Afzaal Haider, Mark Kratzmann and Ankur Sharma ignite an explosive weekend of league matches

Afzaal Haider ignited an explosive round of Saturday League matches played on Guye Fawkes Day whilst Ankur Sharma and Mark Kratzmann produced the fireworks as three tantalizing derby matches produced some surprise results in the Sunday League.

In fine and hot conditions, Afzaal Haider claimed seven wickets and scored an undefeated 91 as Tartars beat Kai Tak at Po Kong Village Road. Despite Haider's blitz, Kai Tak managed to post a respectable total of 182 for 8 from their 35 overs, with Malcolm Brown top scoring with 59. Chris Williams claimed three early scalps but Haider and Shkawat Ali (59*) saw the KCC team home by six wickets.

In the other match played at PKVR, the Hong Kong Under-19s beat Witherers by 21 runs. Nadeem Ahmed's 53 was the top score in the Hong Kong Under-19s' total of 195-7, whilst Glaros claimed three wickets for Witherers. Nadeem completed a good double by claiming three wickets as Witherers were restricted to 174-8 in reply. Sajid Mehmood also claimed three wickets for the Hong Kong Under-19s.

Nomads overcame last weekend's controversial loss to Tartars by beating LSW Warriors by 8 runs in a match played at the Hong Kong Cricket Club. Batting first, Nomads were dismissed for 176, with Toby Brown hitting 68 and Tabrak Dar claiming four wickets. In reply LSW Warriors were bowled out for 168 with Luke Rewega and Mal Costain claiming three wickets apiece for Nomads.

HKU continued their table topping run by beating Lamma by four wickets in a match played at Sandy Bay. Butt Hussain proved to be the differnce between the two sides as he claimed four wickets and scored 87 runs. Creditable performances were also made by Tauseef Bukhari for Lamma and Martin Sabine and Khalid Qureshi for HKU - all of whom scored forties.

Crusaders resurrgence continued as they beat Centaurs by four wickets at Kowloon Cricket Club. Imran Farcy claimed five wickets as Centaurs were dismissed for 194, with Iftikhar Ahmed scoring 87. Manoj Cheruparambil top scored with 45 runs as Crusaders eased to victory, while Chandrin claimed four wickets for Centuars.

Zafran Ali also claimed five wickets as Mainlanders registered their first win of the season over the struggling CCC who could only managed a total of 115. In reply Burgess claimed three wickets but the Mainlanders cruised to a six wicket victory.

MCC St George's beat Police in a low scoring match played at the Police Training School. Khalid Khan and Sai Ket Sen had the MCC St George's in all sorts of trouble as they claimed four wickets apiece. Chasing 127 for victory, Kahlid Khan top scored for Police but his efforts were in vein as they were skittled for 114 with Naresh claiming five wickets and Suliman three for MCC St George's.

With three tantalizing derby matches being played, plenty of fireworks were expected in the latest round of the HKCA Sunday League with matches once again played in warm conditions under clear skies.

A fierce battle was expected at Po Kong Village Road as the two Pakistan Association teams met for the first time this season and no one was left disappointed. Ankur Sharma set the tone for the day as he posted the highest individual score of the weekend with 117 and team-mate Mohammed Jamshaid smashed 76 as Pakistan Association Green racked up a formidable score of 283. Butt Hussain was the best of the Pakistan Association bowlers with three wickets. In reply, Najeed Amar hit 95 but Pakistan Association could not match their rivals total and they slumped to a surprise defeat by 25 runs with Jamshaid Khan claiming five wickets whilst Ankur Sharma rounded off a great day by claiming three wickets.

A more predictable outcome was achieved at Hong Kong Cricket Club in another high scoring match where the in-form Scorpions beat Optimists by four wickets. Batting first, Optimists posted an impressive 243-5 in a match reduced to 43 overs per side, with Mark Fuzes (55), Paul Watkins (58) and Chris Gillard (64*) making useful contributions with the bat and Wil Nevin claiming three wickets with the ball. In reply, Mark Kratzmann scored an unbeaten 109 as Scorpions eased to victory in the 40th over.

With the Chris Collins Memorial Cup up for grabs, Templars managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as they were beaten by 3 runs by Infidels in a testy match played at Kowloon Cricket Club. No Infidels batsmen was able to produce a really big innings against a Templars side that was missing a number of its regular players and the side was eventually dismissed for 195 in the 47th over. Nigel Shroff top scored for Infidels with 45, whilst Afzaal Haider claimed three wickets for Templars. An early flurry of wickets by Ashwin Bhat saw Templars off to a cautious start, but a solid partnership between Haider (61) and Naeem Ashraf (68) took them to the verge of victory. From 170-3, Templars capitulated to 192 all out with Imran Farcy claiming four wickets.

At Mission Road, LSW thrashed Sunday League newbies Millennium CC by seven wickets. Shabbir Ahmed and Jawaid Iqbal claimed four and three wickets respectively as Millennium were routed for 110 in the 23rd over. An unbeaten 64 from Suresh Pandey saw LSW cruise to victory before lunch to assure them maximum points from the match.

Lamma posted a comprehensive victory over LSW in the latest round of the HKCA Women's League. Batting first, the LSW women could only manage a total of 75 as Neisha Pratt claimed four wickets. Neisha rounded off a good performance by hitting an undefeated half century as Lamma cruised to an eight wicket victory.