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East Asia Twenty20 Cup Competition

The Cricket Associations of China, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea have entered into an agreement to contest a biennial East Asia Twenty20 Cup Competition.

Japan will host the first Men’s tournament in Sano, the home of Japanese Cricket, from 3-6 November 2016. The inaugural Men’s competition will feature national teams from China, Japan and Korea, as well as Hong Kong’s all-Chinese side the HKCA Dragons.

The main idea behind the East Asia Cup is to provide more international exposure for the national teams in the region, especially for China, Japan and Korea who are not featured in the ICC World Cricket League.

CEO of the Japan Cricket Association Naoki Miyaji said: “We are really excited about formalising this agreement between the four countries. We are all close by so travel will be simple and all the four teams will be at a similar standard in both the men’s and women’s competitions.”

The 2017 edition of the tournament will feature the full women’s teams and is due to be hosted by Hong Kong. In both editions the teams will all play each other in a round robin before a 3rd place playoff and final.

In every tournament there will be recognition for the best performing batsman and bowler as well as a “Most Valuable Player” award.

Each nation will host the tournament once in a four-year cycle. The tournament aims at increase interest in the sport as well as raising the standards among the participating teams.

The tournament schedule for the next four years is as follows:

	Host	Tournament
2016	Japan	Men’s
2017	Hong Kong	Women’s
2018	China	Men’s
2019	Korea	Women’s

Hong Kong Crash to Third Asia Cup Defeat

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A disappointing Asia Cup Qualifying Tournament ended with a third defeat for Hong Kong against Afghanistan by 66 runs in Dhaka. The bowlers have leaked runs and the batsmen, Babar Hayat apart, have not found any sort of form on what have been pretty good batting wickets.

Captain Tanwir Afzal won the toss and chose to bowl first, but some costly errors in the field saw Afghanistan post 7-178 – including 32 from the penultimate over.

In response, Hong Kong got off to a great start to be 0-55 after 6 overs but the innings then fell apart. Hong Kong lost 9-33 to be all out for 112 – resulting in a 66-run loss. Anshuman Rath top scored with 41 off 38 balls.

Babar Hayat looked dangerous again but fell for just 18 off 16 balls. The pattern of good starts that went unfinished a sore point for captain Tanwir Afzal when summing up the tour. “The middle order batsmen made the same mistakes in all three games and we didn’t learn from it and that’s disappointing,” Afzal said. “We are a better team than this and we have a couple of players who were missing coming back for the World T20 so hopefully we can prove that.”

In the field, Hong Kong had restricted Afghanistan to 6-138 after 17 overs, but 40 runs off the last three saw the score blow out. Aizaz Khan was the main destroyer and finished with 3-38, while 18-year-old Tanveer Ahmed impressed on debut taking 1-27 from four overs at the death.

“As you could see, Tanveer is a future star of Hong Kong cricket,” Afzal said. “He was very impressive with the ball in death bowling and he just does the basics really well. Everybody is really disappointed with these matches but we will come back strong and do Hong Kong proud at the World Cup.”

Hong Kong will arrive in Mumbai tomorrow tonight to begin a two-week training camp ahead of their World T20 opener against Zimbabwe on March 8.

Afghanistan 7-178 (Aizaz Khan 3-38) def Hong Kong 112 (Anshuman Rath 41 Kinchit Shah 29) by 66 runs

Source: HK Cricket Association

HK Cricket Match Report: Women’s Twenty20 Cup – 20 February 2016

Women’s Twenty20 Cup – 21 February 2016

KCC Maidens v DLSWCC Wasps
With no Sunday Championship match on at Kowloon Cricket Club, the women’s teams from KCC and DLSWCC enjoyed a rare outing on the hallowed turf. The match was the first in the second half of the Women’s T20 Cup competition.

The KCC Maiden’s won the toss and elected to bowl first. The Maiden’s bowlers restricted the DLSWCC Wasps to 7/76 from their 20 overs with Jaswinder Kaur top scoring with 18 while Shanzeen Shahzad hit 17. The Haider sisters, Mahreen and Rida, grabbed two wickets each for the Maidens.

KCC’s opening batters, Keenu Gill and Sidra Nasreen, had little trouble knocking off the runs in just seven overs. Gill finished unbeaten on 40 while Nasreen scored 23 not out.
At KCC: DLSWCC Wasps 7/76 from 20 overs lost to KCC Maidens 0/77 from seven overs by ten wickets.

HK Cricket Match Reports: Saturday 20 February, 2016

Saturday Championship – 20th February 2016

The final round-robin matches in Division 1 were played on Saturday that helped sort out the pecking order for the play-off games.

Saturday Championship Division 1

HKCC Nomads v KCC Saracens
At Hong Kong Cricket Club, the first match of the Division 1 play-off series was played between HKCC Nomads and KCC Saracens.

Saracens’ decision to bowl first paid earlier dividends as Vishal Sharma made three early strikes to leave Nomads in a spot of bother at 3/46. A 110-run partnership between Nomads’ skipper Kym Graham (57) and Andrew Swan (73) got Nomads back in the game but both batsmen fell with the score on 156. Their middle order batsmen made a number of useful contributions and Nomads finished on 7/228 from their 35 overs. For Saracens, Vishal Sharma was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/16 off seven overs.

The Saracens reply got away to a useful start and they looked well placed at 2-93 with skipper Sunny Bhimsaria hitting 30 but two quick wickets set them back to 4/107. Saracens’ middle order wasn’t quite as prolific as Nomads and the regular loss of wickets tempered their run-chase. Simondeep Singh hit 60 and Suhaib Ahmad 44 but their efforts were in vain as Saracens finished 26 runs short.
At HKCC: HKCC Nomads 7/228 from 35 overs beat KCC Saracens 9/202 from 35 overs by 26 runs.

HKCC Gap Rambles v KCC Crusaders
At Kowloon Cricket Club, HKCC Gap Rambles secured their place in the top 5 following a six wicket win over KCC Crusaders.

Crusaders batted first after winning the toss but they could only manage a total of 7/148 from their 35 overs. Top scorer for Crusaders was Ravi Sujanani with 52 while Dylan Dearing hit 36.

Crusaders made an early strike in the second innings but a half-century from skipper David Varley helped Gap Ramblers over the line with plenty of overs to spare. Stuart Tohill finished unbeaten on 32 for Gap Ramblers.
At KCC: KCC Crusaders 7/148 from 35 overs lost to HKCC Gap Ramblers 4/152 from 30 overs by six wickets.

Pakistan Association v CCC Jing Sun
At Mission Road, Pakistan Association ensured they finished the round-robin matches on top of the points table with a bonus point victory over CCC Jing Sun.

CCC Jing Sun won the toss and elected to bat first and they made a solid start despite the loss of an early wicket. Giacomo Lamplough (39) and Chris Owen (59) had CCC handily placed at 1/113 but a cluster of wickets saw them reduced to 5/122. The middle and lower order batsmen made some useful contributions and CCC Jing Sun finished their innings at 8/182 after 35 overs. Mohammed Huzafah did much of the damage for Pakistan Association as he grabbed 4/27 from his seven over spell.

Pakistan Association recovered splendidly from the loss of two early wickets thanks to a third wicket partnership of 122 between Daniyal Bukhari and Zamir Ali who both hit 64. Pakistan Association cruised to victory in the 27.3 overs to earn a valuable bonus point.
At Mission Road: CCC Jing Sun 8/182 from 35 overs lost to Pakistan Association 5/187 from 27.3 overs by five wickets.

Saturday Championship Division 2

The Division 2 play-off places are still unclear and there are still a handful of round-robin games to be played before the top five/bottom five places can be determined.

DLSWCC Spartans v Laguna Gully
However, DLSWCC Spartans improved their chances of reaching the top five with a narrow victory over Laguna Gully on the astro at PKVR Park in a match reduced to 33 overs per team.

Spartans elected to bat first after winning the toss but they were rocked early with both openers falling without scoring off the bowling of Shubham Mehta. Mehta grabbed a third early wicket but some solid middle order batting by Suresh Pandey (44) and Amanat Khan (34) got Spartans to 8/188 from their 33 overs. Mehta finished with the best bowling figures for Laguna Gully with 3/10 off three overs.

In reply, Laguna Gully was travelling well at 2/120 thanks to a half-century from opening batsman Mangesh Mulgaonkar. However, Mulgaonkar’s wicket triggered a dramatic batting collapse and Laguna Gully slipped to 181 all out. Shekhar Sharma also scored 33 for Laguna Gully.
At PKVR Park: DLSWCC Spartans 8/188 from 33 overs beat Laguna Gully 181 from 33 overs by seven runs.

CCC Hung See v Pioneers
With the Police Training College available again, but with CCC Hung See having already played all their round-robin fixtures, it was possible to play one Division 2 play-off fixture.

In the re-match between the two Chinese teams, CCC Hung See and Pioneers, the CCC team once again proved too good for their rivals who are still looking for their first win this season.

CCC Hung See won the toss and fielded first. Their bowlers struck early and Pioneers’ wickets fell regularly. Only two Pioneers batsmen registered double-figure scores, with Damien Yee’s 29 their best. Henry Siu grabbed 3/15 as Pioneers were dismissed for just 90.

In reply, CCC Hung See lost an early wicket but useful contributions from the remaining batsmen got them over the line in good time. Anthony Marrin top scored with 30.
At PTC: Pioneers 90 from 26.3 overs lost to CCC Hung See 3/94 from 16.2 overs by seven wickets.

HK Cricket Match Reports: Sunday 21 February, 2016

Sunday Championship – 21 February 2016

HKCC Wanderers v HKCC Scorpions
In the final HKCC derby of the season, HKCC Wanderers pipped HKCC Scorpions by two runs in a thrilling finish.

Wanderers batted first after winning the toss but they struggled to get much momentum and Stuart Tohill’s 66 was their only score of significance in a total of 165 all out in 43.4 overs. Anton Buntin did most the damage with the ball, claiming the weekend’s best individual bowling figures of 5/44 from his ten over spell.

The Scorpions’ reply got off to a good start but from 0/36, they slipped to 7/86 with Tim Cutler, Ravi Mulchandani and Stuart Tohill making multiple strikes with the ball. Wickets continued to tumble and the Scorpions cause looked all but over at 9/126 with Mulchandani and Tohill claiming three wickets apiece. However, a battling last wicket stand between Toby Raper and Anton Buntin got Scorpions to within one scoring shot of victory but Harry Bailey trapped Buntin LBW from the first ball of the 50th over and Wanderers had snared a hard fought victory.
At HKCC: HKCC Wanderers 165 from 43.4 overs beat HKCC Scorpions 163 from 49.1 overs by two runs.

DLSWCC JKN v USRC/MCC
At Mission Road, DLSWCC JKN scored an easy win over USRC/MCC with the whole game finished well before the scheduled lunch break.

USRC/MCC won the toss and elected to bat first but they were soon reduced to 5/32 with Jangzeb Khan grabbing a brace. Mohammad Ali (3/33) and Ehsan Khan (3/3) wreaked havoc amongst the remaining USRC/MCC batting line-up and they capitulated to 77 all out in 22.3 overs.

Ehsan Khan then struck an unbeaten 32 as DLSWCC JKN knocked off the runs in 14.2 overs to earn themselves an early lunch and a bonus point.
At Mission Road: USRC/MCC 77 from 22.3 overs lost to DLSWCC JKN 3/78 from 14.2 overs by seven wickets.

Hong Kong Lose to UAE by Six Wickets to Crash Out of Asia Cup

Hong Kong’s hopes of qualifying for the main round of the Asia Cup T20 were extinguished as UAE beat them by six wickets to move to the top of the points table with one game to play.

Babar Hayat’s run of form continued but Hong Kong fell to their second loss of the Asia Cup. Batting first, Hong Kong posted 7-146, with Hayat’s 54 off 45 balls the top score.

In response, UAE lost two early wickets but from there recovered to reach the target with 9 balls to spare.

Hong Kong were in the box seat at one stage with the score at 3-112 with six overs to go and a total of 160-plus looked likely. But the fall of Hayat saw the innings lose momentum, which is an area coach Simon Cook admits needs work.

“There is a common theme unfortunately that has cost us two games and that’s our batting in the last six overs,” Cook said “In both games we set really good platforms but unfortunately our lower/middle order hasn’t fired and it’s cost us. It has surprised me because it is normally a strength of ours”

With Hong Kong’s hopes of qualifying for the main stage of the tournament over, tomorrow’s match against Afghanistan will serve a crucial lead-in to the World T20.

“Everyone’s playing for their place in that World T20 team, there are a lot people pushing for places, here in this squad and the two new faces coming in next week.”

Nadeem Ahmed was again the pick of the bowlers for Hong Kong, he finished with figures of 1-17 off four overs. Mark Chapman (29 off 17) and Nizakat Khan (28 off 18) both looked in good form, but couldn’t convert.

The match against Afghanistan will be broadcast live on Star Sports, before the squad fly to India to begin training for the World T20.

Hong Kong Lose Despite Magnificent Babar Hayat Century

Hong Kong have been beaten in a thriller in their opening Asia Cup qualifier against Oman in Dhaka. Chasing 181 runs to win, Babar Hayat smashed the fourth fastest Twenty20 International century of all time off just 50 balls but Hong Kong still fell five runs short.

Hayat ended up on 122 off 60 balls, his innings included 9 fours and 7 sixes. “I was happy with the way I played but we should have won the game so I should be a lot happier, to end up on the losing side is never a good thing,” Hayat said “When you are chasing a big total you have to be aggressive so I just tried to do this and everything kept coming out of the middle. It’s the best innings I’ve played and my first hundred in T20 international cricket so I am happy with this.”

Hong Kong at one stage required 45 runs off the last three overs but rocketed back into contention when Hayat hit four sixes in an over that went for 27. “I’ve never done that before,” Hayat said “I did target that bowler and at that stage we had no choice but to go for it, I thought from there we deserved to win.”

However some accurate death bowling from Oman prevented Hong Kong from achieving the remaining 18 runs off 12 balls. Coach Simon Cook paid high praise for Hayat’s innings and lamented the fact it did not result in a win.

“Outstanding innings, he’s become a lot more consistent over the last few months and again proven why he’s the best batsman in Hong Kong,” Cook said “He controlled the innings perfectly and it showed that we let them get 20 runs too many because even with a fantastic innings by Babar, he still ended up on the losing side.”

While Hayat’s century was the highlight of the match, a controversial incident caused a stir when Hong Kong’s Mark Chapman fell victim to a mankad and Cook wasn’t impressed. “Yes it’s in the laws but I think it goes against the spirit of the game when you’re not at least giving a warning,” Cook said “Ultimately it’s a cowardly way out really, if you’re battling against one another, man against man, out in the middle and you choose to go down that route to get a wicket and win the game, it’s not really in the spirit of cricket.”

Oman won the toss and chose to bat, the innings got off to a solid start as Jatinder Singh (42 off 35 balls) added 34 with opening partner Zeeshan and 41 with No. 3 Vaibhav Wategaonkar to move them to 75 for 1 at the 10-over mark. Left-arm spinner Nadeem Ahmed dismissed both Jatinder and Wategaonkar in the 11th over, but every member of Oman’s middle order chipped in to ensure there was no loss of momentum. Adnan Ilyas (23) and Aamir Kaleem (19) were dismissed in quick succession after putting on 38 for the fourth wicket, before Mehran Khan (28* off 16) and Amir Ali (32* off 13) gave the innings an explosive finish, adding an unbroken 50 runs for the sixth wicket, off just 24 balls.

Hong Kong’s next match is against UAE on Sunday – a must win game to keep their qualification hopes alive.

HK Cricket Team @ Pakistan Club – 15 February, 2016

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The Hong Kong men’s cricket team is heading to Bangladesh to play in the Asia Cup – see here for the tournament dates and details. The Pakistan Association Cricket Club hosted the team for dinner at the Pakistan Club on the 15 February, 2016.
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