Disappointing end to Hong Kong's Under-19 campaign

Hong Kong's campaign at the ACC Under-19 Elite Cup 2007 came to a disappointing end today as they were soundly beaten by Oman at the Club Aman ground in the play-off match for 7th and 8th places.

The day started brightly for Hong Kong as they won the toss and elected to bat. However it went rapidly down-hill from there as Nadeem Ahmed once again fell for 0 in the first over. Things went from bad to worse as the top-order failed to cope with the all spin attack from Oman and by the first drinks break they were struggling at 26-4. Courtney Kruger struck one boundary (the only one of the Hong Kong innings) before he fell for 10 and when Zuiad Khan fell three balls later, the innings was in complete tatters at 41-6 after 22 overs. A partnership of 19 runs between Jamie Atkinson and Nicholas Lau lifted the score to 60 before another two wickets fell in quick succession. Nicholas Lau shared in two further partnerships of 22 and 12 with the number 10 and 11 batsmen before he was the last man dismissed for the top score of 24 from 98 balls. Hong Kong's final score of 95 was a major disappointment with only four batsmen reaching double figures.

For Oman, Suneet Fernandes and Saud Haroon Khan claimed three wickets each.

As the Omani bowlers had gotten through their overs in double-quick time, their batsmen were required to bat for 12 overs before the scheduled lunch break. Hong Kong needed early wickets to put pressure on the Omani batsmen but the openers remained defiant, reaching 37 without loss.

The openers continued after the break and their stand reached 59 runs before Suneet Fernandes was trapped LBW for 39 by John Bacon. Bacon grabbed three further wickets, including opener Shrey Wilson who batted 35.5 overs for just 7 runs, but by that stage it was too little too late. Zuiad Khan grabbed one further wicket, with the scores tied but in the end it was a thoroughly convincing victory for Oman by five wickets with the best part of nine overs to spare.

John Bacon took the bowling honours for Hong Kong, claiming 4-16 from his ten over spell.

Suneet Fernandes claimed the Man of the match award for his three wickets and 39 runs.

[Scorecard - Hong Kong Under-19s v. Oman Under-19s]

Clearly, this was Hong Kong's worst performance and a disappointing end to a tournament in which they had high hopes and reasonable expectations of reaching the semi-finals. The ACC's match report was less gracious in saying "The talent's there undoubtedly in Hong Kong. So is the technique. But maybe the heart, the hunger, the 'mongrel' isn't."

The result meant Hong Kong finished 8th in the ten team competition, winning only one of their five matches, but they have the good fortune to remain in Elite group for the next ACC Under-19 tournament.

The ACC Under-19 Elite Cup final will be played between Nepal, going for their fourth successive title, and Afghanistan. In semi-final action played on 27th August Nepal beat Malaysia by five wickets after dismissing the hosts for a paltry 54. Afghanistan didn't have it quite so easy as they beat UAE by 40 runs. In the 9th/10th play-off match, Kuwait scored their first win of the tournament with a comprehensive five wicket victory over Thailand despite Thailand's Noppon Senamontree claiming a hat-trick.

In the 3rd/4th play-off match played on 28th August, UAE beat Malaysia by 5 runs in a rain-affected match. Malaysia's 4th place finish will be a big disappointment as better things were expected from the team that will be playing host at the 2008 Under-19 World Cup in 2008.

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The Hong Kong Under-19s v. Oman Under-19s was the last match as team coach for Lal Jayasinghe, who has resigned from his position with the HKCA effective from the end of August 2007. Lal has been a central figure in the development of men's, women's and junior's cricket in Hong Kong over the past ten years. During that period, Lal travelled as coach with numerous representative teams to places such as Nepal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Malaysia and many of Hong Kong's top young players have grown-up and learnt their skills under his tutelage.

Lal's contribution to Hong Kong cricket has been immense and his presence in the coaching ranks will be sorely missed. A new era of coaching in Hong Kong will dawn shortly with the appointment of new a new National Coach while junior coaching positions have yet to be announced.