ENGLAND 'DOUBLE UP' AND DEFEND TITLE AT CATHAY PACIFIC/STANDARD CHARTERED HONG KONG CRICKET SIXES while HOSTS HONG KONG COLLECT PLATE TITLE AT KOWLOON CRICKET CLUB

Hong Kong, November 7: A rampant England team defended their title at the US$260,000 Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes this afternoon, crushing Sri Lanka by five wickets in the Cup final at the Kowloon Cricket Club.

Batting first under the late afternoon sun on Hong Kong's Kowloon peninsula, Sri Lanka got off to a slow start and were never in position to set the kind of large total demanded in Sixes cricket, particularly with the introduction of eight-ball overs for the final. Indeed, it set the tone for an innings total of just 61/4 after a sterling bowling performance from the 2003 champions.

Thanks to a cracking innings of 34 (retired) from opener Kabir Ali, England were never tested and cruised to the title in the fourth over for the loss of just one wicket. Ali, a member of last year's victorious team, was named Player of the Final courtesy of that innings and his earlier bowling stint of 1/12.

Fittingly, skipper Matthew Maynard was at the crease when the winning runs were struck and he was thrilled with the repeat triumph. "This afternoon was the best we have bowled in the last couple of years. I have said for the last couple of years that, even though people see the sixes and all the runs being scored, the bowling is the real secret to winning here.

"We just bowled brilliantly and that won us the game. My guys bowled full and straight and never let Sri Lanka in the match."

Added Maynard, whose team collected US$80,000 for the win: "These players are hot property back in England and they have done their plans for higher honours no harm at all, especially with David Graveney (national chairman of selectors) here this weekend."

Sri Lankan captain Hasantha Fernando was philosophical in defeat. "Our batting never clicked this afternoon and, unfortunately, we played our worst match at the worst time. If we could have reached 90 runs it might have been a different story, but we were always about 25 or 30 runs short.

"But this was a great experience for our young team. This was a good achievement and we will be prepared to play England next year."

The match represented a welcome change in form for the Sri Lankans in Hong Kong and was the first time they had reached the Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes final since 1993, when they also played England.

That match featured marquee names such as Graham Gooch, Phil DeFreitas, Sanath Jayasuriya and Arjuna Ranatunga and saw the 'home' side, with Hong Kong then still under colonial rule, victorious by three wickets in a high-scoring match. This game proved a very different affair, though – perhaps a classic case of Sri Lanka playing their final one game too early.

They had earlier denied the English the chance of a final showdown with their traditional Hong Kong rivals, defeating Pakistan – a team England had played in three of the four previous Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes deciders – in the semi-final.

The Lankans, who have struggled to make an impact in Hong Kong since the re-launch of the Sixes in 2001, posted a solid total of 73/2 after choosing to bat. With the four-time champions in good shape at 40/0 after three overs, off-spinner Dilruwan Perera delivered the bowling performance of the event.

Thanks to spectacular catches from wicketkeeper Rashan Peiris (two) and Nuwan Kulasekara, the off-spinner notched just the second hat-trick in Hong Kong Sixes history after the hosts' Mohammad Zubair's effort against South Africa in 1997. Perera's over of 3/9 strangled the Pakistan innings and ensured his team advanced to the Cup final.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates learned some of the harsh realities of top-level international cricket after their stunning day one efforts. Having cruised into the Cup phase of the competition after first-day victories over India and South Africa, the Emirates were dealt a 60-run loss in their final pool match against Pakistan, before England eased past them to reach the Cup final.

Consigned to the Cup grouping's third-place play-off against four-time champions Pakistan, the Emirates endured a similar plight to their morning pool game against the same team. The Pakistanis raced to a total of 104/2 and, despite a gallant batting effort, the underdogs were unable to overhaul that total and ended 15 runs short.

However, it was still a great weekend for the Gulf nation group and they will be well satisfied with their fourth place – and a tidy prize money cheque for US$30,000. It continued a successful 2004 for the side, who will play in the semi-finals of the ICC Intercontinental Cup later this month and the final of the Asian Cricket Council Fast Track Countries Tournament early next year.

In the Plate competition, Hong Kong made up for a horrible run in 2003, in which they went winless, to claim the Plate division for the second time in three years.

Thanks in large part to a blistering opening stand of 49 from just 12 balls between Butt Hussain and Rahul Sharma, only broken when Hussain's innings ended with compulsory retirement when he reached 35, the hosts pounded a huge total of 135/1, taking full advantage of the eight-ball overs.

The young Kenyan side were always behind in the chase and never threatened to overtake their opponents. They were ultimately dismissed for 85, the 50-run Hong Kong victory capped by two-wicket overs from Ryan Eagleson and skipper Sharma.

Sharma, who himself had retired on 36, was delighted with his team's effort. "We redeemed ourselves with this win. Any time you play in a final it is a big occasion and we proved that today.

"All morning we hoped that our batting would click for us and that is what happened. In both the (Plate) semi-final (against India) and final we were able to bat first and post big totals. Against Kenya we had three players retire, which means you are already around 100 runs, and then our bowlers did a great job."

Hong Kong had further good news with the announcement that local favourite Hussain had won the Ben Hollioake Trophy as the player of the tournament. Highlighted by his Plate final effort and another solid innings in the semi-final against India, the victory was a popular one.

Hussain was happy with the win, but more impressed with the team's title. "We did well to come back and play well today. Yesterday we were a bit unlucky, but today we enjoyed ourselves and had some fun.

"For me, I think I was trying to hit the ball too hard yesterday and it was not really working. Today, I concentrated on timing the ball for the final games and it paid off."

South Africa, meanwhile, earned some measure of redemption for a disappointing weekend when William Hantam hit a four from the last ball of the match to lead his team to third place over a disappointing India in the Plate competition play-off.

Match Summary – Day 2

Game 12
Pakistan 110/2 (Y. Arafat 35 ret; K. Khan 1/18) defeated United Arab Emirates aof 50 (S. Zia 16; I. Nazir 2/6) by 60 runs

Final Points Table

Pool 1
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
Pakistan 3 3 0 6
UAE 3 2 1 4
South Africa 3 1 2 2
India 3 0 3 0

Plate Semi-final 1
South Africa 64/4 (R. Munnick 29*; R. Bhudiya 1/9) lost to Kenya 67/1 (R. Shah 33 ret; W. Hantam 1/10) by 5 wickets

Cup Semi-final 1
England 92/4 (D. Maddy 39*; A. Ali 3/8) defeated United Arab Emirates 77/2 (Z. Shah 29*; D. Mascarenhas 1/22) by 15 runs

Plate Semi-final 2
Hong Kong 77/1 (R. Sharma 32 ret; D. Mohanty 1/11) defeated India 64/1 (N. Chopra 31 ret; N. Amar 1/9) by 13 runs

Cup Semi-final 2
Sri Lanka 73/2 (D. Perera 20*; S. Afridi 1/14) defeated Pakistan 61/4 (N. Latif 38*; D. Perera 3/9) by 12 runs

Plate Third Place Play-off
India 101/0 (M. Singh Dhoni 36 ret; J, van der Wath 0/11) lost to South Africa 104/2 (G. Dros 32 ret; M. Singh Dhoni 1/17) by four wickets

Cup Third Place Play-off
Pakistan 104/2 (S. Afridi 36 ret; K. Khan 1/19) defeated United Arab Emirates 89/0 (M. Tauqir 34 ret; R. Afridi 0/12) by 15 runs

Plate Final
Hong Kong 135/1 (R. Sharma 36 ret; K. Patel 1/22) defeated Kenya aof 85 (R. Shah 43; R. Eagleson 2/9) by 50 runs

Cup Final
Sri Lanka 61/4 (H. Fernando 24*; G. Napier 1/6) lost to England 62/1 (K. Ali 34 ret; D. Perera 1/18) by 5 wickets

Final Results
Cup Team Prize (US$)
1 England 80,000
2 Sri Lanka 50,000
3 Pakistan 35,000
4 UAE 30,000

Plate Team US$
1 Hong Kong 25,000
2 Kenya 20,000
3 South Africa 10,000
4 India 10,000

Player of the Final: Kabir Ali (ENG)
Player of the Tournament: Butt Hussain (HKG)

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.