HK Cricket Match Reports: Monday 2 May, 2016

Saturday Championship – Monday, 2nd May 2016

Division 2
In a match played at PKVR Park on Labour Day, Laguna Gully CC beat Lamma CC by 97 runs.

Laguna Gully CC v Lamma CC
Laguna Gully opted to bat first after winning the toss and they got away to a good start with Rohit Garg (30) and Mangesh Mulgaonkar (30) putting on 58 runs for the first wicket. Both openers fell in quick succession in a flurry of wickets that saw Laguna Gully go from 0/58 to 4/81 as Tom Woods grabbed three wickets. Abhishek Desai held the innings together with his season’s best score of 75 and with Pranav Shah hitting 41, Laguna Gully reached a final total of 9/206 from their 35 overs. Woods added another wicket to his haul to finish with figures of 4/39 from seven overs.

The Lamma reply never got going as four of the top five batsmen fell for single digit scores. From 4/29 and then 6/48, there was no coming back for Lamma and their only highlight was 34 from Richard Abbott, batting at number 7. Lamma’s innings was wrapped up for 109 in the 28th over with Shubam Metha claiming 3/18 from five overs for Laguna Gully.
At PKVR Park: Laguna Gully CC 9/206 from 35 overs beat Lamma CC 109 from 27.5 overs by 97 runs.

HK Cricket Match Reports: Saturday 30 April, 2016

Saturday Championship – 30th April 2016

Division 2
As the season runs down to its conclusion, there are only a handful of fixtures remaining in the Saturday Championship Division 2. Matches scheduled at Mission Road over the past couple of weeks have been moved to PKVR Park.

SCC Lancers v HKU
There was only one match played on Saturday at PKVR Park where SCC Lancers beat HKU by six wickets in a tight finish.

HKU batted first after winning the toss and they made 9/178 from their 35 overs. The bulk of their runs were scored in a fourth wicket partnership of 88 runs between Ankit Suri who hit 42 and Chamila Panduwawala who top scored with 49. Best of the HKU bowlers was Rahul Tonapi who claimed 3/41 from seven overs.

The SCC Lancers reply got away to a good start with the openers putting on 39 runs for the first wicket however, three quick strikes by the HKU bowlers set SCC Lancers back to 3/57. A 94-run fourth wicket partnership between Uday Shetty (58) and Asif Ismail (56*) set up the win for SCC Lancers, who got over the line with eight balls to spare.
At PKVR Park: HKUCC 9/178 from 35 overs lost to SCC Lancers 4/181 from 33.4 overs by six wickets.

HK Cricket Match Reports: Sunday 1 May, 2016

Sunday Championship – Sunday, 1st May 2016

There were two games in the Sunday Championship with KCC Templars moving themselves into a strong position to claim the 2015-16 title following a dominant win at home while Scorpions thumped Vagabonds at PKVR Park.

KCC Templars v Pakistan Association
At Kowloon Cricket Club, KCC Templars stormed to a seven-wicket victory over leaders Pakistan Association to put themselves in the driving seat to win the 2015-16 title.

Pakistan Association opted to bat first after winning the toss but they lost wickets early and never recovered to post a challenging total. The Templars opening bowlers made inroads as Pakistan Association slipped to 3/34.  Ahsan Abbasi steadied the Pakistan Association innings with a solid 45 while Manjinder Singh struck a few boundaries at the end to finish on 30 not out but they were dismissed for 171 in the 40th over. Imran Arif was the pick of the Templars’ bowlers with figures of 3/31 off nine overs.

The Templars’ reply got off to a disastrous start with their top three batsmen dismissed with only nine runs on the board. But from there it was one-way traffic as Chris Carter and Ryan Campbell reeled off the remaining runs in an unbroken third wicket partnership worth 166 runs. Carter finished unbeaten on 51 while Campbell struck 104 not out with victory achieved in 22.4 overs.

Templars victory means they will claim the 2015-16 title if they can beat Vagabonds in the last match of the season. Should Templars lose or if the match is abandoned then Pakistan Association will win the title.
At KCC: Pakistan Association 171 from 39.5 overs lost to KCC Templars 3/175 from 22.4 overs by seven wickets.

HKCC Scorpions v Shaffi’s Vagabonds
At PKVR Park, HKCC Scorpions thumped Shaffi’s Vagabonds by 171 runs in a match reduced to 48 overs per side due to a late start.

Batting first after winning the toss, Scorpions scored 3/269 from their 48 overs with Rory Caines (32) and Raag Kapur (73) building a strong foundation to their innings. James Redmayne (62*) and Giacomo Lamplough (71*) continued the momentum for Scorpions with an unbroken fourth wicket partnership worth 120 runs.

While the Scorpions’ batsmen had thrived, their Vagabonds counterparts struggled. Mark Wright and Matt Rafter grabbed two wickets each as Vagabonds slumped to 3/4 and then 5/25. Three run-outs didn’t help their cause and Vagabonds were eventually dismissed for 98 in the 25th over with Adil Jahangir’s 30 the only batting score of note.
At PKVR Park: HKCC Scorpions 3/269 from 48 overs beat Shaffi’s Vagabonds 98 from 24.2 overs by 171 runs.

HK Cricket Match Reports: Saturday 12 March, 2016

Saturday Championship – 12 March 2016

Saturday Championship Division 1

KCC Saracens v HKCC Witherers
At Hong Kong Cricket Club, KCC Saracens crushed HKCC Witherers to put themselves on top of the points table.

It was a very short game as Tanveer Ahmed picked up 4/17 in a devastating opening spell that saw Witherers slump to 6/14 after electing to bat first upon winning the toss. Extras (35) were by far the biggest contributor to the Witherers score of 74 all out in 24.5 overs with only two HKCC batsmen reaching double figures.

Saracens had little bother in knocking off the runs with Simandeep Singh’s unbeaten 24 enough to see them home in less than 15 overs.
At HKCC: HKCC Witherers 74 in 24.5 overs lost to KCC Saracens 2/75 from 14.4 overs by seven wickets.

KCC Crusaders v KCC Tartars
Runs were a little easier to come by at Kowloon Cricket Club where KCC Crusaders enhanced their prospects of staying in the top flight with a bonus-point victory over rivals KCC Tartars.

Crusaders won the toss and elected to bowl first and they restricted Tartars to 4/50 in the early stages with Aditya Kanthan picking up all four wickets in a spell of 4/14 off seven overs. Afzaal Haider (38) and Kalhan Challu (41*) provided some resistance later on as Tartars finished their innings on 7/146 from 35 overs.

Crusaders lost two early wickets but an unbroken third wicket partnership of 138 between Ravi Sujanani (70*) and Ashley Caddy (62*) got them home in 27.1 overs.
At KCC: KCC Tartars 7/146 from 35 overs lost to KCC Crusaders 2/147 from 27.1 overs by eight wickets.

Saturday Championship Division 2

SCC Lancers v Laguna Gully
At Mission Road, SCC Lancers beat Laguna Gully by four wickets in a game dominated by two batsmen.

Laguna Gully opted to bat first after winning the toss and they scored 178 in 33.4 overs with Shekhar Sharma top scoring with 81. Rahul Tonapi had a great day with the ball for SCC Lancers as he claimed 5/24 from 3.4 overs.

In reply, Soma Nair carried his team home with a fine unbeaten 76 as SCC Lancers eased to victory in 31.5 overs. For Laguna Gully, Ali Shabaz was the pick of the bowlers with 3/32 from his seven over spell.
At Mission Road: Laguna Gully 178 from 33.4 overs lost to SCC Lancers 6/179 from 31.5 overs by four wickets.

Taipans CC v HKU CC
At PKVR Park, Taipans CC continued their unrelenting charge to the Division 2 title with a narrow victory over a determined HKU CC team.

Taipans elected to bat first after winning the toss and they amassed a total of 8/230 from their 35 overs with Gurjinder Singh (56), Jagmeet Brar (31), Rishi Srivastava (30) and Zeeshan Haider (38) all making useful contributions. Haroon Bashir was the pick of the bowlers for HKU claiming 3/39 from his seven overs.

HKU made a spirited reply with Ashutosh Balasaria (47) and Chamila Panduwawala (36) the top scorers but HKU could not quite do enough to overhaul the Taipans’ score and their innings finished 30 runs short at 9/200.
At PKVR Park: Taipan CC 8/230 from 35 overs beat HKU CC 9/200 from 35 overs by 30 runs.

HK Cricket Match Reports: Sunday 13 March, 2016

Sunday Championship – 13th March 2016

HKCA Dragons v HKCC Wanderers
The HKCA Dragons returned to Hong Kong Cricket Club this week but they couldn’t make the most of a promising start against HKCC Wanderers.

HKCC Wanderers won the toss and elected to bowl first. Although they captured an early wicket, the Dragons’ batsmen managed to keep the Wanderers bowling attack at bay. Skipper Damien Yee and James Chan put together a second wicket of 89 runs that lifted Dragons to 1/97 when Yee fell for a well-struck 55. Chan fell shortly after for 34 after which the Dragons batting fell way and they were all out for 144. Harry Ledger cleaned up the tail to finish with figures of 3/6 from 3.5 overs.

The Wanderers opening pair put on 67 runs for the first wicket before Craig Johnstone was out for 30. Stuart Tohill (62*) and Harry Bailey (29*) concluded proceedings with an unbroken stand of 81 for the second wicket with the chase wrapped up in the 19th over.
At HKCC: HKCA Dragons 144 from 46.5 overs lost to HKCC Wanderers 1/148 from 18.1 overs by nine wickets.

SLCC v DLSWCC
Rain brought about an earlier conclusion to the match at Mission Road after which Headwin Tritons SLCC were declared the winners over DLSWCC JKN thanks to a superior run-rate.

DLSWCC JKN opted to bat first after winning the toss but they were in early trouble at 3/8 thanks to three early strikes by Aizaz Butt. Anas Khan held the DLSWCC JKN’s innings together with a solid 60 but his was a lone hand and they were eventually all out for 157 in the 38th over. Aziz Butt finished with 3/44 from ten overs while Mukhtar Ahmed mopped up the tail-enders to finish with 3/15 from 5.2 overs.

The SLCC reply got off to a shaky start as they lost two early wickets however, a partnership of 78 between Khizar Hayat (46) and Akbar Khan (35) got them to 111 when the third wicket fell. Shortly afterwards, there was a short break for rain before the players got back on the field although there was no adjustment to the target score. At 4/128 after 28.4 overs, conditions deteriorated again and the players left the field for the last time. The umpires quickly calculated the run-rates and SLCC were declared the winners; earning themselves a bonus point in the process.
At Mission Road: DLSWCC JKN 157 from 37.2 overs lost to Headwin Tritons SLCC 4/128 from 28.4 overs by superior run-rate

HK Cricket Match Reports: Sunday 28 February, 2016

Sunday Championship – 28th February 2016

DLSWCC JKN v HKCC Optimists
DLSWCC JKN scored a bonus point victory over HKCC Optimists in their Sunday Championship match played at Hong Kong Cricket Club.

Optimists elected to bat first after winning the toss and they were well placed at 1/79 when George Clarke was dismissed for 42. Miles Richardson scored 34 but the rest of the top order failed as Optimists slipped to 6/95 and then 8/117. Some dogged resistance from the tail-enders, nurtured along by their skipper David Jacquier who finished on 51 not out, got Optimists to 171 all out in the 50th over. Ehsan Khan was the pick of the bowlers for DLSWCC JKN with figures of 3/18 from his ten over spell.

Ehsan Khan then hit an unbeaten 50 as DLSWCC JKN knocked off the runs in just 29.2 overs. Waqas Khan scored 30 while Babar Hayat and Moner Ahmed also made valuable contributions. Miles Richardson’s 4/67 went in vain for HKCC Optimists.
At HKCC: HKCC Optimists 171 from 49.2 overs lost to DLSWCC JKN 5/175 from 29.2 overs by five wickets.

KCC Templars v HKCA Dragons
KCC Templars also picked up a bonus point following their demolition of HKCA Dragons at Kowloon Cricket Club.

The HKCA Dragons opted to bowl first after winning the toss and they were rewarded with the early wicket of Ninad Shah. Thereafter, the Templars’ batsmen dominated with Roy Lamsam (42) and Dylan Dearing (151) sharing a second wicket partnership of 123. Dearing was the third wicket to fall at 240 before Templars’ middle order added another 90 runs in double-quick time to see them through to a score of 330.

The Dragons’ top-order struggled against the pace of Aditya Kanthan and they were quickly reduced to 4/17. James Chan (28) and Damien Yee (25) resisted briefly before Dan Pascoe wrapped things up for Templars. Kanthan claimed 3/11 from five overs while Pascoe picked up 3/20 from seven as Dragons were all out for 95.
At KCC: KCC Templars 6/330 from 50 overs beat HKCA Dragons 95 from 34.1 overs by 235 runs.

KCC Infidels v USRC/MCC
At Mission Road, KCC Infidels scored a bonus point in beating USRC/MCC by seven wickets.

USRC/MCC won the toss and elected to bat first but their top order failed to string any significant partnerships together as they slipped to 5/91 with Gurjant Singh grabbing 3/25 for Infidels. An 84-run sixth wicket partnership between Balal Muhammad (47) and Awais Mohammad (57*) got the total to 175 but three wickets by Najeeb Amar (3/25) stymied any late surge by the USRC/MCC batsmen and their innings finished on 8/204.

Najeeb was quickly in the action again as he hit 96 runs in a third wicket partnership with Muhammad Khan worth 125 runs. Khan finished unbeaten on 76 as Infidels ran out winners by seven wickets with twenty overs to spare.
At Mission Road: USRC/MCC 8/204 from 48 overs lost to KCC infidels 3/205 from 30 overs by seven wickets.

source: HK Cricket Association

HK Cricket Match Reports: Saturday 27 February, 2016

Saturday Championship – 27th February 2016

Saturday Championship Division 1

HKCC Witherers v Pakistan Association
HKCC Witherers got their bid for the 2015-16 championship title off to a great start by beating Pakistan Association at Hong Kong Cricket Club. A single point now separates the top four teams in Division 1.

In the game itself, Pakistan Association elected to bat first after winning the toss and their openers put on 44 runs for the first wicket. A further 55 runs were added for the second wicket with Daniyal Bukhari scoring 47. However, Bukhari’s wicket triggered a collapse that saw the visitors slip from 1/99 to 7/107 and they were eventually all out for 134. Ahan Manglik did much of the damage for Witherers by claiming 4/22 from his seven overs while Toby Raper grabbed 3/37.

In reply, Charlie Bright hit 56 at the top of the order and skipper Liam Ginnivan chipped in with 36 as Witherers eased to victory by six wickets in the 31st over.
At HKCC: Pakistan Association 134 from 29 overs lost to HKCC Witherers 4/137 from 30.5 overs by six wickets.

KCC Tartars v DLSWCC Sarjan
In a tight finish at Kowloon Cricket Club, KCC Tartars gave themselves some breathing space above the relegation zone by beating DLSWCC Sarjan by 13 runs.

Tartars batted first after winning the toss and they have Ateeq ul Rehman to thank for them recovering from a precarious 6/70 to reach 8/163 after 35 overs. Rehman top scored with 44 not out.

Rehman then completed a great double by claiming 5/28 as DLSWCC Sarjan’s reply was restricted to 9/150. Top scorer for the visitors was their captain Harpreet Singh with 50.
At KCC: KCC Tartars 8/163 from 35 overs beat DLSWCC Sarjan 9/150 from 35 overs by 13 runs.

Saturday Championship Division 2

USRC/MCC v Kai Tak CC
At Mission Road, USRC/MCC stayed within reach of division leaders Taipans with a four-wicket victory over Kai Tak CC.

Kai Tak got off to a great start with their openers putting on 67 runs for the first wicket. Haroon Arshad (44) and Tom Downey (38) scored the bulk of the runs as Kai Tak reached 161 all out in 34.2 overs. Iftikhar Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers for USRC/MCC with 4/36 from 6.2 overs.

USRC/MCC lost early wickets but recovered from 3/17 to chase down the total in less than 30 overs. Sikander Zafar top scored for USRC/MCC with 41 while Umar Mohammad hit 39 and Sher Ya Saeed scored 33.
At Mission Road: Kai Tak 161 from 34.2 overs lost to USRC/MCC 6/165 from 29.4 overs by four wickets.

source: HK Cricket Association

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.