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ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifiers Match Report: Hong Kong v China @ HKCC – 10 October, 2016

A confident Hong Kong team came out on top in the ‘cross-border derby’ against China as the home team maintained their perfect start to the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup – Asia Qualifiers.

Opener Sze-Wan Yip continued her great form, scoring 26 runs off 27 balls. Although her opening partner Kary Ka-Ying Chan was caught in the third over, Keenu Gill kept the scoreboard moving with 21 as Hong Kong reached 1-56 in the 10th over.

But it was captain Mariko Hill who stole the spotlight, scoring 35 runs off 19 balls in an innings that lifted Hong Kong’s score to 114-6 from 20 overs.

China’s Jie Liu and Fengfeng Song took two wickets each.

Two wickets in the second over set the tone for the rest of China’s innings as Hong Kong never looked in any trouble. Left arm spinner and the eventual Player of the Match Sau-Ha Chan came in to the attack and took wickets in the 5th, 7th and 11th over to put the technically skilled Chinese close to defeat.

Strong fielding for the home team put China under pressure and resulted in three run outs. While three wickets in the 19th over meant China were all out for 74. China’s Skipper Huang Zhuo was the highest scorer with 17.

Sau-Ha Chan was delighted to be named Player of the Match, “I am very happy, I did not expect to get this award. My bowling was great but there were other aspects that I could have done better,” said Chan. “I credit my bowling performance to our great preparations. The whole team were confident coming into the match.”

“It feels great, having two games in the bag now. The team’s confidence is even higher now,” said captain Mariko Hill. “This (Hong Kong Cricket Club) is my home club, so playing on this ground and scoring 35 off 19 was awesome,” added Hill.

Hong Kong will face Thailand tomorrow, 9:30am at Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground.

Match Summary
Hong Kong 114/6 (20 overs)
China 74 all out (18.5 overs)
Hong Kong won by 40 runs
Scorecard: www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/1059671.html

Additional reporting and photos: HK Cricket Association

Hong Kong v China Women’s World Cup Qualifier @ HKCC – 10 October, 2016

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A boisterous crowd gathered early on a glorious Monday morning at the HK Cricket Club to cheer our hometown heroines as they took on, and vanquished, the mainlanders in a Women’s World Cup Qualifier.

After smashing the Chinese ladies all around Wong Nai Chung Gap, our ladies induced such fear amongst the girls from north of the border that they kept running themselves out to avoid Mariko’s fiery white ball and Betty’s bamboozling brilliance.

Click here or on any photo to see more images. Read the full match report here.

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Hong Kong Beat Nepal by 6 Wickets

Hong Kong vs Nepal

Tournament hosts Hong Kong began the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup – Asia Qualifiers tournament and their very first international match on home soil with a victory after a calm run-chase saw them defeat Nepal.

Nepal won the toss and elected to bat, but did not have the perfect start losing opening batsman Jyoti Pandey to the fourth ball of their innings. Nirmala Kumari Shahi, who top scored with 18, steered the innings through the first ten overs before being fourth out with the score on 42.

Hong Kong’s bowlers were able to limit the run rate throughout Nepal’s innings with good tight bowling and by taking regular wickets. Nepal’s highest partnership was just 16, and they were all out for 77 with four balls left of their 20 overs.

Skipper Mariko Hill, Ka-Man Chan and Sau-Har Chan each took two wickets for Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s response got off to a strong start thanks to opener Sze-Wan Yip who scored 33 runs off just 39 balls. Yasmin Daswani added 15, while Player of the Match Mariko Hill (10 not out) and Shanzeen Shahzad (11 not out) completed a comfortable chase in the 17th over.

Captain Mariko Hill was extremely proud of her team’s performance. “It’s a massive boost for us, it will give us a lot of confidence as we performed how we wanted,” Hill said “We’ve never played international cricket at home so to see our family and friends here means a lot. We’ve got China tomorrow and it will be a completely different game, the HKCC outfield is so small so we will plan tonight and start again tomorrow.”

Match Summary
Nepal 77 all out (19.2 overs),
Hong Kong 78/4 (16.3 overs)
Hong Kong won by 6 wickets (with 21 balls remaining)
Scorecard: www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/1059670.html

China vs Thailand

In the first match of the day, Thailand opened the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup – Asia Qualifiers tournament with a big victory over China at Tin Kwong Recreation Ground.

Openers Nattakan Chantam (14) and Sirintra Saensakorat (19) provided a good platform for Thailand. While an unbeaten 24 from Ratanaporn Padunglerd gave Thailand a mid-innings push with 24 not out as they finished their 20 overs with 107 runs.

Zhou Caiyun led China’s bowler with 2/27 in four overs.

It was a one-sided affair when China batted. Zhou Caiyun was caught off the fourth ball of the innings for a duck and they never recovered. The second wicket came in the second over when Song Fengfeng was caught behind for 9 and wickets fell steadily afterwards. China were eventually all out for 32 runs after 12.1 overs without a single player reaching double figures.

Suleeporn Laomi and Wongpaka Liengpraert each took two wickets for Thailand. Player of the Match was Thai Captain Sornnarin Tippocj.

Match Summary
Thailand 107/6 (20 overs)
China 32 all out (12.1 overs)
Thailand won by 75 runs
Scorecard: www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/1059669.html

Additional reporting and images: HK Cricket

On the Road to England 2017

The Hong Kong Women’s team are eager to shine on home turf during the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 – Asia Qualifier 2016 which starts this Sunday.

China, Nepal, Thailand and Hong Kong will compete in a round-robin tournament where each team will play everyone twice. The top ranked team will earn a place in the global qualifiers for England 2017.

Captain Mariko Hill is looking forward to the tournament. “The pre-tour to India has boosted everyone’s confidence, so I’m sure everyone is looking forward to displaying their abilities.”

“Hosting an ICC event is rare let alone playing on home soil! We understand the conditions better and we hope to use this to our advantage. We can then plan strategies ahead of time according to the ground conditions and the team we are playing against,” said Hill.

“We are among the favourites to win the tournament. I have full faith and confidence in my team mates that we will too, seeing how hard we have trained over the last few months. Although I have some personal goals, the overarching goal for me is simply to contribute as much as I can to the team reaching the ICC World Cup Qualifiers next year,” added the captain.

Chloe Ip is one of the newer members of the Hong Kong team, after being scouted in a programme designed to find Hong Kong-born cricketers abroad.

“I was born in Hong Kong but moved to Australia with Mum and Dad when I was three years old, and my relatives are still live in Hong Kong,” said Ip.

“I don’t think it has really fully sunk in yet. Hopefully I will get picked to play at some stage during the tournament and wear the Hong Kong shirt. It will be an honour. The whole family living here are very excited and proud of the prospect of this happening.”

“Even though I’ve grown up in Australia I haven’t forgotten my roots and family history. Hong Kong has been close to my heart and I’ve been back as much as possible to visit. I am fitting in well with the girls, they’ve welcomed me with open arms from the first day. I enjoy the cultural diversity within the squad a lot.”

ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 – Asia Qualifier 2016
Date: 9-15 October
Venues: Kowloon Cricket Club, Hong Kong Cricket Club, Tin Kwong Recreation Ground
Tickets: free.

Additional reporting and image: HK Cricket

HK Women’s Cricket: Twenty20 Cup Match Reports 16-18 September, 2016

Women’s Twenty20 Cup

HKCC Cavaliers v HKCC Willow Wielders
In an all-HKCC affair on the 16 September, Cavaliers beat the Willow Wielders by 16 runs.

Batting first, Cavaliers’ Jasmine Titmuss led the team with 32 runs, while Hong Kong captain Emma Lai added 22. They finished their innings with a total of 76. Willow Wielders’ Annie Ho took one wicket and allowed only nine runs in four overs.

In response, Willow Wielders’ opener Yasmin Daswani led the team with 25 runs, while Ashley Hung scored 12. Their chase proved unsuccessful as Cavaliers’ Ruchitha Venkatesh took three wickets while allowing only six runs in four overs.
Scorecard: www.crichq.com/#matches/429620/1st_innings

CCC Fung Wong v DLSW Wasps
Little Sai Wan Wasps beat Craigengower Cricket Club Fung Wong by 64 runs on the 18 September.

Wasps’ opener Manpreet Kaur scored a team-high 44 runs. Her partner, last season’s cricketer of the year Shanzeen Shahzad scored 14 runs facing only 7 balls. Yousaf Mehreen added an efficient 33 runs of 29 balls to bring the total to 157. Hong Kong and Fung Wong’s bowler Kary Chan took four wickets for 20 runs.

Fung Wong’s V Wong scored a team-high 19 runs off 22 balls, and Kary Chan added 11 runs off 8 balls in their unsuccessful chase. Yousaf Mehreen was Wasps top bowler with 1/18 in three overs.
Scorecard: www.crichq.com/#matches/429100/1st_innings

USRC v KCC Maidens
Kowloon Cricket Club Maidens defeated the United Services Recreation Club with nine wickets to spare.

USRC scored 41 runs after getting all out in the 18th over. KCC needed only five overs and two balls to overcome the target.
Scorecard: www.crichq.com/#matches/429593/1st_innings

Additional reporting and photos: HK Cricket Association

Hong Kong to Host ICC 2016 Women’s World Cup Qualifier – Asia

The road to the next Women’s Cricket World Cup is a long one but Hong Kong’s talented squad will play the first series of matches in their attempt to qualify at home after the International Cricket Council have awarded Hong Kong hosting rights of the ICC 2016 Women’s World Cup Qualifier – Asia, which will be held in October this year.

China, Nepal and Thailand will join Hong Kong in a round-robin tournament from the 9th-15th of October, at the Tin Kwong Recreation Ground in Mong Kok, with a place in the global qualifying tournament guaranteed for the winning team.

“The ICC 2016 Women’s World Cup Qualifier – Asia is an exciting opportunity for the top Women’s teams in Asia,” ICC Development and Programs Manager Andy Hobbs said. “The winner of this event will progress to the ICC 2017 Women’s World Cup Global Qualifier and have the opportunity to play against some of the top Women’s teams in the world and of course the chance to make it to the very pinnacle of Women’s Cricket at the world cup itself”.

The decision to award Hong Kong rights to host the tournament is yet another boost for local cricket in a year when Hong Kong has hosted its first ever One Day International, appeared in the ICC World Twenty20 and launched a new event, the Hong Kong T20 Blitz.

“We are thankful to the ICC for electing us to host the first ever Women’s World Cup Qualifier – Asia,” CEO Tim Cutler said. “We will be working closely with the government to ensure Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground is at the best standard it can be for this international event.”

“Our ladies are the pride of our indigenous development programmes with over half of the squad being of Hong Kong Chinese extraction. Witnessing the success of “big sister” China is particularly pleasing, and the HK v China matches are sure be the highlight for many.” Cutler continued “Such a diverse range of cultures make up our local cricket community and with a particularly large, proud, Nepalese community we expect to welcome some great crowds into the grounds over the course of the tournament.”

ICC 2016 Women’s World Cup Qualifier – Asia
Date: 9-15 October, 2016
Venue: Tin Kwong Recreation Ground
Tickets: tbc

HK Cricket Match Report: Women’s Premier League – 15 May, 2016

Women’s Premier League – 15 May, 2016

The first of three Women’s Premier League 40-over fixtures was played at the Mission Road ground on Sunday, 15th May 2016. Teams were boosted by the addition of star players Sarah Coyte and Kristen Beams from Australia and Shizuka Miyaji and Mai Yanagida from Japan. Both teams also featured an under-13 player with Aarush Bhagwat playing for Sail and Sachit Anand playing for Bauhinia.

Conditions were sunny and hot as HKCA Sail (wearing blue) won the toss and elected to bat first. They got away to a good start with Kary Chan and Chan Sau Ha putting on 43 for the first wicket before Kary was bowled by Marina Lamplough for 12. Chan Sau Ha fell shortly afterwards for 25 – the first of seven run-outs in the match – and when Shanzeen Shahzad was trapped LBW for 1 by Shizuka Miyaji, Sail had slipped to 3/58.

Emma Lai and Sarah Coyte then combined in a 76-run partnership for the fourth wicket that laid the foundation for a big Sail total. Lai was eventually bowled by Kristen Beams for 24 and Coyte was stumped off the bowling of Alvina Tam for 54. Aarush Bhagwat hit 29 and Mai Yanagida scored 11 in the late charge for runs as Sail finished on 8/191 from their 40 overs.

For the Bauhinia team, Kristen Beams was the pick of the bowlers with 2/29 from her eight overs while Marina Lamplough, Shizuka Miyaji, Alvina Tam and Keenu Gill claimed one wicket each.

The Bauhinia innings followed a very similar pattern to that of Sail’s. An enterprising opening stand of 46 between Shizuka Miyaji (12) and Keenu Gill (28) was followed by three quick wickets that saw Bauhinia slip to 3/59. Jasmine Titmuss claimed both openers, with Mehreen Yousaf taking a brilliant catch to dismiss Keenu Gill, while Pull To was the third to fall after being sent back by her partner and run-out for 5. Another run-out saw the demise of Bauhinia’s skipper Mariko Hill (5) thanks to an excellent piece of fielding by Chan Sau Ha, to leave the Bauhinia innings teetering at 4/76.

A 62-run fifth wicket partnership between Sachit Anand and Kristen Beams got the Bauhinia innings back on track. Sachit batted very well to reach 41 but he fell to an excellent caught and bowled by Amanda Kwok. Marina Lamplough the fell for 5 off the bowling Coyte but Bauhinia still looked well on target to overhaul the Sail total at 6/160. But when Bauhinia’s momentum stalled, their batting and running between the wickets got more desperate as the overs ebbed away. Beams was bowled for 47 by Mehreen Yousaf after which Jenefer Davies, Annie Ho and Lemon Cheung were all run-out chasing non-existent singles.

Jasmine Titmuss was the pick of the bowlers for Sail, claiming 2/27 from her eight overs with two maidens while Mehreen Yousaf, Sarah Coyte and Amanda Kwok were the other wicket-takers for Sail.

Sail’s victory by six runs was their first in the series after Bauhinia had won the first two T20 matches in the series.

Despite being on the losing side, Sarah Coyte earned the Player of the Match award for her 54 runs and 1/28.

Score Summary: HKCA Sail 9/181 from 40 overs beat HKCA Bauhinia 185 from 39.1 overs by 6 runs

HK Cricket Match Report: Women’s Twenty20 Cup – 24 April 2016

Women’s Twenty20 Cup – 24 April 2016

HKCC Cavaliers v HKCC Willow Wielders
The two HKCC women’s teams played a rescheduled derby game to bring the curtain down on the 2015-16 Women’s League and T20 Cup season.

Cavaliers won the toss and put the Willow Wielders in to bat first. The Cavaliers bowlers struck early and had the much-vaunted Willow Wielders batting attack struggling at 4/29 with Mariko Hill not out 17. Sara Young was the only other batter to reach double-figures and Willow Wielders finished their 20 overs on 7/87. Ruchitha Venkatesh and Alvina Tam claimed two wickets each for the Cavaliers.

In reply, the early run out of Natural Yip dented the Cavaliers chances but a solid 22 from Emma Lai had them sitting pretty at 2/51. However, Emma’s dismissal saw the Cavalier’s innings collapse to 75 all out. Chan Sau Ha and Annie Ho picked up two wickets each for the Willow Wielders.
At HKCC: HKCC Willow Wielders 7/87 from 20 overs beat HKCC Cavaliers 75 from 19.3 overs by 12 runs.

The Willow Wielders victory saw them sweep the Women’s League and Women’s T20 Cup titles for the 2015-16 season. The Willow Wielders have now won seven consecutive Women’s League titles and four consecutive T20 Cup titles.