer Davies (wicket-keeper)
3. Kary Chan
4. Jasmine Titmuss
5. Emma Lai
6. Shanzeen Shahzad
7. Yasmin Daswani
8. Keenu Gill
9. Natural Yip (wkt)
10. Ka Man Chan
11. Ruchita Venkatesh
12. Pull To
13. Mary Henderson
14. Chan Sau Ha
15. Marina Lamplough
16. Annie Ho
Development selections
1. Ashley Hung
2. Lemon Cheung
3. Mehreen Yousaf

Additional reporting photos: HK Cricket

Kowloon Cantons Win T20 Blitz

Kowloon Cantons won the 2017 Hong Kong Blitz, defeating City Kaitak by 25 runs in front of a packed house at the Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground in Mong Kok.

City Kaitak had booked their place in the final by beating Hong Kong Island United in the last group game on Sunday morning when they successfully defended 155. The HKI United team were bowled out for just 105 as none of their big stars fired. Needing to reach their victory target in 17.4 overs to overtake City Kaitak on net run rate United continued to swing hard as they were bowled out inside their 20 overs.

When the final got underway we saw yet more of the phenomenal run scoring that has been such a feature of this event. Hong Kong’s captain Babar Hayat and West Indian Dwayne Smith opened the batting after the Kowloon Cantons had won the toss.

The two men shared a stand worth 149 runs from 12.5 overs as they dismantled the City Kaitak bowlers in a brilliant period of attacking batting. It looked as if Hayat would be the second Hong Kong international to score a hundred in the tournament, after Nizakat Khan made a century for Hung Hom JD Jaguars on Saturday. It wasn’t to be as he reverse swept the ball on to his stumps off Nadeem Ahmed for 76.

Dwayne Smith also lost his wicket to Nadeem after making 68 from 43 balls, but he should have been dismissed in the very first over. He drilled a ball from Tillakaratne Dilshan straight to Chris Jordan. Almost inexplicably the England bowler, who is considered to be one of the best fielders in the world, put down a simple chance.

The Cantons were not done with the run scoring as they posted the highest score of the tournament so far, 222 for three. Marlon Samuels made 32 and Ashar Zaidi 24 in their final overs to set City Kaitak a daunting 223 for victory.

Kaitak’s chase began well as Scotland’s Kyle Coetzer and Sri Lanka’s Dilshan put on 65 in 4.5 overs. Smith has finished as the leading run scorer in the tournament with 259, but Coetzer was just behind him on 254. In the final he made a superb 63 from 37 balls that included seven sixes.

For City Kaitak to overhaul the mammoth target they needed Coetzer to be there at the end but the newly appointed Scotland captain was caught by his international colleague Calum MacLeod off Tanveer Ahmed.

With Coetzer gone all eyes turned to West Indian Nicholas Pooran who had scored 11 sixes in the event heading into this innings. He added two more to that tally as he scored 28 from 15 balls, before he was caught on the boundary. With the big hitters gone the chase began to fall apart as the City Kaitak fell 25 runs to go short of their target.

The Cantons have been the front runners for the whole of this tournament and emerged as worthy winners after five brilliant days of cricket in Mong Kok.

Winning captain Babar Hayat was delighted to set such an imposing total in the final. “222 is not easy to chase in a final so it was a good total. There was nerves when Coetzer was going well. In the first six overs there are only two fielders allowed outside the circle so you can make lots of runs. But I knew if we took one wicket we would win the game.”

The tournament organisers were delighted with how things went over the five days of cricket. “The Blitz was beyond all of our wildest dreams, for all of the hard work from all of the franchises, staff, volunteers and press that have come, people that have watched online and everyone at the ground,” said Tim Cutler, the Cricket Hong Kong CEO. “I couldn’t be happier. And yet there is so much room to grow. As excited as I am about the success of our second addition of the Blitz I am looking forward to the next step in Hong Kong cricket even more.”

Additional reporting: HK Cricket
Photos: Panda Man

T20 Blitz @ Tin Kwong Road – 11 March, 2017

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A fantastic T20 Blitz organised by HK Cricket attracted a sellout crowd to Tin Kwong Road at the weekend who enjoyed the smash smash bang cricket as it rained 6s. The big name international players showcased their skills and the Hong Kong players responded impressively and contributed massively to the success of the tournament.

Respect to the team owners who put the money up to enable the Blitz to happen, looking forward to next year already!
Click on any photo for the full gallery of images

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Nizakat Khan Shines Bright

Super Saturday at the T20 Blitz saw three games played as a sellout crowd saw some thrilling batting from Nizakat Khan, Marlon Samuels, Ian Bell and Kyle Coetzer.

The first match of the day started at 7:45am and saw Kowloon Cantons play Hong Kong Island United. Dwayne Smith, the tournament’s leading run scorer at the start of the day’s play, made 22 as he and Babar Hayat shared an opening stand of 41 in the PowerPlay.

Three quick wickets saw the Cantons stumble to 52 for three as both openers and Calum MacLeod fell in quick succession. It could have been worse for the Cantons when Marlon Samuels was dropped on 13 by Saeed Ajmal.

Samuels made the most of his good fortune as he went on to score 51 from 36 balls. That Samuels innings combined with an excellent 46 from Ashar Zaidi allowed the Cantons to make 168 for seven from their 20 overs.

Until now the Hong Kong Island United side have relied heavily on their captain, Misbah-ul-Haq. The Pakistan Test skipper had not been dismissed making 82 and 84. In this match he made just six runs before he was dismissed by Zaidi.

Ian Bell, returning to the side having missed the last match with a bruised foot, made an excellent 59 from 50 balls, but without any support the chase fell away to allow the Cantons to win by 44 runs.

In game two it was the Hung Hom JD Jaguars taking on City Kaitak in a high scoring affair. The JD Jaguars made 193 for four from their 20 overs, getting there thanks to a remarkable 120 not out from Hong Kong international, Nizakat Khan, who smashed 10 sixes. It seemed at the innings break that the JD Jaguars were well placed to win and make the final.

It wasn’t to be as the explosive City Kaitak batting line allowed them to chase down the win in just 17.1 overs. A 51 run opening stand between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kyle Coetzer set the platform for the chase before quick fire innings from Waqas Barkat and Nicholas Pooran let them get the rate under control. Pooran was particular impressive, scoring six massive sixes on his way to 48 from 19 balls.

That win meant that the JD Jaguars would need to wait on the result of the final group game between City Kaitak and Hong Kong Island United on Sunday to see which of them make the final.

While one place in the championship game is still up for grabs on the last day of the tournament, the Kowloon Cantons returned for their second match of the day to destroy Galaxy Gladiators Lantau by 64 runs to book themselves a place final.

A brutal batting display from Babar Hayat and Calum MacLeod saw the Cantons post the highest total of the tournament so far – a massive 220 for three.

It would take something very special for the Galaxy Gladiators to reach that total, and they would need some of their star men to fire. The Lantau side struggled to get going, and despite a breezy 31 from captain Anshuman Rath they stumbled to 64 for six with Kumar Sangakkara and Jesse Ryder both falling cheaply. With those big hitters gone they could not force a win and were out of the tournament.

In the end Galaxy Gladiators were all out for 156, with a decent half century from Mohammad Awais the only real bright spot.

Sunday’s morning game between City Kaitak and Hong Kong Island United will decide the second spot in the final. A win by City Kaitak and they will play the Cantons for the Hong Kong T20 Blitz title, a Kaitak loss and the finals berth is decided on net run rate.

If you can’t make the ground the games are being live streamed on the Cricket Hong Kong’s YouTube and Facebook pages.

Additional Reporting: HK Cricket
Photos: Panda Man

Rath, Botha and Misbah Brighten Day Three

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Day three of the Hong Kong T20 Blitz saw more big hits as the tournament continued to defy the grey skies and brighten the day for a lively crowd.

Misbah ul Haq blasted 82 from 42 balls on day two and he went past that score on the third day of the tournament as he was again the mainstay of the Hong Kong Island United innings against Galaxy Gladiators Lantau in game five of the tournament.

The United team were in serious trouble at 62 for four after nine covers and needed their captain to rescue them. Misbah made 84 not out from 50 balls as he took the HKI Untied team to 177 for seven off their 20 overs.

While Misbah was imperious, his innings wasn’t chanceless. When he was on eight he edged Ryan Ten Doeschate through to Sangakkara but the Sri Lankan great could not hang on to a very difficult catch. From there he consolidated and then accelerated. Misbah passed 50 from 39 balls before scoring 34 runs from the next 11 balls he faced as he took his side to a competitive total.

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The Pakistan Test Captain’s was not enough, as the Galaxy Gladiators Lantau raced to victory thanks to half centuries from Anshuman Rath and Kumar Sangakkara. The two elegant left-handers shared a stand worth 111 runs in 12.2 overs. 19-year-old Anshuman once again shone as the Hong Kong international made 53 from 47 balls to anchor the chase as Sangakkara blasted his way to 70 from 42 as the Galaxy Gladiators won by eight wickets with an over to spare.

In match six the Hung Hom JD Jaguars took on the Kowloon Cantons. The Cantons won the toss and elected to field first; with a slight drizzle in the air they wanted to be chasing. The Jaguars got off to a poor start and were reduced to 49 for four with both their big hitters Daren Sammy and James Franklin dismissed. They could have been bowled out inside their 20 overs but a man of the match performance with the bat from Johan Botha enabled them to reach 164 for nine from their 20 overs.

Botha made 65 from 37 balls as he shared a stand of 80 with Jonathan Foo who made 34. There have been some massive scores already in the second edition of the T20 Blitz – not least by the Kowloon Cantons who chased down 200 in less than 15 overs on the first day of the tournament. The real danger man for the Cantons was Dwayne Smith who scored 121 from 40 balls in his first innings of the tournament.

Smith could not find the same timing as that marvelous hundred and made just 10 from 14 balls before he holed out. With Smith gone the pressure then on Marlon Samuels who had also scored runs in that first game. Samuels made just 22 before he too was caught in the deep.

A decent innings of 45 from 31 balls from Scotland’s Calum MacLeod kept the Canton’s hopes alive but when he lost his wicket to Franklin the chase fell apart with the JD Jaguars winning by 18 runs.

Saturday’s Day 4 sees three matches taken place, with the first starting at 7.45am! All five teams will be in action with the Cantons playing twice in front of a sell out crowd. If you can’t make the ground the games are being live streamed on the Cricket Hong Kong’s YouTube and Facebook pages.

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Additional Reporting: HK Cricket
Photos: Panda Man