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PAKISTAN STAY ON COURSE FOR RECORD SIXTH CUP TITLE
Hosts Hong Kong crash Cup competition for second consecutive year
[Hong Kong, October 27, 2012]: Defending champions Pakistan stayed on course for a record sixth Cup
title at the Karp Group Hong Kong Sixes on Saturday as they eased into the main
competition alongside Sri Lanka, South Africa and hosts Hong Kong.
But it was a different story for the other five-time Cup winners England
who were relegated to the Plate competition after losing two of their
preliminary round games – to Australia and Hong Kong - on the opening day of
action at the Kowloon Cricket Club.
Pakistan,
led by Kamran Akmal, suffered a hiccup in the final match of the day losing by
three wickets to Sri Lanka but they had done enough to qualify for the main
event having coasted to wins over the Netherlands and archrivals India.
Returning
with three players from their successful 2011 campaign – Umar Akmal, Hammad
Azam and Yasir Shah – Pakistan were quickly into stride as they chased down
modest totals in their first two pool games.
Associate
member country, the Netherlands, posted a meager 73 for four which hardly posed
a problem for Pakistan with opening pair Umar Akmal (28 not out) and Awais Zia
(34 retired) laying the foundation for a comfortable victory.
The Akmal
brothers were to the fore again against India, who could only muster 73 runs in
their knock, and both were unbeaten as Pakistan reached their target with nine
balls to spare.
“It was an
excellent day for us, the boys played very well against India and the
Netherlands. So far so good, but tomorrow is another hard day against the best
teams so far, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Hong Kong, so there are no easy games
for us. We will play harder tomorrow after we relaxed a bit too much in the
last game,” said Akmal.
Sri Lankan
captain Jehan Mubarak saw his side squeak to a last-ball victory against
Pakistan as the islanders remained unbeaten on the opening day. Sri Lanka were
given an early wake-up call by the Dutch who came close to chasing down an
imposing total of 107, falling just short by three runs.
With
opening bat and wicket-keeper Kusal Perera in fine form, and with good support
from Chamara Kapugede and Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Sri Lanka upped the tempo
against a makeshift Indian outfit romping to a 37-run victory to ensure their
place in the last four in the Cup competition, which will be played on a
round-robin format with the top two advancing to the Cup final on Sunday.
“We played well
and the boys are happy. We didn't play with any expectations and this is how we
always want to play and it worked for us today. It will be tough tomorrow, but
we are in a happy mood and relaxed and that is when we play our best. We enjoy
playing Sixes and we want to do well again tomorrow,” Mubarak said.
Hosts Hong
Kong lived up to their reputation as giant-killers when they held their nerve
to defeat England’s hardened band of County professionals to book their berth
at the top table.
Hong Kong
had begun the day promisingly when they blasted the highest total of the day,
134 for one against a hapless Australian outfit.
Teenage
opener Babar Hayat was in outstanding form scoring 34 before retiring (batsmen
have to retire once they reach 31 but can return if the other players are out)
as the Australian bowlers wilted under his assault.
“Australia
were very impressed with Babar. Brad Hodge told me he had never seen such clean
hitting and that means a lot coming from a professional like him,” Hong Kong
coach Charlie Burke said.
Australia
crumbled to a 67-run defeat to give the home side the perfect start as they go
in hunt of a first-ever Cup title. Hong Kong came close in 2009 when it lost in
the final to South Africa.
But the
home team’s balloon was punctured by South Africa who restricted Hong Kong to
84, despite another good knock by Hayat, and easily knocked off the runs for
the loss of two wickets.
Needing to
win their final group game against England, Hong Kong lost Hayat early and the
rest of the batting could only scramble to a total of 78, which is well below
par at the small ground.
But Hong
Kong’s bowlers came to the party with left-arm spinner Munir Dar bowling a
superb opening over, one for seven, and seamer Tanwir Afzal also proving that
the minnows could match the professionals with a miserly one for five off his
over.
“We knew we
had to bowl well to have a chance of qualifying for the Cup. Both Munir and
Tanwir bowled exceptionally well,” said Burke.
The loss
placed England in a must-win situation as they faced South Africa but the Colin
Ingram-led team was too strong as they won by 21 runs having posted a sizeable
total of 113 for one.
“That was a
crunch game for us as we knew the winner would make it through to the Cup,”
Ingram said. “We batted well in two games today, but I think the key was our
fielding. We didn’t drop one catch which came our way and our ground fielding
saved a lot of runs.”
South
Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Hong Kong will figure in a round-robin
competition on Sunday with the top two teams advancing into the Cup final.
The bottom
four-placed sides, England, the Netherlands, India and Australia will play in
the Plate semi-finals.
Today’s opening round of the KARP
Group Hong Kong Sixes was again well supported by local cricket enthusiasts
with the venue approaching maximum capacity with attendance of over 2,700.
Among those in attendance was Mr Alan
Isaac, President of the International Cricket Council, on a stopover after
being in Beijing this past week.
“The Hong Kong Sixes is a great
event,” said Isaac. It is great to see
the game being played in places like Hong Kong and we hope to see the game
continue to grow in China,” said Isaac.
Less than 500 tickets remain for
tomorrow’s finals. Tickets can be
purchased at the Box Office at Kowloon Cricket Club.
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 2011 reached over 115 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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