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Japan Beat China by 9 Wickets @KCC – 31 October, 2105

Japan faced little trouble in their East Asia Series: Men’s Twenty20 Championship match against China as they cruised to a convincing nine-wicket win at the Kowloon Cricket Club on Saturday.

Despite a rain shower or two in the morning, the sun greeted China and Japan as they walked out onto the field. China captain Wang Zihao won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first on a belter of a wicket.

However, his decision to do so backfired as opening batsman Lin Zhengpei was cleaned bowled by Nozomi Tomizawa for a three-ball duck. Zhengpei’s wicket was the start of a recurring theme for the Chinese team as their batsmen struggled to get accustomed to the pitch and scorching conditions.

To make things worse, there was a lack of communication between the Chinese batsmen on numerous occasions, which led to three of them getting run out. In the end, captain Wang Zihao, who was the last man in, top-scored for China with six not out as his side were skittled out for 56.

Makoto Taniyama, Tsuyoshi Takada and Kohei Wakita picked up two wickets apiece, while Tomizawa chipped in with one.

Chasing 57 to win, Japan got off to a blistering start and were cruising towards the finish line until Muhammad Khan was dismissed by Song Yulin for a quickfire 23. Noatsune Miyaji and skipper Masaomi Kobayashi mopped up the remaining runs to lead Japan to a comfortable nine-wicket win.

Taniyama was named Man of the Match for his superb figures of 2/5 off four overs.

At KCC: Japan beat China by 9 wickets

Japan
Masaomi Kobayashi (Captain), Tomoki Ota (Vice Captain), Kanadage Supun Tharaka Navarathna, Kohei Wakita, Makoto Taniyama, Muhammad Hanif Khan, Naotsune Miyaji, Nozomi Tomizawa, Raheel Kano, Satoshi Nakano, Takuro Hagihara, Tsuyoshi Takada, Yoshitaka Uehara
Coach: Dhugal John Bedingfield

China
Wang Zihao, Han Junhui, Tian Suqing, Song Yulin, Geng Changyue, Lin Zhengpei, Chen Xiaoran, Chen Jinfeng, Lin Zhihong, Zhong Wenyi, Qing Peng, Pu Xianliang, Lu Cangcang, Feng Yu.
Team Manager: Shen Gang, Coach: Feng Jian

Hong Kong ‘A’ beat HKCA Dragons by 40 Runs – 30 October, 2015

Pleasant conditions greeted the two teams for the opening match of the East-Asia T20 Championships. Hong Kong Dragons skipper Ady Lee won the toss and elected to field first.

The Dragons kept the powerful Hong Kong A batsmen to a reasonable 1/39 after the power play with the skipper the best of the bowlers with only 11 runs off his 3 overs including the wicket of left handed opening batsmen Ninad Shah with a superb off cutter.

The going was tough for the ‘A’ side as they struggled to rotate the strike with Jonathan Foo entering the attack with his crafty off spin. Hong Kong ‘A’ keeper Chris Carter found it tough against the spin of Foo making only 6 off 23 deliveries before being trapped on the crease for LBW.

Hong Kong ‘A’ needed some intent and to build some pressure against the Dragons. Entered former national vice captain in Waqas Barkat who built a strong foundation with opener Raag Kapur before he went for a well-made 52 and continued on with Awais Mohammad, the pair then putting on a quick fire 38.

However the Dragons made it tough for themselves after dropping Waqas Barkat three times, all when he was in single figures. Hong Kong ‘A’ still struggled to find the gaps and boundaries only reaching their 100 at the end of the 17th over.

However, Barkat then smashed the Dragons death bowlers for four boundaries and two towering sixes straight down the ground. The last three overs went for 42 runs and is an area the Dragons will need to improve on if they are to challenge for the title.

Hong Kong ‘A’ set a respectable 143 for victory and started well with the ball as they took three early wickets. National Squad member Adil Mehmood bowled with some pace that Dragons hadn’t really experienced previously and were looking in trouble at 3/10.

Enter the Caribbean Premier League star Jonathan Foo who hit his first ball blistering down the ground for four of Mehmood, Foo combined with Wai pilled on a quick 40 runs in just 5 overs. The two of them smashing 3 sixes and 3 fours in the 40 run partnership to take the Dragons to 4/50 in the 9th over.

Requiring over 8 an over for victory, Foo continued the challenge to the bowlers as he mixed brutal strength and timing to smash 68 off just 38 balls before miss timing a on drive to provide an easy catch at point off Lamplough, who finished the innings by taking the final two wickets and restricting the Hong Kong Dragons to 102 all out in the 20th over.

Scores in Brief: Hong Kong ‘A’ 4/142 (Kapur 52, Barkat 40*, Awais 22, Foo 1/7, Lee 1/25) defeated Hong Kong Dragons 102 (Foo 68, Wai 21, Lamplough 4/11 Mehmood 1/8, M.Khan 1/16) by 40 runs

Man of the Match: Jonathan Foo

At Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground Hong Kong ‘A’ beat HKCA Dragons by 40 Runs

Hong Kong ‘A’
Waqas Barkat (Captain), Giacomo Lamplough (Vice Captain), Adil Mehmood, Awais Mohammad, Akbar Khan, Chris Carter, Daljeet Singh, Ehsan Nawaz, Mohammad Huzafah, Mohsin Khan, Ninad Shah, Raag Kapur, Saad Mohammod, Simandeep Singh, Tanveer Ahmed, Waqas Khan.
Coach: Jawaid Iqbal, Assistant Coach: Tanwir Afzal

HKCA Dragons
Ady Lee (Captain), Jet Lee, Anthony Marrin, Bobby Chan Ka Ming, Colin Lau, Damien Yee, Danny Lee, Eddy Ang, James Chan, Jonathan Foo, Rob Lee, Ron Lau, Li Kai Ming, Michael Zheng, Nigel Sun, Simon Hung.
Coach: Chris Pickett

Japan Beat HK Cricket Club by 40 Runs

Warm and fine conditions greeted the players at Hong Kong Cricket Club where the home team hosted Japan in a 35-over per side warm-up game for the East Asia Series: Men’s Twenty20 Championship.

Japan batted first and their innings got off to a flying start with Muhammad Khan taking the long handle to the HKCC opening bowling attack featuring Mariko Hill. Hill’s four over spell cost 44 runs but she did manage to pick up the wicket of Naotsune Miyaji who top-edged a pull shot and was caught by Ravi Achan for 4. Belan Aiyadorai was belted for 32 off his two overs and Tom Ingram went for 40 from 5 as Japan rattled along at over ten runs per over. Ingram eventually got the dangerous Khan, gloving a pull-shot behind to keeper Tom Menogue for a belligerent 59. Japan’s skipper Masaoni Kobayashi was next to fall when leg-spinner Jhathevedh Subramanyan grabbed a brilliant one-handed return catch. Kanadage Navarathna (34) and Tomoki Ota (38) batted well in the middle overs before Ravi Achan picked up two wickets in quick succession for HKCC. Tsuyoshi Takada boosted Japan’s total with 26 but he was trapped LBW off the bowling of Harry Ledger. Japan was eventually dismissed for 215 from 35 overs.
For HKCC, Ravi Achan and Brenton McDonald claimed 2/15 and 2/27 respectively.

HKCC’s reply got off to a solid start with skipper Isaac Poole and Jhathavedh Subramanyan initiating the run chase. But just as their partnership looked set to flourish, Poole was dismissed by Nozomi Tomizawa for 12. Tom Menogue was caught by Navarathna for 13 and then Raheel Kano claimed three quick wickets to knock the stuffing out of the HKCC middle order. Meanwhile Jhathavedh was batting with maturity beyond his 16 years and he single-handedly kept the HKCC run-chase going as wickets tumbled at the other end. Mariko Hill chipped in with a confident 13 and Harry Ledger struck 16 but none of the HKCC batters were able to stay with Jhathavedh for any length of time. The HKCC innings was wrapped up after 32 overs for 175 with Jhathavedh carrying his bat for a fine unbeaten 83.
For Japan, Raheel Kano picked up 3/17 from four over spell while Naotsune Miyaji claimed 2/16, also from four overs.

At HKCC: Japan 215 from 35 overs beat HKCC 175 from 32 overs by 40 runs.

Match Reports: Women’s T20 Cup -18 October 2015

The first phase of matches in the Women’s T20 Cup was completed on Sunday with two games at PKVR Reservoir and one at Kowloon Cricket Club.

KCC Maidens enjoyed a rare day at home when they hosted HKCC Cavaliers at Kowloon Cricket Club. The HKCC women batted first and they scored 2/126 from their 20 overs. In reply, the KCC Maidens were restricted to 8/79 in their innings.
At KCC: HKCC Cavaliers 2/126 from 20 overs beat KCC Maidens 8/79 from 20 overs by 47 runs.

Over at PKVR Reservoir, DLSWCC Wasps defeated PACC by nine wickets in the first match. PACC could only muster 23 all out in just 5.1 overs with Shanzeen Shahzad claiming 5/11. The DLSWCC women only needed four overs to knock off the runs.
At PKVR Reservoir: PACC 23 from 5.1 overs lost to DLSWCC Wasps 1/24 from 4 overs by nine wickets.

The day’s final match saw HKCC Willow Wielders finish the first phase of matches unbeaten after knocking off CCC Fung Wong by eight wickets. The CCC women put up some brave resistance, scoring 69 from 17.5 overs but they couldn’t combat Mariko Hill who picked up figures of 3/14 from three overs. The Willow Wielders had to work for their runs, with Marina Lamplough scoring 23 and Mariko Hill finishing on 29 not out, after sharing an opening partnership worth 63 runs.
At PKVR Reservoir: CCC Fung Wong 69 from 17.5 overs lost to HKCC Willow Wielders 2/71 from 9 overs by eight wickets.

The women’s competition will now switch to the 35-over Women’s League with all teams playing each other once. The Women’s T20 Cup will resume in late February 2016 once all Women’s League matches are completed.

HK Cricket Match Reports: One-Day Premier League – 18 October, 2015

Two highly anticipated One-Day Premier League matches were played on Sunday 18 October, but both turned into low-scoring affairs as ball dominated bat.

HKCC v KCC KARP
At the Hong Kong Cricket Club, KCC KARP bowled themselves into the competition final by thumping hosts HKCC by nine wickets.

HKCC elected to bat first after winning the toss but they were soon on the back foot after losing opener Raag Kapur in the third over. Excellent bowling by the KCC opening attack of Najeeb Amar and Adil Mehmood tied down the HKCC top order, with Najeeb conceding just four runs in his first five overs, including four maidens. The pressure soon told and wickets started to fall as the HKCC batsmen got frustrated. Scott McKechnie was second to fall as he top-edged a pull shot off Adil Mehmood and Dan Pascoe took a stunning catch at deep mid-wicket after running back and diving full length to grab the ball just inches off the ground. Mehmood then trapped Isaac Poole LBW to leave HKCC in a hole at 3/15 in the 12th over. Worse was to follow for HKCC in the 14th over as Imran Arif grabbed the wickets of Nizakat Khan and George Clarke to leave them reeling at 5/28. Najeeb had Miles Richarson caught and bowled, Arif bowled Simon Cook and Dan Pascoe snared Courtney Kruger as HKCC wickets continued to tumble in the face of KCC’s determined attack. Giacomo Lamplough hit a couple of well-struck sixes but his was the last wicket to fall, LBW to Dan Pascoe, with the total on 82. Embarrassingly for HKCC, sundries were the top scorer with 18. For KCC, all the bowlers enjoyed success – Imran Arif was the most successful with 3/27 but none bettered Najeeb Amar who claimed 2/18 from ten frugal overs, with five maidens.

KCC’s reply started and finished before the scheduled lunch interval. Irfan Ahmed struck six fours and one six in his 27-ball 33 but he looked vulnerable to the short ball and was eventually bowled by Miles Richardson after bottom edging a pull shot onto this stumps. Ninad Shah struck three fours and a six to finish unbeaten on 29 as KCC wrapped up the match in just 14 overs.
At HKCC: HKCC 82 from 28.1 overs lost to KCC KARP 1/85 from 14 overs by nine wickets.

DLSWCC Prism v PACC
There was an equally one-side result at Mission Road where DLSWCC Prism thrashed PACC by seven wickets. As if mirroring the match at HKCC, PACC won the toss and elected to bat first but they too found themselves in deep trouble after slumping to 5/35 after 15 overs. Left-arm speedster Niaz Ali did the early damage, trapping Qasim Khan (0) and Skhawat Ali (1) lbw while having Ahsan Abbasi caught by Anas Kahn for 7. Tanwir Afzal scored 8 but his innings was cut short with Anas Khan taking his second catch, this time off Waqas Khan. Aizaz Khan (20) and Mohammad Ehtesham (30) stemmed the carnage with a 44-run partnership for the sixth wicket but the remaining wickets fell quickly once their pairing was broken. Ehsan Khan mopped up the middle and lower order batsmen with a spell of 4/20 from six overs as Pakistan Association capitulated for 94.

The DLSWCC Prism reply began brightly with Anas Khan hitting four boundaries in his 17-ball stay at the crease that contributed 18 runs. Jangzeb Khan (29) and Waqas Khan (17) also made useful contributions before Babar Hayat saw DLSWCC Prism home in the 23rd over with an unbeaten 28.
At Mission Road: PACC 94 from 31.1 overs lost to DLSWCC Prism 3/95 from 22.1 overs by seven wickets.

The outcome of the two matches determined the teams for the One-Day Premier League final. DLSWCC Prism will face KCC KARP in the grand final to be played at Mission Road on 31st October 2015 while HKCC and PACC will play in the 3rd/4th place play-off match on 25th October 2015.

HK Cricket Match Reports: Saturday 17 October, 2015

Saturday Championship Division 1
This season’s Saturday Championship Division 1 has been hotly contested with two ties and a number of very close finishes already seen in the first six rounds of the competition.

There was yet another nail-biter at HKCC last Saturday as HKCC Witherers claimed a dramatic win in the last over against PACC. PACC batted first after winning the toss and they recovered from 8/75 to score 163 all out, thanks to a bold 65 from Mohammad Saad. Witherers were pegged back in the early stages of their reply but they recovered from 3/11 to reach 4/121 with Toby Raper hitting 49 and Tim Whisker 43. But a flurry of wickets saw the hosts slump to 7/122 and then 8/136 as Mohammad Azam ran through the middle-order, claiming 3/29. The ninth wicket fell at 150 but the last pair held firm and Witherers got home with three balls to spare.
At HKCC: PACC 163 from 32.5 overs lost to HKCC Witherers 9/164 from 34.3 overs by one wicket.

CCC Jing Sun scored a 135-run victory over Centaurs at Mission Road with Kabir Sodhi hitting an unbeaten century. Sodhi scored 105 not out as CCC Jing Sun posted 3/234 from their 35 overs, with Mark Wright also hitting an unbeaten 62. The Sodhi/Wright partnership reaped 127 runs in an unbroken 4th wicket stand. The top was knocked off the Centaurs batting order and from 5/25 they never recovered. Ben Harris hit 53 and he was the last wicket to fall as Centaurs could only muster 7/99 from 34 overs, having been penalised one over by the umpires for slow bowling during their innings.
At Mission Road: CCC Jing Sun 3/234 from 35 overs beat Centaurs 7/99 from 34 overs by 135 runs.

At Kowloon Cricket Club, DLSWCC Sarjan beat KCC Crusaders by 29 runs. DSLWCC Sarjan’s openers got them off to a flyer with a century opening partnership between Hudugur Gururaj (38) and Mohammed Ibraheem (48). Waqas Khan then chipped in with 43 as DLSWCC Sarjan reached 6/190 from their 35 overs. Chirag Kothari was the pick of the Crusaders’ bowlers, grabbing 4/41 from his spell. In reply, Aditya Kanthan scored 39 but his was the best in a faltering effort that saw Crusaders dismissed for 161. Sarfaraz Khan did most of the damage for DLSWCC Sarjan, claiming 4/29 in six overs.
At KCC: DLSWCC Sarjan 6/190 from 35 overs beat KCC Crusaders 161 from 32.4 overs.

Saturday Championship Division 2

In the only Division 2 match of the day, Taipan CC accounted for Kai Tak CC by 103 runs. Taipans were sent into bat and they made merry to the tune of 5/270 from their 35 overs with Gurjinder Singh hitting 84, Romy Singh 36 and Manjinder Singh 55. Manjinder then claimed 3/27 as Kai Tak were restricted to 5/167 in reply, despite half-centuries from Tom Downey (64) and Peter Williams (58*).
At PKVR Park: Taipan CC 5/270 from 35 overs beat Kai Tak CC 5/167 from 35 overs by 103 runs.

HK Cricket Match Reports: One-Day Premier League – 11 October, 2015

Early morning rain delayed the start of all three Premier League matches but once play got underway, results were achieved without having to resort to Duckworth/Lewis calculations.

DLSWCC Prism v KCC KARP
There was an exciting finish at Kowloon Cricket Club where DLSWCC Prism stunned hosts KCC KARP by one wicket in a match reduced to 48-overs per side affair after a late start.

After winning the toss KCC KARP elected to bat first but they might have regretted that decision after losing both openers with only one run on the board. Run scoring proved difficult and Dan Pascoe’s 37 was the highest score for KCC as they were eventually dismissed for 153 in 46.3 overs. Ehsan Khan continued his good form with the ball as he picked up 3/37 from his nine over spell.

DLSWCC Prism’s innings also got off to a calamitous start and they were reduced to 3/4 inside five overs with Adil Mehmood picking up a brace. The middle order struggled and at 8/82, the game looked all but over for DLSWCC. But KCC hadn’t counted on Nadeem Ahmed and Niaz Ali who combined for a ninth wicket partnership of 71 runs. The pair batted brilliant to bring DLSWCC back into the game but they nearly threw it away when Niaz was run-out for 23 with the scores tied. Cool heads prevailed and DLSWCC got the final run needed for victory with Nadeem finishing unbeaten on 47.
At KCC (matched reduced to 48 overs per side): KCC KARP 153 from 46.3 overs lost to Diasqua LSWCC Prism 9/154 from 42.5 overs by one wicket.

HKCC v HKCA Under-19s
Over at Hong Kong Cricket Club, HKCC had little trouble with HKCA Under-19s with the hosts winning comfortably by 88 runs.

The early morning’s rain meant the match got off to a late start and both innings were reduced to 47 overs per side. HKCC batted first after winning the toss and they reached 9-271 from their 47 overs. Opener David Jacquier led the HKCC charge with a fine 91 from 106 balls while Nizakat Khan (52) and Courtney Kruger (44) also made telling contributions. Opening bowlers Tanveer Ahmed (3/35) and Waqas Khan (4/44) were the best for the HKCA Under-19s.

Raag Kapur contributed 36-runs at the top of the order for the HKCA Under-19s but he received little support as they slipped to 5/65 inside 16 overs. Awais Mohammad and Chris Cater got them to 100 but both batsmen fell in quick succession as the Under-19s slumped to 7/102. A rear-guard battle led by Ninad Shah moved the score on to 165 but Courtney Kruger’s introduction to the bowling crease saw the innings wrapped in quick order. Kruger grabbed the last three wickets to fall, including that of Shah who scored an attractive 50 from 62 balls, as the HKCA Under-19s were dismissed for 183 in the 43rd over.
At HKCC (match reduced to 47 overs per side): HKCC 9/271 from 47 overs beat HKCA Under-19s 183 from 42.5 overs by 88 runs.

Independents v PACC
In the third match of the day, PACC had an easy win over Independents at Mission Road.

Wet weather reduced the match to 44-overs per innings and when play finally got underway, the Independents batted first after winning the toss. However, it was the PACC opening bowlers that grabbed the early advantage as Aizaz Khan and Kamran Mohammad grabbed two wickets each to leave the Independents reeling at 4/31 in the 9th over. Mohsin Khan then picked three wickets to reduce the Independents to 8/68 after 25 overs. A battling run-a-ball 63 from Sikandar Zafar lifted Independents over the 100 mark and on to a final total 139 all out in 38.5 overs.

The PACC opening partnership between Daniyal Bukhari and Qasim Khan put on 90 runs in 19 overs, effectively ending the contest. Bukhari was the only PACC wicket to fall when he was caught and bowled by Asif Hussain for 53. Qasim (55*) and Saqib Khan (22*) combined in an unbroken 2nd wicket partnership of 50 runs to ease PACC to victory in the 32nd over.
At Mission Road (match reduced to 44 overs per side): Independents 139 from 38.5 overs lost to PACC 1/140 from 31.5 overs by nine wickets.

HK Women’s Cricket Match Reports: T20 Cup – 10 October, 2015

KCC Maidens scored an easy nine-wicket over USRC in the first match of the day. USRC batted first but could only manage to score 61 from 18 overs, with sundries contributing 48 runs to their cause. The KCC Maidens had little trouble surpassing that total in less than five overs.
At PKVR Reservoir: USRC 61 from 18 overs lost to KCC Maidens 1/66 from 4.4 overs by nine wickets.

In the second match of the day, HKCC Cavaliers beat CCC Fung Wong by 31 runs. Emma Lai scored 49 as the Cavaliers reached 3/145 from their 20 overs. In reply, Kary Chan hit 51 not out but her efforts were not enough as CCC Fung Wong were restricted to 8/114.
At PKVR Reservoir: HKCC Cavaliers 3/145 from 20 overs beat CCC Fung Wong 8/114 from 20 overs by 31 runs.

The day’s final match saw HKCC Willow Wielders maintain their unbeaten run with a comprehensive ten-wicket victory over PACC. Batting first with only 7 players, PACC were overwhelmed for 53 – at total which the Willow Wielders had little trouble knocking off in just 4.4 overs with Sara Young scoring 27 not out.
At PKVR Reservoir: PACC 53 from 14 overs lost to HKCC Willow Wielders 0/55 from 4.4 overs by ten wickets.