bc magazine

Man-of-the-Match Tanwir Afzal Smashes Hong Kong to Victory

Tanwir Afzal led from the front with a captain’s knock of 73 to lead his team to victory, and the top of the World Cricket League Championship (WCLC) table, with a 136-run win over host UAE in the second and final ODI of the series.

The day belonged to the Hong Kong skipper, who not only continued his winning streak with the toss, but went on to top score with a 33-ball 73 and snare three wickets in an unforgettable Man of the Match performance.Tanwir’s flashy 24-ball half-century was the equal third-fastest ever by an Associate player in ODI cricket. The knock steadied the sluggish Hong Kong innings and helped post a competitive total of 282 that had seemed unlikely earlier in the match.

After electing to bat, Hong Kong’s Anshuman Rath (53), Waqas Barkat (27) and Mark Chapman (27) all contributed runs, but the side regularly lost wickets and struggled for the most part to keep the run rate competitive. Three run outs in less than 13 overs added more pressure to the batting side, though it benefitted from three dropped catches in the field. With the score precariously placed at 159 for six from 36.6 overs, the skipper came to the crease, and quickly set about finding the buildings outside of the boundary rope.

Seemingly inspired by the captain’s fireworks, number nine batsman Aizaz Khan struck three consecutive sixes on his way to an unbeaten 37 from only 31 balls, and the pair put on a match winning 101-run partnership for the eight wicket at an astonishing run-rate of 11.22. The partnership was the highest stand for the eighth wicket in the competition, and the sixth-highest partnership overall.

Hong Kong piled on 109 runs in the last 10 overs, the second highest total by an Associate team in that part of the innings, to post a reassuring total of 282 for eight.

The UAE responded in similarly heavy hitting fashion, but stumbled with the loss of four early wickets to be 38 for four after 6.2 overs. Dangerman Shaiman Anwar held the innings together with a stylish 71, and the tailenders held their ground doggedly against the Hong Kong bowling attack for six more overs to add six runs, before Anshuman Rath delivered the final ball to dismiss the hosts for 146 runs in 40.1 overs.

The win seals a successful week for Hong Kong, which beat the UAE by 89 in the first WCLC ODI and by 276 in their four-day, first class ICC Intercontinental Cup clash.

Mark Chapman’s Century Powers Hong Kong to Victory

A record-breaking maiden century by Mark Chapman, making his ODI debut for Hong Kong, earned his team an 89-run victory in its World Cricket League Championship (WCLC) clash against host UAE in Dubai.

Making his ODI debut alongside Chris Carter, the 21-year-old vice-captain waltzed into the record books with an undefeated 116-ball 124, the second-highest ODI score ever made by a batsman on debut. Chapman is second only to West Indies’ Desmond Haynes (148), and he is the 10th player in ODI history to score a century on debut.

His undefeated knock of 124, which included two sixes and 11 boundaries, anchored the Hong Kong’s total of 298 for the loss of only four wickets after its 50 overs, before dismissing the UAE for 209 all out to record an 89-run victory.

Earlier, openers Anshuman Rath (36) and Kinchit Shah (34 retired) put on a 77-run partnership, but a collision between the two as they scampered between wickets sent Kinchit back to the dressing room with an injured shoulder. Number three Babar Hayat (45) continued his run-scoring streak and put on a 90-run partnership with Chapman, the highest partnership of the game. But it was Chapman, who arrived in Dubai on Saturday, who dominated the crease with a measured but aggressive knock that saw him still at the crease at the end of 50 overs.

Nizakat Khan added a career-best 28, and for the UAE, Ahmed Raza and Zaheer Maqsood picked up two wickets each.

If the UAE were intimidated by either the record-breaking centurion or the imposing run chase, it did not show it. Amjab Ali (18) and Shaiman Anwar (76) quickly set about striking boundaries, but the Hong Kong bowlers managed to take regular wickets around them. 18-year-old Anshuman Rath starred with three wickets 22 runs, while Haseeb Amjad picked up three for 49.

The sides will return for the second match in the two-ODI WCLC encounter on Wednesday 18 November.

Choi and Yip Strike Gold at Lawn Bowls Classic

Bowlers Vivian Yip and Amy Choi made history today becoming the first local players to win the women’s pairs title at the Hong Kong International Bowls Classic. Yip and Choi defeated Australian Karen Murphy and Kristina Krstic 13:8, 4:11, 2:1 in the final, which was switched from the outdoor natural grass green to the artificial green at Club de Recreio due to heavy rain.

The win rounded-out the tournament perfectly for Hong Kong as local bowlers Dorothy Yu and Jordi Lo had swept the singles title last Sunday.

In the men’s final, Nathan Pedersen and Corey Wedlock from Australia defeated Marc Wyatt and Robert Weale from Wales to lift the title.

World Cup Qualifier: Maldives 0 Hong Kong 1

A twelfth minute penalty from Paulo Carreiro was enough for Hong Kong to win their away game against the Maldives and keep their World Cup qualification campaign alive.

Hong Kong remain second in group C, two points behind Qatar, but three points ahead of China who they take on next week in Mongkok.

Hong Kong:
Hung Fai Yapp, Baise Festus, J Kilama, Kin Fung Cheung, Jack Sealy, He Bai, Ka Wai Lam, Siu Ki Chan, Alexander Akande, Alessandro Ferreira, Paulo Carreiro Substitutes: Jaimes McKee, Chun Lok Tan, Chung Pong Leung, Zhenpeng Wang, Chi Ho Lee, Kwan Yee Lo, King Ho Cheng, Kin Pong Kwok, Chung Pong Leung, Ju Yingzhi, Deshuai Xu

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.

Woman’s 10s Match Report: DB Pirates 22-5 University Unicorns – 31 October, 2015

A Halloween special for the third round of Ladies 10s Development games as Discovery Bay Pirates took on University Unicorns on Saturday the 31st. For the Pirates this saw them coming up against one of their favourite teams from last year University. It is always a privilege to play against such a great group of ladies who are just as passionate about developing and growing ladies rugby. The Pirates reserve bench was also helped out by Tin Sui Wai, showing what the development league is all about, meeting other new players and playing as much rugby as we can!

Some great rucking and tackles from University held Pirates back until Paula Andrea pushed through to score a try close to the post allowing her to convert her own 5 pointer. Many more tackles, some great line outs and scrums later Sienna Stubbs was able to secure Pirates second try. University were incredibly patient, working hard to secure the ball and ultimately were rewarded just on half time with a try.

After some motivational instruction at half time, the Pirates started the second half looking to push on and win their first game of the season. The match turned on a sensational 90 meter run from Lou Lou (Louise Shepherd) who ran the length of the pitch, fending off several University players to score her first ever rugby try! Final try of the day by Vanessa Kima sealed off the game and Pirates first win of the season.

Thanks to University for a great game of rugby and to the ladies of TSW who reserved for us. Looking forward to the next game and wishing University and TSW the best of luck as we progress through the season.

db-pirates-Tryscorers-2015.10.31 — Try scorers (l-r): Vanessa Kima, Paula Andrea, Louise ‘LouLou’ Shepherd, Sienna Stubbs

Discovery Bay Pirates Ladies team are still looking for any players from around Discovery Bay and Lantau interested in joining the team. Any players between 17 up looking to join the sisterhood please contact [email protected] no experience required, just passion to learn and play!

DB Pirates 22-5 University Unicorns
@ So Kon Po, Kick-off: 14:15
DB Pirates: Meg McGrath, Jackie Philbrick Douglas, Catherine Osburn, Sienna Stubbs, Rebecca Tomasis, Gloria Lau, Gina Yueh (debut), Louise Shepherd, Paula Andrea (Captain), Vanessa, Special thanks to the Subs from TSW: Lee Ka Yu, Tsang hoi Lee, Lam Kit Yam, Cheung Yu Tung, Chan Lam
Try: Paula Andrea, Sienna Stubbs, Louise Shepherd, Vanessa Kima, Conversion: Paula Andrea
Coach: Steve Kean, Assistant Coach: Shonagh Ryan, Manager: Renee McCreadie