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England on the ball as they hunt down Super Six Crown
[Hong Kong, October 6, 2012]: Aggressive fast bowler Adam Ball
will be the spearhead for five-time champions England who return to their
familiar hunting grounds with a team bristling with seasoned County
professionals as they bid to once again challenge for top honours at the Karp
Group Hong Kong Sixes.
Ball, who captained the England
Under-19 team at this year’s World Cup in Australia, is tipped as a future
fast-bowling prospect for the country and fans at the Kowloon Cricket Club will
get the chance to see him in full flow at the October 27-28 tournament.
“We have heard good things about
him and it will be interesting to see if he can cope with the high pressures of
this game where you only get six balls to make an impression,” said Captain Saleem
Shahzada, president of the Hong Kong Cricket Association.
Ball, a left-arm fast medium
bowler who models his style on leading Australian test bowler Mitchell Johnson,
will be hoping to make a lasting impression as England go in hunt of title
number six.
England, along with Pakistan, is
historically the most successful team at the Hong Kong Sixes. Last year they
lost in the Cup final to their arch-rivals from the sub-continent and will be
hoping to put the record straight if they meet again.
England is in Pool A along with
Australia, South Africa and hosts Hong Kong while Pakistan are in Pool B with
Sri Lanka, India and the Netherlands.
Two members of last year’s team,
Joshua Cobb and Tom Smith, return for another tilt at the crown while the rest
of the squad comprises a nice mix of bowling-all-rounders and hard-hitting
batsmen who can turn their arm.
Former England age group
football striker Keith Barker, a left-hand bat, will be aiming to prove he can
be deadly with his arms too and will be among the batsmen to watch for. Barker,
who played for the national Under-18 and Under-19 soccer team signed on for
Blackburn Rovers before deciding his true calling was cricket.
The rest of the squad comprises
Ross Whiteley, a bowling all-rounder who turns out for Derbyshire, and
Christopher Nash, a top-order batsman for Sussex who has represented England
Lions as well as played overseas for Otago in New Zealand.
The wicketkeeper will be Ben
Brown, who turns out regularly for Sussex, profiting from the absence of Matt
Prior when he is on national duty.
England Manager Andy Hurry commented on his
squad saying, “First and foremost, it's a pretty young, vibrant, dynamic and driven
side coming out to Hong Kong who will be very motivated at doing well. Each
individual has got a lot to prove and they have a lot of motivation to do well
and progress through the England ranks and into the One day international
sides.
We have always been very competitive and done
very well in the Hong Kong Sixes and our goal will be to go one better than
last year and we are very focused on achieving that goal.”
Hurry is also excited about the challenges that the unique format of the
Hong Kong Sixes presents, saying, “The shorter the concept, the more exciting
and entertaining the game. We don't play Sixes domestically here in England as
we focus more on T20 but with ball, it's about getting wickets and with the
bat, it all about boundaries. It is a very exciting and entertaining format and
everyone is excited about getting out to Hong Kong and the opportunity that is
in front of us of to succeed in the tournament.”
“As always England will be a competitive side. They are all professionals
and we can expect them to challenge for top honours once
again,” Saleem said.
England
Squad
Joshua
Cobb (Captain), Adam Ball, Keith Barker, Ben Brown, Christopher Nash, Thomas
Smith, Ross Whiteley, Andrew Hurry (Manager)
About the KARP Group Hong Kong Cricket Sixes 2012
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 2012 reached over 115 million households
on the Indian subcontinent, across Southest Asia, the Middle East, Australia
and South Africa, as well as being packaged for distribution in North America,
the United Kingdom, Europe and China.
ENDS |
