Tabarak Dar: Leading From the Front

Tabarak Dar, 32, has been Hong Kong's captain since 2006. Originally from Pakistan, he came to Hong Kong with his family as a teenager and has been immersed in the territory's cricket ever since. He is a full-time coach employed by the Hong Kong Cricket Association. He led his team in the 2008 Asia Cup with some distinction, opening the batting and impressing with his grace under pressure.

He spoke to us in Kuala Lumpur, as his team prepared for the 2008 ACC Trophy Elite.

"Cricket has a lot to do with mental strength."

Amateurs against professionals, were Hong Kong out of their depth at the Asia Cup?

We learnt that when we're going up against quality sides like India and Pakistan, we need to go in fully prepared. We also most definitely need to be playing a lot more cricket if we even want to have a chance of competing against ODI sides. The teams that qualify for the Asia Cup should be compensated by the ACC and sent on tours to face a higher level of opposition in order to prepare for the Asia Cup. Even if we play the 'A' teams of the ODI countries it will help us to a large extent in gaining valuable experience. Playing at that level is vital in our preparation when we are about to take on the best sides in the world.

What is the difference in the skill levels between Associate and ODI nations?

There is a lot of difference and a lot of mismatches when we play the ODI teams especially in the batting department. The major difference is that these players are professionals whereas all of us in Hong Kong are amateurs. They play at the highest level every single game every single day and hence they're used to it. We, on the other hand, are still adjusting even to the media attention. The bowlers are much quicker than anyone we have ever played and it takes great deal of skill to play a proper shot at times.

Do you think Hong Kong and UAE have an advantage over other teams in the ACC Trophy, because they played against Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka so recently in the Asia Cup?

Yes, I definitely think we have an advantage. We may not have been even close to performing at their standards but what is most important is that it has given us a great deal of confidence playing against these sides. Cricket to a large extent has a lot to do with mental strength. Our bowlers performed well and those who took wickets in the Asia Cup are now ready to go into the ACC Trophy. Our batting is our main concern at the moment but I think given a little more time we should be ready.

How has facing top-level bowlers helped you as a batsman?

I enjoy playing fast bowlers and one really has to be brave in order to take on someone with such speed. Facing these kind of bowlers has helped me read the delivery better although at that level it is extremely hard to do because the bowler is more attuned to your reactions. They are always quick and have a lot of variation making it hard to judge. I was constantly trying to play on the front foot and immediately Umar Gul would start to bowl short and he actually hit me in the helmet grille once.

Pakistan's batsmen though, had their fair share of problems facing our bowlers. They are used to the ball coming onto the bat much quicker and since our bowlers are comparatively slower to what they are used to facing, they found it hard - especially with our spinners. Against Pakistan we had them at 140 for 5 and then 161 for 7 before they managed to recover. At that stage did you think you could beat them?

I think they realised they did not want to lose. Against India we were attacked more and things didn't quite go our way, but I was very happy with the way the team kept going in the field throughout, especially as there were so many left-hand right-hand combinations we had to be constantly on the move in the field.

Part of the success of the top teams is just how fit they are.

Hong Kong were finalists in the 2006 ACC Trophy which qualified you for the following Asia Cup, what are your chances of repeating that performance?

A lot rests on our spinners because they will have a major role to play in the upcoming matches with the kind of pitches here in Malaysia. This team has a lot of talent in it. It is quite a young team but there are still about seven of us who have played in the 2006 ACC Trophy.

In comparison to the 2006 squad, what advantages does this team possess?

Well, like I said, the team is quite similar but some of our younger players like Nadeem and Irfan Ahmed have a more mature head on their shoulders now. Also, we have selected a few boys (Zafran Ali, Niaz Ali and Shakeel Haq) from the U-19 squad which played here last August.

Your first game in the ACC Trophy this year is against Nepal. How do you think you'll do?

Nepal have a very similar team to the one they sent in 2006 and we know the team and their strategies well. It is always good to start any tournament with a win, regardless of who your opponents are. But winning against a team as strong and consistent as Nepal would give us a huge confidence boost. Hopefully that would then set the tone for the rest of our tournament and we can take it from there.