| For all the information
on the 1995-96 domestic cricket season in Hong Kong, check out the following
links:
The
Competitions
There
are two leagues - one on Saturdays and the other on Sun- days. The Saturday
League involves 35 overs per side matches and is contested by 17 teams,
which play each other on a round-robin basis. The Sunday League is more
serious, with 50 overs per side matches played under ICC rules (although
bowlers are allowed to bowl a maximum of 13 overs), contested by 9 teams
and played on a home-and-away basis. The end of the league season is followed
by a knock-out cup competition. The Saturday Cup is usually boosted by
a number of social teams that do not participate in the regular league
competition.
Cricket
in Hong Kong is played during the cooler months, between September and
March. The early and late stages of the season can be very hot (30+ degrees
Celsius), when it can also be very wet. The mid season is the coolest
and driest, with temperatures in the 15-20 degree range. Playing in the
winter can have its draw- backs, as ALL sports are played at that time
of year and there is severe competition for the few grounds available.
Additionally, it means that those players who have a passion for another
sport have to make a choice of one or the other.
The
majority of cricket matches are played on artificial wickets, although
grass strips are used at the KCC and HKCC when the weather is dry enough
to prepare wickets. The KCC`s ground, lo- cated in the heart of Hong Kong`s
shopping strip on the Kowloon Peninsular, is by far the best in Hong Kong,
both in terms of the quality of the wicket and the surroundings. It was
the original venue for the Hong Kong International Sixes Tournament, moved
in 1996 to the Hong Kong Stadium at Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island.
There
is a marked variation in the ability of players, ranging from ex-first
class cricketers to schoolboys, all playing in the same league. As a result
some of the matches tend to be rather lop-sided affairs. Scores in excess
of 300 have been recorded in the Saturday competition (35 overs) and scores
over 400 have been recorded in the Sunday (50 overs) competition. A score
of 469 was recorded in the Sunday competition in 1995/96 (the winning
margin in that particular match was over 300 runs!) and a double century
was scored by a Saturday player during the 1996/97 season.
Hong
Kong Teams/Clubs
There
are two major cricket clubs in the territory - the Hong Kong Cricket Club
(HKCC) and the Kowloon Cricket Club (KCC). The KCC provides three teams
in the Saturday League competition and three teams in the Sunday League,
including the KCC Dragons - a team comprising of Chinese players and those
born in the territory. The HKCC provides three Saturday sides and two
Sunday sides.
The
Craigengower Cricket Club (CCC) is one of the oldest cricket clubs in
Hong Kong, celebrating it`s centenary in 1995) and they provide a Saturday
team (sadly, they no longer have a ground).
The
remaining teams are made up from `independent` club and association sides;
corporate teams (e.g. Kai Tak are a Saturday team comprised of staff from
Cathay Pacific and other Swire companies); schools (3); the Hong Kong
University; and Police. The hand-over of Hong Kong to China in 1997 has
not only seen the loss of the British Forces team this season, but also
the loss of their grounds and facilities.
The
Hong Kong Team and Development of Cricket
As an Associate Member of the ICC since 1969, Hong Kong has been represented
in a number of regional and international cricket competitions. It has
generally been one of the powerhouses of Asian cricket, although recent
changes to the eligibility rules for ICC backed competitions has diminished
its strength a little, due to the rather transient nature of people living
and working in the territory.
The
majority of representative players are expatriates, although a few locally
born players are now coming through the ranks. This is largely thanks
to the concerted effort by the Hong Kong Crick- et Association (HKCA)
to develop the game in the local community. Young, talented, locally born
players are now being sponsored to join cricket development programs in
England and Australia. The success of the International Hong Kong Cricket
Sixes has also raised the profile of cricket in the territory.
Cricket
in Hong Kong is managed/administered by the HKCA, a full- time professional
body. The HKCA`s address is:
Hong
Kong Cricket Association
Room 1019, Sports House
1 Stadium Path,
So Kon Po, Causeway Bay,
Hong Kong
Phone
(+852) 2504-8101 Fax (+852) 2577-8486
1995/96
Champion Teams
Saturday
League Champions - Merchants
Saturday Cup Champions - Merchants
Sunday League Champions - Pakistan Association
Sunday Cup Champions - KCC Templars
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