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Hong Kong Take On The Netherlands

A year after it was supposed to happen Hong Kong finally set to play their maiden international first class match at home – after the total washout of the 4-day match against Scotland last January – and Captain Babar Hayat is confident in getting a result against The Netherlands.

Sunny skies are forecast and Hayat is looking for his team to continue where they left off at the recent Desert T20 tournament in Dubai when Hong Kong hammered The Netherlands.

“It was good to get a win against them in Dubai and that gives us confidence but this is a different format of the game that they have more experience in so it will be a hard match,” Hayat said.

“But in home conditions this will favour us as most of their players will have never been here before. Our record at home has been really good and we want to keep that going in the I-Cup as well.”

Hong Kong currently sit fifth on the Intercontinental Cup table but a win could see HK leapfrog The Netherlands into third position. Hong Kong’s remaining fixtures in the I-Cup will be Afghanistan at home in October and PNG in Dubai to finish the competition.

Coach Simon Cook says the team are well prepared, “Finishing in the top half of this league was the aim but top four or top three is definitely within our scope. That will be a very, very good achievement as there’s no history of longer form fixtures in Hong Kong,” Cook said.

“They are a very good side. They’ve shown that in previous world cup qualifiers – their side has a lot of experienced players with also some young players they’ve brought as well. It’s their off-season so our advantage is we have been playing cricket for the last five months and they haven’t, so they may be a bit short of match practice.”

Play commences daily at 9.30am at Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground and entry is free for all four days.

The I-Cup squad features two new names, with Matt Stiller and Under-19s captain Jhatha Subramanyan in line for a potential debut out of the 14-man squad named.

Hong Kong Squad

ICC I-Cup v Netherlands (10-13 February)
1. Tanwir Afzal (Pakistan Assoc.), 2. Nadeem Ahmed (DLSWCC), 3. Christopher Carter (KCC), 4. Waqas Khan (DLSWCC), 5. Tanveer Ahmed (KCC), 6. Babar Hayat (DLSWCC), 7. Aizaz Khan (KCC), 8. Ehsan Khan (DLSWCC), 9. Nizakat Khan (HKCC), 10. Ehsan Nawaz (KCC), 11. Anshuman Rath (HKCC), 12. Ninad Shah (KCC), 13. Matt Stiller (KCC), 14. Jhatha Subramanyan (HKCC)

ICC WCLC v Netherlands (16 & 18 February)
1. Tanwir Afzal (Pakistan Assoc), 2. Nadeem Ahmed (DLSWCC), 3. Tanveer Ahmed (KCC), 4. James Atkinson (KCC), 5. Christopher Carter (KCC), 6. Mark Chapman (HKCC), 7. Ehsan Nawaz (KCC), 8. Babar Hayat (DLSWCC), 9. Aizaz Khan (KCC), 10. Ehsan Khan (DLSWCC), 11. Nizakat Khan (HKCC), 12. Waqas Khan (DLSWCC), 13. Anshuman Rath (HKCC), 14. Shahid Wasif (DLSWCC)

Additional reporting and images: HK Cricket, Peter Della Penna

Hong Kong Rebound Against Scotland

Hong Kong rebounded from their disappointing Desert T20 campaign to score a convincing win over Scotland in the first ODI of a mini tri-series that also involves the UAE.

After dismissing the Scots for 205, a calm half-century from captain Babar Hayat helped guide Hong Kong past the target with seven wickets and 34 balls to spare.

After winning the toss and electing to field, it was left arm spinner Nadeem Ahmed who was the star with the ball for HK, taking 4-33 from his 10 overs.

The spinners did well to pull the innings back after Scotland built a solid base at 49-0 in 10 overs. Ehsan Khan (1-33) also proved difficult to get away.

In response, debutant Cameron McAuslan was dismissed for 8 but Chris Carter made 43 off 56 balls to relieve any early innings nerves.

Captain Babar Hayat took his time getting in, pacing his innings perfectly as he hit 7 boundaries in his unbeaten 79 from 110 balls.

Nizakat Khan (25 off 21) and Waqas Khan (35* off 52) provided adequate support as the target was reached without any major scares.

“You can’t ask for a better performance, we were outstanding in the field and with the bat as well,” coach Simon Cook said.

“We’ve started to show how far we are coming, we just have to get the consistency of performances together now.”

“The wicket was a little tacky early so winning the toss was important and we hit our straps with good focus and intent – we never let them go at any point.”

“You look at the side that’s here and it’s pretty exciting that we can beat Scotland without Jamie (Atkinson), Chappy (Mark Chapman), Anshy (Anshuman Rath) and Tanwir Afzal. It means the others are starting to step-up. We are building a strong base of players.”

Additional reporting and images: HK Cricket

Oman Humiliate Hong Kong in the Desert

Hong Kong’s Desert T20 adventure went from bad, conceding 185 against Scotland in their opening match, to humiliating in their second against Oman where their batting and hopes of progressing in the tournament imploded.

The Zayed Cricket Stadium will hold no fond memories, hopefully a change of venue for the final game will see Hong Kong at least competitive. Losing is part of the game, getting thrashed twice is not the best start for an important year for local cricket.

After wining the toss and choosing to bat, Hong Kong were bowled out for 87 with Aizaz Khan (19) top scorer and only two other players Ehsan Khan (10) and Chris Carter (17) reaching double figures.

In response, despite an early wicket to Nadeem Ahmed, Oman reach the target in the 11 overs for the loss of just three wickets.

“It is one of those things that happens every so often,” Simon Cook, the Hong Kong coach, said of the batting implosion.

“We paid the price for playing across the line too much. It was a cascade effect, and 88 is just not defendable.”

Hong Kong Desert T20 Fixtures
18 January: Netherlands v Hong Kong (Dubai International Stadium)

Scotland Thrash Hong Kong in Desert T20 Opener

Scotland produced a dominant performance to defeat Hong Kong by 24 runs in the opening match of the Desert T20 tournament in Abu Dhabi.

The Scots powered to 189-3 from their 20 overs, before early wickets torpedoed Hong Kong’s chase before it could get into gear and despite strong resistance from the middle and lower order were restricted to 165-6.

After winning the toss, Scotland raced to 60-0 in seven overs, before Ehsan Khan removed both openers George Munsey (22) and Kyle Coetzer (31). Hong Kong though failed to capitalise on the breakthroughs as a record breaking 127-run partnership from Callum MacLeod (60 off 34 balls) and Richie Berrington (60 off 39 balls) saw Scotland post an imposing target.

A feature of the partnership, Scotland highest ever in T20 internationals was the reverse-sweeping skills and switch hits of MacLeod who hit 4 fours and 3 sixes.

In response, Aizaz Khan was run out without facing a ball and when Babar Hayat (10) picked out the man on the deep mid-wicket boundary Hong Kong were 32-2 in the fifth over.

Nizakat Khan, who hit a monstrous six over cover tried to repeat the effort but was caught at third man for 22 off as many balls.

Hong Kong’s two 19-year-olds Anshuman Rath (29 off 25) and Shahid Wasif (40 off 25 balls) added 41 in four overs, but with the run-rate creeping above 14 it was too big a mountain to climb.

Ehsan Khan’s crisp 42 off 22 balls at the end of the innings restricted the damage to Hong Kong’s net run rate, which could prove crucial in keeping hopes alive of progressing to the finals.

Hong Kong coach Simon Cook said his side were always up against it from the halfway mark.

“We were probably disappointed to be chasing 190 which wasn’t really a par score, it was more a 175 wicket and a very windy day with a big outfield,” Cook said.

“A few lapses with our fielding meant we were chasing too many, although I was pleased with our execution in their power play.” Cook continued “Again with the bat we had two run outs through basic errors and its those sort of things that cost you games.”

“Anshuman continued his good form, Shahid was again impressive and is really consolidating his place in the team and Ehsan Khan at the end hit the ball nicely so there were some positives. We did well in the end to get as close as we did.”

Hong Kong Desert T20 Fixtures
16 January: Oman v Hong Kong (Zayed Cricket Stadium)
18 January: Netherlands v Hong Kong (Dubai International Stadium)

Additional reporting and photos: HK Cricket, Cricinfo

Hong Kong Head to the Desert T20

Hong Kong are one of the eight Associate nations taking part in the inaugural Desert T20 tournament. The seven-day competition will be played in a round-robin and knockout format, beginning at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Cricket Stadium on the 14 January before culminating in Dubai for the final on the 20 January. In the round-robin section Afghanistan, Ireland, Namibia, UAE are in pool A and Hong Kong, Netherlands, Oman and Scotland in pool B, the top two team qualify for the semi-finals.

Hosts the Emirates Cricket Board commented that “The aim of the tournament is to provide an opportunity for teams to play more competitive T20 cricket. Each of the participating countries are very close in ICC T20I rankings, so we expect the quality of cricket to be very strong.”

Talking about the team selection Director of Cricket Charlie Burke said “It’s great to have Cameron McAulsan in the squad. He’s a good young all-rounder who has been playing well at school in New Zealand and going to be a very crucial player for us going forward. He’s a great all-round athlete and been close to selection for some time now.”

“Waqas Barkat has gone back and done what’s been asked, which is to work on his leg spin and he will be useful batsman in the middle order. He was a top order batsman previously for us but struggled for runs and developed his bowling. There’s not a lot of leg-spinners around so we challenged him to work on it. He’s done well and has been very economical this season. While Anshuman Rath and Ehsan Nawaz are also back in the squad after being unavailable for the Australian Tour due to study commitments.”

Hong Kong Desert T20 Fixtures
14 January: Scotland v Hong Kong (Zayed Cricket Stadium)
16 January: Oman v Hong Kong (Zayed Cricket Stadium)
18 January: Netherlands v Hong Kong (Dubai International Stadium)
20 January: Semifinal 1 A1 v B2; Semifinal 2 A2 v B1 (Dubai International Stadium)
20 January: Final (Dubai International Stadium)

After the Desert T20, Hong Kong will remain in Dubai for two One Day Internationals (ODIs) against Scotland and UAE. The ODI’s are in preparation for the ICC WCLC matches against The Netherlands at Tin Kwong Road in February.

Hong Kong Squad
1. Nadeem Ahmed (DLSWCC); 2. Tanveer Ahmed (KCC); 3. Waqas Barkat (KCC); 4. Chris Carter (KCC); 5. Kyle Christie (CHK Independents XI); 6. Babar Hayat (Captain, DLSWCC); 7. Aizaz Khan (V. Captain) (KCC); 8. Ehsan Khan (DLSWCC); 9. Nizakat Khan (HKCC); 10. Waqas Khan (DLSWCC); 11. Cameron McAuslan (HKCC); 12. Ehsan Nawaz (KCC); 13. Anshuman Rath (HKCC); 14. Shahid Wasif (DLSWCC)

Kowloon Cricket Club Lift Hancock Shield

On a green surface at Hong Kong Cricket Club, 40 wickets fell in two days and at the end of it all, Kowloon Cricket Club emerged victorious in the Hancock Shield, a traditional Premier League fixture.

Sent in to bat first on day one, KCC recovered from being 68-6 to reach 165 in the first innings thanks to an even half-century from Dan Pascoe. Pascoe also received support from Aizaz Khan (38), but it was HKCC’s opening bowlers Gareth Harte (4-43) and Raag Kapur (3-45) who gave the home side an edge.

But that advantaged quickly evaporated as HKCC collapsed to 62-7 by stumps, still trailing by 105.

On day two, they were able to eek out another 49 runs thanks to an unbeaten 48 from Ryan Buckley. Aizaz Khan backed up his contribution with the bat with 4-43. Ehsan Nawaz took 3-21.

With a lead of 54 runs, KCC merely needed to bat time and see out the game to claim the Shield. Easier said than done.

This time, they found themselves 49-6 and the lower order could not entirely bail them out on this occasion as they were bowled out for 91. Gareth Harte continued his brilliant game with the ball, taking 5-36 to claim match figures of 9-79.

That left HKCC with 146 to win in a maximum of 41 overs and they had the perfect man to do it.

Nizakat Khan, who had a flight to catch to the Centre of Excellence in Australia, opened the batting and dominated the bowling. However, his team mates were not finding it so easy and when Nizakat was dismissed for 61 off 50 balls, HKCC were 74-5.

The lower order fought hard and took the match to the final 15 minutes until Tanveer Ahmed (3-42) took the final wicket with HKCC still 14 runs shy of their victory target.

Aizaz Khan pick up another four wickets in the second innings to finish with match figures of 8-83.

Scorecard
https://www.crichq.com/#fixtures/470168/1st_innings

Hong Kong’s Bowlers Shine in Win Over Kenya

Hong Kong squared their two match tour of Kenya with a 39-run victory in the second ICC World Cricket League Championship match in Nairobi. A blistering 78 off 68 balls from captain Babar Hayat paved the way for the visitors in a rain-reduced limited-overs match.

After a delayed start – Hong Kong were 25.1 overs into their 31-over innings when the rain cut them short on 148-4. Chris Carter supported Hayat with 41 in a 119-run stand for the second wicket.

The Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method adjusted Kenya’s target to 173 to win off 25 overs and they appeared well on track after a flying start from openers Alex Obanda (39) and Irfan Karim (33) who raced to 70-0 after 10 overs, but the introduction of spin turned the game for Hong Kong.

Nadeem Ahmed (3-23) struck first with the score on 79 and three further scalps to Ehsan Khan (3-12) saw Kenya wobble to 89-5. There was a brief fightback, but Tanveer Ahmed’s accuracy with his yorkers at the death netted him three wickets as Hong Kong dismissed Kenya for 133.

Coach Simon Cook was a relieved man, but was still hurting from Friday’s loss.

“We’ve not got the result we wanted from the tour but pleasing to get the win today and still keep ourselves in the mix for the ICC World Cricket League Championship,” Cook said. “Kenya got off to a very good start in their innings so it was pleasing to see the energy of the guys remain high and to come back and win was a good effort. We need to be more consistent going forward if we want to challenge the top of the table in this competition.”

Captain Babar Hayat, whose contribution with the bat was vital once again, was still searching for improvement in his own game. “I’m pleased that as captain I led from the front today and that’s what I need to do,” Babar said. “I don’t think I am playing my best yet, there is still more improvement to come from me – I’d have liked to have made a hundred today and I want to set the bar higher for myself. I’m really pleased that we won this game and proud we could get this win for Hong Kong.”

Additional reporting and image: HK Cricket

Kenya Beat Hong Kong in First ODI

Hong Kong missed a golden opportunity to push their claims for top spot in the ICC World Cricket League Championship losing by three wickets to Kenya in Nairobi in the first of two ODI’s.

The key point in the match came when Hong Kong on 214-5 with nine overs remaining were looking to post a really challenging target instead suffered a dramatic batting collapse to be all out for 222. Kenya’s captain Rakeb Patel did the damage during that period taking 5-16 off 6 overs.

Kenya too almost lost their cool, collapsing from 140-1 to 171-6 before a rain delay saw them collect their thoughts and pass the reduced target of 200 with 13 balls and three wickets to spare.

For Hong Kong, Anshuman Rath starred with the bat, scoring 90 off 92 balls, which included a century partnership with fellow 19-year-old Shahid Wasif (44 off 61). This partnership helped the innings recover from the cheap losses of Babar Hayat (24) and Nizakat Khan (4), while Kinchit Shah played a cameo at the top of the order, scoring 34 off 17 balls.

With the ball, wickets were shared, with Ehsan Khan 2-44 returning the best figures.

Coach Simon Cook was left fuming with his side’s inability to finish the match from a strong position.

“It’s frustrating because you get to a point in a game where we could have accelerated and taken the game away from Kenya but unfortunately we’ve been guilty of losing critical moments in games and we lost that critical moment today,” Cook said.

“We didn’t capitalise on the good work done by Anshuman and Shahid, which is very disappointing. We have a lower order that can be explosive, which we saw in the 1st ODI against PNG, but it’s just getting them to do it more consistently.”

“We had opportunities to win this in the field as well – we dropped a couple of chances and took a wicket off a no ball,” Cook added. “It’s hard to make changes when it’s your lower that didn’t get the runs and that’s not their job. So you can’t drop a bowler because they’ve not got runs. So we will need to reflect on the performance and look at options who we can bring in.”

Cook continued “This was a perfect opportunity to come here and get to the top of the World Cricket League Championship and take the pressure off ourselves but this loss puts us right in the thick of the pack. Sunday is now a must win game – we need to treat it as such. The positive from today is that we didn’t play well and nearly pulled off a win.”

Sunday’s match will be the second and final match of the tour before Hong Kong return home on Monday.

Additional reporting and image: HK Cricket