Hong Kong look to hone skills, strategy on brief tour to Sri Lanka

Winning or losing won't matter for Hong Kong on their brief visit to Sri Lanka as long as they get their game plan in order for the ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament later this month.

A three game tour of Colombo will begin with a stringent test against the Sri Lanka Under-19s with head coach Charlie Burke insisting that the whole purpose of the visit is to put in place a strategy which will allow the side to finish top two in the six-team tournament from January 22-29 in Hong Kong.

"While results will be good, what is more important is to use these three games to hone our game plan and get the structure of our team right," Burke said.

A 14-strong squad led by Najeeb Amar arrived in Colombo via Mumbai, and hours after landing, Burke had the team out for a two-hour training session at the nets of a Colombo school.

The visit organised by Rumesh Ratnayake - the ex-Sri Lankan paceman is now the regional development manager for the Asian Cricket Council with Hong Kong under his umbrella - will see Hong Kong also meet two First Division teams.

Burke believes the opposition won't be as strong as the likes of the USA or Papua New Guinea, two of the teams in the WCL, but he is more interested in how the players cope with the alien turf wickets.

"We have been training on turf at the newly laid Mission Road grounds and our preparations have been good so far. I think we will do well here," said all-rounder Irfan Ahmed.

Burke added: "The training at Mission Road has been good and the guys are now starting to get some good performances under their belt. This visit will do them good as the next few days will be intensive and they will be living in a cricketing environment."

Munir Dar was the only player unavailable for the short tour due to work commitments. His place in the squad has been temporarily filled by Waqar Dawood.