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Captain Tanwir Afzal Stars With a Century and Two Wickets

Tanwir Afzal stars to put Hong Kong in the driver’s seat as he joined Babar Hayat with a century, before claiming two wickets as Hong Kong lead host UAE by 296 runs with two days’ play remaining in ICC Intercontinental Cup match.

Despite having to wait impatiently overnight for his maiden first class century, Hong Kong’s skipper Tanwir Afzal showed no signs of nerves as Wednesday’s dust and heat gave way to rain and an unfamiliar coolness, Tanwir displayed enormous calm in his first four-day match as captain, returning to the crease a dangerous 10 runs short of the historic milestone. The skipper selectively struck the ball before charging a Raja Adeel delivery and smashing it over the boundary rope to bring up his century, and the second for Hong Kong in two days.

When the skipper was dismissed two overs later for 104, Hong Kong had 330 runs on the scoreboard for the loss of seven wickets. The skipper had shared a 47-run partnership with debutant Aizaz Khan, who led a tail-end mission to add as many runs to the board as possible, with a measured 16. Ehsan Nawaz contributed 14 and number 11 Nadeem Ahmed struck 29 before lofting the ball to be caught at long-on and ending the Hong Kong innings at 378 all out just after lunch.

After lunch and a brief rain delay, Hong Kong’s bowling attack throttled the host’s batsmen, with Tanwir leading the way, claiming two quick scalps of Asif Iqbal (8) and Laxman Sreekumar (0) within 12 overs. The bowlers continued to pile on the pressure, with debutant Aizaz Khan and Ehsan Nawaz each picking up a wicket to help restrict the UAE to 82 runs in 54 overs, and a miserly run rate of only 1.51.

Skipper and centurion Tanwir was delighted with his knock, but was quick to point out that team performance is more important than that of an individual. “It’s quite good for me, but forget my performance, it’s about team performance. And so far, the team is doing well so I am so happy, and I am looking forward to the next two days.”

Having battled heat, dust, rain and wind in the first two days, the captain said the youth of his side was one of the keys to the team’s performance. “I think we are quite lucky that we have young players, they are quite energetic and they have so much hunger. So it is really helpful, because they love to play cricket. That energy really helps us.”

He continued: “On Middle East pitches, tosses really matter, so we are very lucky that we won the toss. The UAE team are quite experienced guys in this format, and this is just our second game, so the guys have shown up really well so far.”

The captain had a surprising summary of the changeable climate conditions. “I’ve not really played in such changing conditions before. It was quite good for us weather-wise for us when we started bowling, with the cloudy weather helping seam bowlers. We have four seam bowlers, so this kind of weather actually helped up.”

Reflecting on the first two days of the match, coach Simon Cook said: “Having any sort of lead is good, and a lead of nearly 300 is excellent. We probably would have liked a few more wickets. I thought the way our bowlers stuck to their task today out of the field, taking four wickets, only going just over 1.5 runs an over, was an outstanding over on that wicket, and what we’ve got to do is make sure we capitalise on that pressure tomorrow morning and not let them off the hook.”

The coach was delighted by the way his young charges were adapting to the longer format of the game: “There’s still a bit of work to be done but showing the guys how they can bat for 120 overs is outstanding. Two centurions – brilliant. A great platform up front with Kinchit and Babar, and then also to be able to bowl with control but also with purpose throughout the 50 overs today has been outstanding. The weather has been another first for me. Dust storms yesterday and now rain in Dubai! It’s been more like an English summer’s day here, with the constant on and off, and having to stop and start. The guys have stuck at it really well and switch on when they need to.”

Twenty-two-year-old debutant and first time wicket-taker Aizaz Khan was delighted with his maiden wicket wearing national colours: “It feels really good. It’s my first game and my first wicket for Hong Kong in first class cricket. The weather was really hot yesterday, and then today with the rain, it was really good to bowl in. With the overcast conditions, the ball was doing a bit, so it was good. We are in a really good position after day two, we’re 296 runs in front. Hopefully we start again tomorrow and get a few wickets early on.”

Play continues on Friday at 0930 local time at ICC Academy 1, Dubai, UAE.

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.

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

HK Cricket Match Reports: Sunday 8 November, 2015

Sunday Championship
The HKCA Dragons made their much-awaited debut in the Sunday Championship against HKCC Optimists at Hong Kong Cricket Club. The hosts opted to bat after winning the toss and they powered their way to a total of 8/335 from 50 overs, largely through the efforts of George Clarke (104), Michael Ashton (105) and Miles Richardson (41*). However, the Dragons’ bowlers will have been pleased with their first up effort as Ady Lee claimed 3/64 from ten overs while Sydney Sixers signee Ming Li picked up 2/63.

The Dragons reply got off to a promising start as they reached 1/66 when Damien Yee departed. Jonathan Foo and Ady Lee then added 76 runs for the third wicket before Foo was out for 77 with the score on 142. Ady went on to hit 47 but after his dismissal, the innings subsided quickly from 4/180 to 202 all out. Courtney Kruger destroyed the lower order as he picked up 5/31 from five overs.
At HKCC: HKCC Optimists 8/335 from 50 overs beat HKCA Dragons 202 from 32 overs by 133 runs.

At Kowloon Cricket Club, KCC Infidels thrashed Shaffi’s Vagabonds by 227 runs. Infidels won the toss and elected to bat first. Opener Harsh Jogani scored a superb 95 before retiring hurt in the 32nd over and was unable to continue his innings. Jogani shared a 157-run partnership with Ankur Vasishta who went on to score 75, while Muhammad Khan (54) and Najeeb Amar (43) continued the momentum as Infidels finished on 344.

The Vagabonds batsmen struggled throughout and they were eventually dismissed in 34 overs for 117. Only three Vagabonds batsmen managed to reach double figures with Indunil Susitha’s 29 their best. Najeeb Amar was the pick of the bowlers for Infidels, claiming 3/12 from four overs.
At KCC: KCC Infidels 344 from 47.5 overs beat Shaffi’s Vagabonds 117 from 34 overs by 227 runs.

At Mission Road, USRC/MCC defeated DLSWCC Knights by three wickets. The Knights batted first after winning the toss and they scored 163 all out in 47.1 overs with Haroon Arshad scoring 41 and Sarfaraz Khan 32. Three USRC/MCC bowlers claimed three wickets – Balal Mohammad was their best with 3/10 while Mohammad Awais picked up 3/35 and Mudassar Hussain claimed 3/32.

The USRC/MCC batting effort got off to a reasonable start but from 1/48, they slipped to 5/85 and then 6/108 with still plenty of work to do. Furqan Tahir steady the innings with an unbeaten 35 and USRC/MCC reached their target in the 48th over. Aftab Hussain did the damage with the ball as he picked up 3/29 off ten overs.
At MR: DLSWCC Knights 163 from 47.1 overs lost to USRC/MCC 7/164 from 47.4 overs by 3 wickets.

HK Cricket Match Reports: Saturday 7 November, 2015

Saturday Championship Division 1
Saracens got the better of Tartars in a KCC derby match played at Kowloon Cricket Club. Unfortunately, rain curtailed proceedings with the match delicately poised and the result had to be decided using the run-rate calculators.

Saracens batted first after winning the toss and they reached 5/181 from their 35 overs with Deepinder Singh (41) and Ninad Shah (80) providing the bulk of Saracens’ runs. In reply, Tanveer Ahmed knocked the top off the Tartars batting order and from 3/8 they never recovered despite a valiant 51 not out from Miten Khatri. Tartars still needed 42 off the last four overs when the rain intervened and a run-rate calculation confirmed that Saracens were the winners. Tanveer finished with 3/14 from 5 overs.
At KCC: KCC Saracens 5/181 from 35 overs beat KCC Tartars 8/140 from 31 overs by superior run-rate.

Across the puddle at Wong Nai Chung Gap, CCC Jing Sun beat HKCC Gap Ramblers by 19 runs. The CCC boys batted first after winning the toss but they made a poor start and were reduced to 3/22. However a 91-run fourth wicket partnership between Mark Wright (88) and Stuart Henwood (23) bolstered their fortunes and further useful contributions by Chris Owen (34) and Christian Cook (31*) lifted them to an eventual total of 7/226.

The Gap Ramblers top order got their run chase away to a positive start with the openers putting on 53 for the first wicket while the next pair added another 55 runs. However, after that, wickets fell at inopportune times and their momentum stalled. Skipper David Varley was the top scorer with 49 while Raag Kapur scored 41 as Gap Ramblers were restricted to 7/207 in the end. Elliot Andrews was the pick of the CCC bowlers with figures of 4/51 off seven overs.
At HKCC: CCC Jing Sun 7/226 from 35 overs beat HKCC Gap Ramblers 7/207 from 35 overs by 19 runs.

In another close game, Pakistan Association overcame a spirited DLSWCC Sarjan team by 13 runs at Mission Road.

Pakistan Association batted first after winning the toss but they could only manage a total of 145, despite an opening partnership of 60. Daniyal Bukhari’s 30 was their best effort with the bat but the major contribution to their total came from extras with 43, courtesy of 31 wides. Muhammad Ali was the best bowler with 3/28 from his seven over spell.

In reply, DLSWCC lost two of their top batsmen with only 12 runs on the board and then slumped to 5/57. Sarfaraz Khan hit 31 in a 40-run sixth wicket partnership but the remaining batsmen couldn’t finish off the chase as then finished on 9/132.
At MR: Pakistan Association 145 from 33.1 overs beat DLSWCC Sarjan 9/132 from 35 overs by 13 runs.

Saturday Championship Division 2
Taipan CC made it five wins from five as they beat Laguna Gully by two wickets at PKVR Park.

Laguna Gully batted first after winning the toss and they scored 141 thanks largely to Abhishek Desai who scored 48. Jagmeet Brar claimed 3/19 and Mohammad Ali picked up 3/23 for Taipans.

Opener Zeeshan Haider scored 46 in Taipan’s successful run-chase, which was achieved in 27.1 overs – quick enough to earn them a bonus point. Laguna Gully’s skipper Murali Ganesan was the pick of their bowlers with 3/25 from 6.1 overs.
At PKVR Park: Laguna Gully 141 from 31.4 overs lost to Taipan CC 8/144 from 27.1 overs by two wickets.

USRC/MCC enjoyed a runs-feast at the Police Training College where they thumped CCC Hung See by 276 runs.

CCC Hung See won the toss and elected to field first. They then spent the next 35-overs chasing the ball around the park as the USRC/MCC batsmen dominated. Their openers put on 84 for the first wicket with Mohammad Awais dismissed for 36. The second pair added another 100 runs with Iftikhar Ahmed hitting 45. Umar Mohammad was third to fall with the score on 229, having scored 109. Sikander Zafar then smashed the bowlers in the remaining overs, scoring an unbeaten 103 out of the last 133 runs scored. At the end of 35 overs, USRC/MCC had reached a massive 5/352.

The CCC Hung See run-chase got off to a poor start with Michael Zheng dismissed without a run on the board. However, they put up a solid defensive effort against the USRC/MCC attack and managed to get through their innings with only six wickets down. Unfortunately, they could only muster 76 runs as the USRC/MCC bowlers reeled off eleven maiden overs. There were no scores of significance in the CCC Hung See innings but Henry Lam did bat out the full 35 overs for a Boycottesque 12 runs.
At PTC: USRC/MCC 5/352 from 35 overs beat CCC Hung See 6/76 from 35 overs by 276 runs.

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.