Hong Kong steal show as England keep title defence on track

Defending champions England progressed to the Cup phase of the Karp Group & Unirich Jewellery Hong Kong Cricket Sixes 2009 on Saturday despite losing their final game of the group phase against Sri Lanka, but it was Hong Kong who stole the limelight with an unbeaten run at the Kowloon Cricket Club.

The hosts defeated South Africa, Australia and New Zealand to finish with a 100 percent record at the top of the Southern hemisphere group with the South Africans joining Hong Kong in the next round by taking second place.

England topped the Northern hemisphere group with Sri Lanka securing their spot in the last four by virtue of a five-wicket win over the English in the final game of the day.

Chris Read's England side had earlier defeated India and Pakistan to earn their spot in the second round and the wicketkeeper was happy his team were able to keep their defence of the trophy alive.

"We're delighted to go through," said Read. "We would like to have been unbeaten in the first round of matches but all credit to Sri Lanka they did well and they were under pressure to get the win, but it starts all over again tomorrow.

"We've yet to play our best cricket collectively. It seems there only three guys playing well in any one game, we have yet to get it together as a unit.

"We didn't really know who was going to be a force and I think it's impossible coming into a tournament like this to commit beforehand.

"But from what we've seen today, you have Hong Kong who are unbeaten, Sri Lanka have got better throughout the day and South Africa have been involved in the highest scoring games so it's going to be interesting."

Sri Lanka's win in the final game meant they finished the day on four points from three games, two more than both Pakistan and India, who were eliminated and both will now play in the Plate competition on Sunday.

"We were hoping to win our first game and then after that you can keep your head up," said Sri Lanka captain Jeewatha Kulathunga, who side lost their opener against India.

"Unfortunately we couldn't make it but against Pakistan we were good enough to beat them. In the England game, we lost the toss and had to bowl first, not thinking about the run rate but going for the kill.

"Tomorrow our first game is going to be against South Africa and it's going to be a tough game but the team that's doing well at that particular time is going to be the winner."

Hong Kong, inspired by the batting and bowling of Irfan Ahmed, cruised through to the second phase of the competition with three wins out of three in the Southern hemisphere group.

Irfan scored a total of 76 runs in three innings as Hong Kong defeated South Africa, Australia and New Zealand to complete the group stages of the competition with a perfect record.

"The players have done their job really well," said Hong Kong captain Najeeb Amar.

"I trust them and they have given me 110 percent in batting, bowling and fielding. In every aspect they have been up to the mark.

"Our mindset was to always chase because when there is a target for us we know we can do it, we can adjust ourselves to be able to do it and it's worked perfectly.

"Everyone has done their bit and the teamwork has been perfect."

South Africa recovered well from their opening loss against Hong Kong to defeat Australia in their second game by four wickets, successfully completing a 110-run chase to keep their hopes of a place in the next round alive.

Another impressive performance in their next game against New Zealand saw the South Africans earn a 20-run victory to seal second spot in the Southern hemisphere group.

New Zealand picked up their only win of the day to secure third place in the group when they handed Australia a four-wicket defeat to leave their rivals empty handed after their three matches on Saturday.

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

TEAM PLAYED POINTS RUN RATE

HONG KONG 3 6 3.4459
SOUTH AFRICA 3 4 3.2500
NEW ZEALAND 3 2 2.9875
AUSTRALIA 3 0 2.8444

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE

TEAM PLAYED POINTS RUN RATE

ENGLAND 3 4 3.125
SRI LANKA 3 4 3.104651
PAKISTAN 3 2 2.925926
ANIL KUMBLE'S INDIA 3 2 2.677778

Southern Hemisphere

Game 1 - Hong Kong beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets
South Africa 71 for 2 (Jacobs 32 retired); Hong Kong 73 for 1 (Irfan Ahmad 33 retired).

Game 3 - Hong Kong beat New Zealand by 4 wickets
New Zealand 92 for 3 (Spearman 31 retired); Hong Kong 95 for 2 (Irfan Ahmad 32).

Game 5 - South Africa beat Australia by 4 wickets
Australia 110 for 2 (Maxwell 34 retired, Moller 33 retired); South Africa 112 for 2 (Bosman 33 retired, Jacobs 33 retired, Coetsee 29 not out)

Game 7 - Hong Kong beat Australia by 4 wickets
Australia 86 for 3 (Maxwell 29); Hong Kong 89 for 2 (Dar 33 retired)

Game 9 - South Africa beat New Zealand by 20 runs
South Africa 103 for 3 (Kleinveldt 34 not out); New Zealand 83 for 2 (Fulton 31 retired, Stewart 33 retired).

Game 11 - New Zealand beat Australia by 4 wickets
Australia 60 all out (Stoinis 35); New Zealand 64 for 2 (Kitchen 32 retired).

Northern Hemisphere

Game 2 - India beat Sri Lanka by 6 runs
India 88 for 2 (Pandey 31 retired, Arun Kumar 36 retired); Sri Lanka 82 for 3.

Game 4 - England beat Pakistan by 3 runs
England 92 for 0 (Stevens 33 retired, Trego 35 retired); Pakistan 89 for 3 (Shahzad 33 retired, Ali 35 retired).

Game 6 - Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 6 runs
Sri Lanka 88 for 2 (Soysa 36 retired); Pakistan 82 for 2 (Raouf 30).

Game 8 - England beat India by 4 wickets
India 88 for 4 (Binny 54 not out); England 89 for 2 (Stevens 32 retired, Trego 35 retired).

Game 10 - Pakistan beat India by 6 wickets
India 65 for 1 (Pandey 28 not out); Pakistan 66 for 0 (Shahzad 31 retired).

Game 12 - Sri Lanka beat England by 5 wickets
England 94 for 4 (Trego 65 not out); Sri Lanka 97 for 1 (Kualthunga 32 retired, Lokuarachichi 31 retired).

- ENDS -

About the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes
In 2009, the Sixes has been selected as an ICC Centenary Celebration World Event and will feature a special ceremony to honour 100 years of the International Cricket Council and the Spirit of Cricket.

Six-a-side cricket is the quickest, most fun-filled version of the game - a feast of world-class players, thrilling matches and big hits.

First played in 1992, the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes is the longest-running and highest-profile Sixes tournament in the world. It offers two days of fast and furious action in a festival atmosphere - eight international teams, 45-minute clashes and global television coverage.

Stars who have taken part include Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Javed Miandad, Steve and Mark Waugh, Viv Richards, Andrew Flintoff, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble, Adam Gilchrist, Wasim Akram, MS Dhoni and Sanath Jayasuriya.

The Sixes won the prestigious 2007 ICC Award for Best Cricket Promotional and Marketing Award.

England recorded a record fifth Sixes title last year after a stunning final in which they finished tied with Australia on 121 runs. When Australian batsman Stephen O'Keefe was run out attempting a second run from the final delivery that would have given his team victory, England were confirmed victors as they had lost fewer wickets (three wickets to one).

For further information, please contact:
Damien McDowell
T: +852 2815-9876
M: +852 9409-5811
E: dmcdowell@brand-rapport.com

Erica Liu
T: +852 2815-9871
M: +852 9186-6877
E: eliu@brand-rapport.com