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Mariko Hill to Play in Women’s Big Bash League

mariko hill

Hong Kong’s Mariko Hill is one of eight players from the ‘developing cricket nations’ given a chance to take part in the inaugural rebel Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) in Australia.

The players, selected following the recent ICC Women’s World T20 Qualifier in Thailand, from China, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Ireland, Scotland, Thailand and the Netherlands have been selected to join the eight rebel WBBL clubs as part of the WBBL Associate Rookie Program – a joint initiative between Cricket Australia (CA) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) to develop emerging players in non-traditional cricket countries.

Each of the rookie players will train with their rebel WBBL club during a two-week placement and attend home matches during that period. In the event of an injury to a contracted player, rebel WBBL clubs will be permitted to use their Rookie as a local replacement player, which would not contribute to the club’s overseas player limit.

ICC Associate and Affiliate member nations Ireland, Scotland, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, China and the Netherlands each nominated up to three players to be considered for selection ahead of the ICC Women’s World T20 Qualifier.

Nominated players were considered by a selection panel consisting of Cricket Australia’s Women’s Youth Coach Cathryn Fitzpatrick, former England player Holly Colvin, former Bangladesh Test Cricketer Aminul Islam, and ICC Head of Global Development Tim Anderson, with the final selections made after observing players throughout the tournament.

“The women’s game has made great strides in recent years, with participation numbers, investment levels and playing opportunities all at record highs,” said ICC Head of Global Development Tim Anderson. “‎The introduction of the WBBL continues this momentum, and, with the support of Cricket Australia, it is great to have some of the best Associate and Affiliate players involved in this event.”

These are the players chosen for the rebel WBBL Associate Rookie Program:
Miranda Veringmeier (Netherlands) – Adelaide Strikers
Norma Ovasuru (Papua New Guinea) – Brisbane Heat
Kim Garth (Ireland) – Hobart Hurricanes
Mariko Hill (Hong Kong) – Melbourne Renegades
Wu Juan (China) – Melbourne Stars
Rachel Scholes (Scotland) – Sydney Sixers
Suleeporn Laomi (Thailand) – Sydney Thunder
Laura Delany (Ireland) – Perth Scorchers

For more on Mariko Hill take a look at this ICC profile
http://www.icc-cricket.com/videos/media/id/5882/mariko-hill-hong-kong-feature

HK Cricket Match Reports: Saturday 5 December, 2015

Saturday Championship

With both Mission Road and KCC out of action this week, there were only two matches played in the Saturday Championship and both were rain-affected.

Saturday Championship Division 1

HKCC Gap Ramblers v HKCC Witherers
At Hong Kong Cricket Club, poor weather spoiled the derby match between HKCC Gap Ramblers and HKCC Witherers. With an eye on the weather, Witherers elected to bowl after winning the toss but it was Gap Ramblers who made the most of the early going as openers Raag Kapur and Isaac Poole put on 70 runs for the first wicket. However, Poole’s wicket (39) triggered a mini collapse that saw Gap Ramblers slip to 3/78, with Sean Robson grabbing two wickets. Kapur helped advance his team’s score to 4/140 after 19 overs when rain forced the players from the field and the match was abandoned with no further play possible. Kapur finished unbeaten on 68.
At HKCC: HKCC Gap Ramblers 4/140 from 19 overs drew with HKCC Witherers. Match abandoned.

Saturday Championship Division 2

Laguna Gully v Pioneers
At PKVR Park, Laguna Gully scored a bonus victory over Pioneers in a rain-affected match that reached a conclusion.

Batting first after winning the toss, Laguna Gully had scored 3/168 from 29 overs when rain stopped play. Ajay Naik was unbeaten on 38 and Shekkar Sharma not out on 68 when the players left the field. After an extended break, play resumed with Pioneers set a revised target of 105 for victory in 18 overs. However, the Laguna Gully bowlers held the upper hand in the second innings with Pranav Shah (3/11) and Abhishek Desai (3/12) doing most of the damage. None of the Pioneers batsmen mastered the slippery conditions and they were all out for 60 in 17 overs with no batsman reaching double figures.
At PKVR Park: Laguna Gully 3/168 from 29 overs beat Pioneers (target 105 from 18 overs) 60 from 17 overs by 44 runs.

HK Cricket Match Reports: Sunday 6 December, 2015

Sunday Championship

PACC v HKCC Optimists
PACC got the better of HKCC Optimists at Hong Kong Cricket Club. Optimists’ skipper David Jaquier won the toss and put the visitors into bat. Speedster Miles Richardson grabbed the early wicket of Daniyal Bukhari but Richardson had a mixed bag with the ball, conceding many wides. The PACC score progressed nicely to 61 but a flurry of wickets saw them slip from 1/61 to 5/76. Skhawat Ali (37) and Ahsan Abbasi put on 76 runs for the sixth wicket while Abbasi (71) and Zamir Ali (56*) added another 69 runs for the seventh. PACC reached 8/244 from their 50 overs with Richardson claiming 3/49 from his ten over spell.

The PACC bowlers made regular inroads into the Optimists’ batting line-up as they reduced their hosts to 5/75. Left-arm speedster Mohsin Khan did the early damage with 3/39 from his ten over spell. A 53-run sixth wicket stand between Courtney Kruger and Miles Richardson lifted the score to 110 before Kruger was dismissed for 54. Richardson and the lower-order batsmen added a further 63 runs but their efforts fell well short and Richardson was the last man out for 72.
At HKCC: PACC 8/244 from 50 overs beat HKCC Optimists 173 from 41.4 overs by 71 runs.

Vagabonds v SLCC
At PKVR Park, there was a tight match between Shaffi’s Vagabonds and Headwin Tritons SLCC with SLCC prevailing in the end.

SLCC won the toss and put Vagabonds into bat. Vagabonds were in early trouble as they lost both openers with only two runs on the board. None of the Vagabonds batsmen could master the bowling and they lost wickets at regular intervals. They were quickly reduced to 6/58 with wicket-keeper Khalid Qureshi grabbing five catches. Numan Aziz picked up three wickets as Vagabonds slumped to 8/72 but some useful hitting by their tail-enders helped them reach 130 all out. Junaid was the best of the Vagabonds’ batsmen with 26* while Aziz finished with figures of 3/35 from ten overs for SLCC.

The SLCC reply followed a similar pattern to the Vagabonds innings and they looked to be in some trouble at 5/77. A stabilizing 27 from Asad Rasheed got them to a 110 but four more wickets fell as they scrapped home with the last pair at the crease.
At PKVR Park: Shaffi’s Vagabonds 130 from 35.1 overs lost to SLCC 134 from 36.2 overs by one wicket.

HK Cricket Match Reports: Women’s League 5 December, 2015

Women’s League

KCC Maidens v PACC
There was a very short game of cricket in the Women’s League where KCC Maidens thrashed PACC by ten wickets. PACC could only put seven players on the park and they found themselves batting after losing the toss. Unfortunately, they could only post a score of 11 and they were all out in five overs. KCC knocked off the runs in less than two overs without losing a wicket.
At PKVR Reservoir: PACC 11 from 5 overs lost to KCC Maidens 0/12 from 1.5 overs by ten wickets.

HK Cricket Match Reports: Women’s League 28-29 November, 2015

Saturday, 28th November 2015

HKCC Cavaliers v KCC Maidens
In an entertaining match at PKVR Reservoir on Saturday, HKCC Cavaliers scored a six-wicket victory over KCC Maidens.

The KCC women took first use of the wicket and they put together a good score of 6/193 with five of their top order reaching twenty and Amanda Kwok’s 35 their best.

The big score didn’t deter the HKCC Cavaliers’ batters and Jasmine Titmuss (76*) and Alvina Tam (45*) got them home in 33 overs with an unbroken stand of 133 for the fifth wicket.
At PKVR Reservoir: KCC Maidens 6/193 from 35 overs lost to HKCC Cavaliers 4/194 from 33 overs by six wickets.
Sunday, 29th November 2015

DLSWCC Wasps v USRC
Shahzeen Shahzad smashed an unbeaten 211 in just 33 overs as DLSWCC Wasps thumped USRC by 264 runs in a Women’s League match at PKVR Reservoir. The DLSWCC women batted first after winning the toss and they scored a massive 2/339 with Shanzeen helping herself to what is thought to be the first double century and the highest individual score by a women cricketer in Hong Kong. Manpreet Kaur also scored 40.

The USRC women, having been docked two overs for failing to bowl out their overs in time, managed to bat out their 31 overs to finish on 9-75. Mehreen Yousaf picked up 3/7 from six overs.
At PKVR Reservoir: DLSWCC Wasps 2/339 from 33 overs beat USRC 9/75 from 31 overs by 264 runs.

HK Cricket Match Reports: Sunday 29 November, 2015

Sunday Championship – 29 November 2015

KCC Templars v KCC Infidels
As usual, the annual KCC derby between Templars and Infidels was evenly contested but it was Infidels that prevailed quite comfortably in the end.

Set a victory target of 220, Infidels chased down the total in the 47th over with Sunny Bhimsaria (44), skipper Muhammad Khan (37) and Najeeb Amar (38) making the major contributions.

Earlier in the day, Bhimsaria had grabbed three wickets as Templars were restricted to 9/219 from their 50 overs after failing to make the most of a strong start that saw them reach 1/93. Nigel Shroff with 51, Dylan Dearing 31 and Aditya Kanthan 41 were the best of the Templars’ batsmen.
At KCC: KCC Templars 9/219 from 50 overs lost to KCC Infidels 6/220 from 46.4 overs by four wickets.

HKCC Wanderers v DLSWCC Knights
In another thrilling finish at Hong Kong Cricket Club, HKCC Wanderers pipped DLSWCC Knights by one wicket.

Knights batted first after winning the toss and Shakeel Haq dominated the early batting as he scored 44 out of the first 59 runs scored. But his was the fourth wicket to fall and the fifth fell soon after to leave the Knights teetering at 5/63 but a 99-run sixth wicket partnership, featuring 46 from Tabarak Dar, helped to lift the to an eventual total of 166 from 47.2 overs. Angus Robson was the best of the Wanderers’ bowlers, claiming 3/34 from 8.2 overs.

Knights’ skipper Niaz Ali grabbed three early wickets to reduce the Wanderers to 6/42 before a steadying 38 from Stuart Tohill moved the score to 75. Amanat Khan also grabbed three wickets as the Wanderers top and middle order were blown away. A 57-run eighth wicket stand between skipper Jon Bond and Tim Cutler got the score to 132 but when Niaz grabbed his fourth wicket shortly afterwards, 25 runs were still needed for victory with the last pair at the crease. Cutler nurtured the scoring with a fine 79 not out as Wanderers earned the narrowest of victories in a nail-biting finish.
At HKCC: DLSWCC Knights 166 from 47.2 overs lost to HKCC Wanderers 9/167 from 42 overs by one wicket.

HK Cricket Match Reports: Saturday 28 November, 2015

With Mission Road now out of action due to a period of winter turf maintenance, there were only three Saturday Championship matches played this week.

Saturday Championship Division 1

HKCC Nomads v KCC Tartars
In a tight match at Hong Kong Cricket Club, HKCC Nomads bounced back from last week’s loss to beat KCC Tartars by 11 runs.

Batting first after winning the toss, Nomads recovered from the early loss of both openers to post a score of 9/194. Shephard was the best of the Nomads batsmen, scoring 63.

Tartars’ reply failed to gain much momentum as they lost wickets at regular intervals and at 7/104 they looked dead and buried however, a battling 71 from Afzaal Haider got them within 11 runs of victory. James Dillon picked up 3/42 for Nomads.
At HKCC: HKCC Nomads 9/194 from 35 overs beat KCC Tartars 183 from 34.4 overs by 11 runs.

KCC Saracens v CCC Jing Sun
At Kowloon Cricket Club, KCC Saracens continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 50-run victory over the previously unbeaten CCC Jing Sun.

Saracens have Simondeep Singh (35) and Usman Manj (45) to thank for their score of 7/161 as the pair shared an 86-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Giacomo Lamplough was the pick of the CCC bowlers, claiming 4/37 from his seven over spell.

The CCC reply got away to a good start but from 0/34, they slipped to 3/36. They recovered to 3/81 but then slumped to 7/88 as wickets fell in groups to stymy any momentum they had built up. They eventually reached 111 at which score they lost their last three wickets. Naveen Shivalingham was the best of the Saracen’s bowlers with 3/15 from five overs.
At KCC: KCC Saracens 7/161 from 35 overs beat CCC Jing Sun 111 from 31.5 overs by 50 runs.

Saturday Championship Division 2

SCC Lancers v Lamma CC
At PKVR Park, SCC Lancers got their second win in as many weeks with a seven-wicket victory over Lamma CC.

Lamma batted first after winning the toss and they were led from the front by their skipper Andy Fullard who scored 76 in an eventual score of 7/167 from 35 overs. SCC Lancers only lost three wickets in their chase that was ably finished off by Prakash Chakravarti and Nitesh Jeevan who scored 44 not out and 64 not out respectively.
At PKVR Park: Lamma CC 7/167 from 35 overs lost to SCC Lancers 3/171 from 31 overs by seven wickets.

T20: Hong Kong Beat Afghanistan by Four Wickets

Hong Kong cruised to a comfortable four-wicket win after chasing down 163 in the last over against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi. Tanwir Afzal blitzed a 22-ball 42, an innings that featured two fours and three sixes, to swing the momentum in Hong Kong’s favour after they were stuttering at 89 for 4 in the 12th over.

Hong Kong’s chase began slowly and the team soon also lost Kinchit Shah in the third over for 2. Though they managed to stitch substantial partnerships thereafter through brisk contributions from Babar Hayat (35 off 18), Mark Chapman (22) and Nizakat Khan (26), frequent wickets meant Afghanistan were still in with a shot.

Afzal and Nizakat added 55 for the fifth wicket in just 30 balls as the match drifted away from Afghanistan, and an equation of 24 off the last four overs was easily achieved in the end with two balls to spare. Karim Sadiq, Aftab Alam and Rokhan Barakzai picked up two wickets apiece.

Earlier, Afghanistan lost both their openers within the first four overs after choosing to bat. Asghar Stanikzai (51) then struck a counterattacking half-century and combined with Sadiq (22) and Samiullah Shenwari (34) in stands of 34 and 63 respectively to set up a strong platform for a late surge. Shafiqullah provided the required impetus late in the innings with a 16-ball 30 to lift Afghanistan to a score of 162 for 6.

Additional reporting: Cricinfo