PRESS RELEASE
Vincent keeps Woodworm All Stars alive at Hong Kong at KARP Group Hong Kong Sixes 2011
 [Hong Kong, October 29, 2011]: Lou Vincent helped the Woodworm All Stars for the second successive day when he hammered a superb 55 to enable the marquee team to defeat New Zealand in a must-win game and earn a place in the Cup quarterfinals at the Karp Group Hong Kong Cricket Sixes on Saturday.
Vincent, who hit a swashbuckling century in the Woodworm All Stars two-wicket victory over the Rest of the World side in the first international Twenty20 match on Hong Kong soil on Friday, came to the fore once again as he plundered a half-century which kept the All Stars in the fray.
The Woodworm All Stars will now meet Sri Lanka in the Cup quarterfinals. The other match-ups will see crowd favourites England and India go head-to-head, hometown heroes Hong Kong taking on Scotland while fellow-associate member Ireland meet Pakistan in the last match.
Defending champions Australia, Bangladesh, South Africa and New Zealand will all have to settle for the play-offs for the relegated teams.
The Sanath Jayasuriya-led All Stars got off to the worst possible start when they were beaten by Scotland, by five wickets, in their opening pool game at the picturesque Kowloon Cricket Club.
A slow start by openers Herschelle Gibbs and Jayasuriya, the pair managing to eke out only 15 runs in the first two overs, undermined efforts to post a competitive total.
Scotland had no problems in overhauling the modest total of 77 and they did it with ease, and with five balls to spare. That result put the pressure on the Woodworm All Stars, and tough times called for some tough calls which were taken by the All Stars management who promptly dropped the mis-firing Gibbs and replaced him with the sweet-hitting Vincent.
Vincent wasn’t called to do any heavy-duty hitting in the next game against Sri Lanka. With Shahid Afridi joining Jayasuriya, the openers were both soon in the zone hammering the bowling all over the park before retiring. Ryan ten Doeshcate was out second ball for a duck but Piyush Chawla hit a quickfire 28 as the All Stars finished on a healthy 102.
It was a bridge to far for the Sri Lankans, who had already qualified for the quarterfinals with wins over Scotland and New Zealand, and they finished 10 runs short of the total. It kept the All Stars in the hunt, and they faced New Zealand in the final pool game needing a win to keep alive hopes of winning the Cup title for the first time.
Vincent came to the rescue against his countrymen when he blasted a magnificent unbeaten 55 that helped the Woodworm All Stars overhaul New Zealand’s total of 89 for two.
Vincent, helped by an unbeaten 35 from Afridi, returned to the crease after a judicious decision by RP Singh to run himself out. With Jayasuriya, ten Doeschate and Chawla all being dismissed without a run against their names, it was left to Vincent, and to a lesser degree Afridi to see the All Stars home much to the delight of a capacity crowd of 3,000.
Crowd favourites India, led superbly by Dinesh Karthik, also eased into the quarterfinals, despite losing by 22 runs to Pakistan, which had feisty opener Umar Akmal to thank for a belligerent half-century.
“Winning against India is always satisfying, but our aim is to win this whole tournament,” said Pakistan captain Abdul Razzaq.
Both rivals will have high hopes, with India meeting England while four-time champions Pakistan come up against Ireland.
Hosts Hong Kong, meanwhile continued their fine form in recent years and stormed into the quarterfinals where they will come up against Scotland.
Hong Kong which lost to India in their opening game defeated South Africa and Pakistan to book a berth in the last eight.
“We bowled much better today,” said coach Charlie Burke as Hong Kong chased down targets of 85 (against South Africa) and 87 (Pakistan) successfully with teenager Babar Hayat leading the way.
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 Sixes is fully sanctioned by the world's governing body for cricket, the International Cricket Council, and title sponsored by Karp Group. An recognised "M" Mark event by the Major Sports Events Committee since 2007, the Hong Kong Sixes is being supported by the Hong Kong Tourism Commission's Mega Events Fund for the first time in 2011. The Mega Events Fund was set up in 2009 to support mega arts, cultural and sports events to be staged in Hong Kong.
With the support of the Hong Kong Tourism Commission’s Mega Events Fund for the first time in 2011, this year’s Karp Group Cricket Sixes 2011 is set to be the biggest and best clash in the 19-year history of the Tournament. The Hong Kong Sixes has also been recognised an official “M" Mark event by the Major Sports Events Committee since 2007.
Tickets can be purchased from the Hong Kong Ticketing website at www.hkticketing.com, the Hong Kong Cricket Association office in Olympic House, Kowloon Cricket Club, Hong Kong Cricket Club and at Jashan and DotCod restaurants in Central.
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.
About the Mega Events Fund
The Mega Events Fund was set up in 2009 to support mega arts, cultural and sports events to be staged in Hong Kong. |
