ENGLAND MAKE STRONG START TO TITLE DEFENCE AT CATHAY PACIFIC/STANDARD CHARTERED HONG KONG CRICKET SIXES

Hong Kong, November 6: It was a day of something old and something new at the 2004 Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes, with defending champions England and upstarts United Arab Emirates stealing the spotlight at the Kowloon Cricket Club.

Behind the big-hitting Dimitri Mascarenhas, England rolled to victories over Kenya, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong to comfortably book their place in the elite Cup phase of the US$260,000 championship.

Mascarenhas plundered an unbeaten 35 opening the batting in England’s successful chase of Kenya’s 74/1 in their first outing and belted successive sixes to end a tense game against Sri Lanka in which his team needed 22 off the last over for victory. For good measure, he added an over of 1/8 and another 23 not out in the day’s last match, an England victory over hosts Hong Kong.

On his first visit to this bustling city since a holiday trip in his teens, the 27-year-old Hampshire player is already a veteran of nine years of county cricket. Although born in the United Kingdom to Sri Lankan parents, Mascarenhas grew up in Australia and maintains a home in Perth.

Not surprisingly, he enjoyed his first foray at the Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes. “It was great fun to get a few runs and to win as well. We have just started playing the Twenty 20 Cup (20 over a side matches) in England, so I knew it would be more frantic than that.

“This is a great tournament and England have done well the last couple of years. It would be great to keep it going and go all the way.”

Skipper Matthew Maynard, who led his country to last year’s US$80,000 first prize, praised his young crew. “We had a lot more experienced side last year. This year we have a young group and I think they all have a chance to go on and prove themselves and earn full international honours. These guys have a lot to play for this weekend.

“Dimitri showed today that he is a good talent. He was very close to selection for our tour to Zimbabwe and South Africa and also for the ICC Champions Trophy, but he just missed out. If he keeps producing results, there is a spot in the one-day side for him.”

However, Maynard admitted the exciting nature of this style of game also made it unpredictable. “In Sixes, anything can happen and anyone can beat anyone. You do as much as you can to win, but if a better side beats you then so be it. But, it would be great to be back in the final, so we will be doing our best.”

The Emirates team were understandably thrilled with their day’s work, registering unlikely wins over India and South Africa. Captain Mohammad Tauqir and Zahid Shah celebrated mid-pitch after the win over the Proteas and, although their playing commitments for day one were completed, the squad spent the afternoon at the Kowloon Cricket Club enjoying the atmosphere.

Said Tauqir: “We are absolutely over the moon. To first beat India and then South Africa, we are just stunned. We have been playing very well lately, especially our bowlers. They are the reason we won today.”

The United Arab Emirates have enjoyed a run of international success in tournaments for emerging nations in 2004, reaching the semi-finals of the ICC Intercontinental Cup, in which they will play Canada in Sharjah from November 16-18, and the final of the Asian Cricket Council Fast Track Countries Tournament, which will pit them against Hong Kong early next year.

Still, Tauqir admits he had modest hopes when he saw his side had drawn the Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes’ ‘group of death’, throwing UAE into the mix with India, South Africa and Pakistan.

“When we saw the draw, we really thought we had just come to participate. We did not imagine that we could beat these sides, especially two of them. They (South Africa and India) are very good teams. To beat them was just fantastic.”

The captain added: “We have a new side, with most of us not having played in Hong Kong before. However, the secret here is settling down quickly, as the games are so short. No matter whether you are one of the ‘big’ teams or not, you need to come out ready to play.”

The opening day was a welcome change of form for the Gulf team, who went winless here in 2002 and recorded just two victories in their Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes debut in 2001. They did not participate last year.

Pakistan – champions in Hong Kong in 1992, 1997, 2001 and 2002 and runners-up last year – were also able to keep themselves on track for a fifth title with wins over South Africa and traditional rivals India to ensure they will join the Emirates in the Cup round as qualifiers from Pool 2.

The latter match is usually one of the spectacles of the Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes, the colourful fans of both nations adding to the carnival atmosphere. This game proved no different, until Riaz Afridi throttled India in the fourth over, a return of 2/5 setting up the win for his team.

The preliminary round will be completed with the game between Pool 2 joint leaders, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, at 8.45 am, a fixture that will not affect which teams progress to the Cup phase. However, it will determine the semi-final match-ups, with the losers to have the unenviable task of playing England in the crossover semi-finals.

Just who would join England in progressing from Pool 1 kept pundits guessing all afternoon. With both Hong Kong and Sri Lanka splitting their opening brace of fixtures, each had the chance to advance with late afternoon wins.

Sri Lanka took their opportunity, crushing Kenya by 20 runs to all but ensure they would advance on run rate, even if Hong Kong could upset England in the day’s last game. However, that was not to be and the hosts were relegated to the Plate competition. That continued a wretched run of form for the home team, who went winless last year after being Plate champions in 2002.

Match Summary – Day 1

Game 1
Kenya (65/2) lost to Hong Kong (71/1) by 5 wickets
R. Gul 27* B. Hussain 34 ret
R. Sharma 1/14 R. Shah 1/7

Game 2
India (55/3) lost to United Arab Emirates (57/1) by 5 wickets
M. Singh Dhoni 18 A. Ali 30
Z. Shah 2/1 I. Siddiqui 1/18

Game 3
Sri Lanka (87/4) defeated Hong Kong (57/3) by 30 runs
G. Wijekoon 33* T. Dar 27
A. Haider 2/9 D. Lokuhettige 1/3

Game 4
South Africa (68/2) lost to United Arab Emirates (69/3) by 3 wickets
G. Dros 32 ret K. Khan 33 ret
M. Tauqir 1/18 W. Hantam 1/7

Game 5
Kenya (74/1) lost to England (79/1) by 5 wickets
R. Shah 31* D. Mascarenhas 35 ret
C. Tremlett 1/17 L. Ngoche 1/8

Game 6
Pakistan (90/2) defeated South Africa (86/2) by 4 runs  
I. Nazir 33 ret J. Van der Wath 33 ret
G. Dros 1/26 N. Latif 1/8

Game 7
Sri Lanka (87/1) lost to England (88/1) by 5 wickets
G. Wijekoon 34 ret K. Ali 34 ret
D. Maddy 1/9 G. Wijekoon 1/14

Game 8
Pakistan (87/4) defeated India (67/4) by 20 runs
S. Afridi 38 M. Singh Dhoni 24
D. Mohanty 2/13 R. Afridi 2/5

Game 9
Sri Lanka (75/2) defeated Kenya (55/3) by 20 runs
D. Lokuhettige 31 ret R. Bhudiya 20*
K. Patel 1/8 D. Perera 1/8

Game 10
South Africa (92/2) defeated India (72/4) by 20 runs
G. Dros 32 ret I. Siddiqui 34*
M. Singh Dhoni 1/9 J. van der Wath 2/8

Game 11
Hong Kong (aof 50) lost to England (52/2) by 4 wickets
T. Dar 16 D. Maddy 25
D. Maddy 3/7 N. Amar 1/7

Points Table – Day 1
Pool 1 (Final)
Team Played Won Lost  Points
England 3 3 0 6
Sri Lanka 3 2 1 4
Hong Kong 3 1 2 2
Kenya 3 0 3 0

Pool 2
Team Played Won Lost Points
UAE 2 2 0 4
Pakistan 2 2 0 4
South Africa 3 1 2 2
India 3 0 3 0

NB. Pool 2 will be completed with Pakistan-United Arab Emirates at 8.45 am Sunday.

The 2004 Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes will take place at Kowloon Cricket Club, 10 Cox’s Road, Kowloon, on November 6-7. A limited number of tickets will be available at the gate. Further details are available at the Hong Kong Cricket Association website at www.hkca.cricket.org

Provided by Hong Kong Cricket Association. For more information, please contact Danny Lai at (852) 2504-8101.