PRESS RELEASE
60 Day Countdown to Karp Group Hong Kong Cricket Sixes Begins
All Stars to face Rest of the World in showcase T20 Match; Special Ticket Package introduced for opening day
 [Hong Kong, September 1, 2011]: The Hong Kong Cricket Association today unveiled the tournament pools and ticketing details of the Karp Group Hong Kong Cricket Sixes 2011 at the tournament venue, the Kowloon Cricket Club. Today’s announcement marks the 60-day countdown to the Karp Group Hong Kong Sixes 2011 weekend. With the generous support of the Mega Events Fund, the Karp Group Hong Kong Cricket Sixes will be held at the Kowloon Cricket Club from Friday, October 28, to Sunday, October 30, 2011.
Among the tournament innovations revealed today is the holding of the first ever international T20 cricket match in Hong Kong on the Friday of the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes 2011. The T20 match will feature the All Stars and Team China playing a combined side drawn from the remaining 11 teams in the tournament.
In keeping with the unique innovation that inspired the inception of the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes, the T20 showcase match will be played under a modified format with nine players per side, each playing innings of twenty overs of six balls per over. The match will be played on the opening day of the tournament, Friday October 28, starting at 1500. The full tournament schedule will be released at a later date.
Attending today’s press conference were Mr Jonathan McKinley, Deputy Secretary of the Home Affairs Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR Government, representing Hong Kong’s Major Sports Events Committee which has again granted the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes “M Mark” status in 2011; Captain Shahzada Saleem Ahmed, President of the Hong Kong Cricket Association, Mr Dinesh Tandon, Chairman of the Hong Kong Cricket Association and Mr Glyn Davies, Tournament Director of the Karp Group Hong Kong Cricket Sixes 2011.
The Karp Group Hong Kong Cricket Sixes is being supported by the Mega Events Fund for the first time in 2011 and has been granted official M Mark status for the fourth consecutive year. The support has enabled the Hong Kong Cricket Association to expand the tournament from eight to 12 teams and to extend tournament play across three full days from Friday, October 28 to Sunday, October 30, 2011.
Mr Ramesh Maldar, Managing Director of Karp Group commented on this year’s tournament saying, “Karp Group is a proud sponsor of the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes and a firm supporter of cricket in Hong Kong. The Karp Group Hong Kong Cricket Sixes is one of our premier sponsorships and holds great appeal for our corporate clients and staff. We are delighted to see the Mega Events fund join us in our support for the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes and are excited to see the tournament growing from strength to strength in 2011.”
Captain Shahzada Saleem Ahmed, President of the Hong Kong Cricket Association commented on the plans for 2011 saying, “With the strong support of the MEF, our title sponsors, Karp Group, and our associate sponsors and box holders, the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes 2011 is set to be the largest and most exciting tournament in the 19-year history of the event.
“We are confident that the innovations announced today will enhance the appeal of the tournament for tourists and our global television audience, as well as attracting more local spectators in 2011.”
Alongside the announcement of the T20 match, the pools for the expanded 12-team tournament, up from eight teams previously, were unveiled today.
The teams will be pooled into three groups of four teams each. The All Stars are the tournament top seeds in Pool A alongside Sri Lanka, New Zealand and tournament debutantes Scotland. Pool B is headed by defending Hong Kong Cricket Sixes champions Australia, followed by England, Bangladesh and Ireland. Pool C sees last year’s runners-up Pakistan grouped with South Africa, India and the hosts, Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Cricket Sixes Tournament Director Glyn Davies said, “The expansion to 12 teams has helped raise the international profile of the Cricket Sixes. The addition of the new teams also offers some tantalizing match-ups including clashes between England and Ireland, Pakistan and India and Australia and England in pool play alone. The T20 game also provides a showcase for the tournament on Friday and sets the tone for the heavy-hitting excitement to follow.”
For the first time at the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes both the Men’s and Women’s national teams of China will be participating in the event. Team China will be in action with exhibition matches over the weekend between the China and Hong Kong Women’s national teams and a China men’s exhibition match on Sunday, October 30.
The Hong Kong Cricket Association also introduced a reduced price single-day ticket for Friday, October 28, 2011. Tickets may be purchased individually for the Friday of the tournament at a cost of HK$100 for adults and HK$50 for children.
“Part of our mandate for the tournament is to increase the exposure of the Sixes and introduce new audiences to cricket. We are confident that the special ticket price offer for Friday will assist in attracting new audiences and will create an entertaining opening day for both staunch cricket supporters and general sports fans,” said Dinesh Tandon, Chairman of the Hong Kong Cricket Association.
Tickets for the Karp Group Hong Kong Cricket Sales 2011 will go on sale on Friday, September 2, 2011 via the Hong Kong Ticketing website (www.hkticketing.com) and telephone hotlines, the Hong Kong Cricket Association office in Olympic House, Kowloon Cricket Club, Hong Kong Cricket Club and at Jashan and DotCod restaurants in Central.
Adult tickets are priced at HK$800 for a weekend (Saturday and Sunday) package. Weekend ticket packages for children 12 and under on October 28, 2011 will be HK$380.
About the Karp Group Hong Kong Cricket Sixes 2011
Organized by the Hong Kong Cricket Association since 1992, the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes is the only international cricket event held in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Cricket Sixes is fully sanctioned by the world’s governing body for cricket, the International Cricket Council, and title sponsored by Karp Group. The tournament has been broadcast live since 2008 and in 2010 reached over 80 million households on the Indian subcontinent, across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Australia and South Africa, as well as being packaged for distribution in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe and China.
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