Wanderers, Vagabonds, Little Sai Wan and Pakistan Association through to Sunday Cup semi-finals

Three first round and one second round matches were played in the Saturday Cup Twenty20 competition in warm and partly fine conditions on 21st April 2007.

At Kowloon Cricket Club, Crusaders booked their place in the Saturday Cup semi-finals when they beat the Hong Kong Under-19s by 62 runs. Batting first, Crusaders struggled in the early going as the Hong Kong Under-19s bowlers extracted pace and bounce from the KCC wicket. Anthony Barnet, who had smote 137 from 57 balls against Lamma the previous week, was an early victim, as was Simon Scanlon. It wasn't until Mohanna Marzook (51) and Rob Taylor (31) came together that the runs began to flow with any regularity. Crusaders were eventually dismissed for 161 on the last ball of their 20 overs. Irfan Ahmed was the best of the Hong Kong Under-19s bowlers, claiming 4-22 from his four overs. In reply, the strong Hong Kong Under-19s batting line-up failed to fired as Imran Farcy and Todd Johnsen made early in-roads. The HK Under-19s were ultimately dismissed for a disappointing total of just 94.

In first round matches, Gap Ramblers beat Nanda Indus by two wickets while Kai Tak thrashed Centaurs by 155 runs. Aryans also continued their good run in the competition, beating SCC Vampires although no details from that match were provided.

At Hong Kong Cricket Club, Nanda Indus scored 147 when batting first with Ranjit top scoring with 54, while Mark Winstanley claimed 5-24 from his four overs. In reply, Gap Ramblers knocked off the required runs with Jeremy Collard and Matt Thwaites both hitting 45. Asif claimed 5-32 but his efforts weren't enough to stop Gap Ramblers easing home with two wickets in hand.

Meanwhile Kai Tak made light work of their clash with Centaurs at Mission Road. James Barrington led the Kai Tak batting effort with 90 while Tiku Patidar and Dave Ellis both hit thirties as Kai Tak racked up an impressive 225-5 from their 20 overs. In reply, Centaurs were skittled for just 70 with Chris Williams and Brad Haskett grabbing three wicket each.

The remaining quarter-final match-ups see LSW Warriors take on Gap Ramblers at PKVR1; Witherers play Aryans at HKCC while Kai Tak will face Laguna Gully at Mission Road. All matches will be played on 28th April 2007.

The draw for the Saturday Plate sees MCC St George's face Nomads at PKVR2 on 28th April while Centaurs take on SCC Vampires at PKVR1 on 5th May. The Saturday Plate final will be played on 12th May 2007.

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Three matches were played in the Sunday Cup on 22nd April 2007 in overcast conditions with occasional showers.

At Kowloon Cricket Club, Pakistan Association thrashed the home team Infidels by 190 runs. Batting first, Pakistan Association amassed 342 from their 50 overs with Butt Hussain scoring 102 and Najeeb Aamer hitting 75. Damian Kelleher was the best of the Infidels' bowlers, claiming 5-57 from nine overs. Infidels could only muster 152 in reply with Anthony Barnet scoring 67. Ilyas Gull destroyed the Infidels batting line-up claiming 5-9 from five overs.

At Hong Kong Cricket Club, the Sunday League champions Optimists were upset by SCC Vagabonds in a tight match that saw Vagabonds prevail by one wicket. Optimists batted first and posted 241 from 47 overs with Mark Eames scoring 117. Neeraj Chopra claimed 3-45 and Sher Lama picked up 4-33 for Vagabonds. Chopra then scored 71 and Tauseef Bukhari finished unbeaten on 80 as SCC Vagabonds scored a memorable victory with the last pair at the crease.

In the final match of the day, Wanderers over-powered Millennium by six wickets in a high-scoring encounter at Mission Road. Millennium batted first and posted 321-9 from their 50 overs with Mukhtar Ahmed (64), Zar Khan (40), Talat (86) and Liaquat (43) all contributing to the Millennium total. The Wanderers bowling effort was led by Hugo Davison who claimed 4-76 while Kenny Thiedeman took 3-44. In reply, Darren Tucker smashed a brilliant 169 not out as Wanderers raced to 322-4. N Jones and Hugo Davison provided able support scoring 64 and 34 respectively.

The Sunday Cup semi-final line-up sees Wanderers take on SCC Vagabonds at HKCC while Little Sai Wan face Pakistan Association in an mouth-watering encounter at Mission Road. Both matches will be played on 29th April 2007.

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The 2006-07 HKCA Skitz Sports Bar Women's Cricket League wound up its final match with the KCC Maidens defeating Sri Lanka Club by ten wickets at PKVR2. The SLC women batted first but were dismissed for 42 with KCC's Kristine Wong claiming 5-14 from five overs. KCC had little trouble chasing down the total with the openers Sarah Eames and Renee Montgomery finishing undefeated.

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