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Posted 2 years ago

Cricket Asia Cup

Hong Kong: The team fighting all odds at the Asia Cup

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The Hong-Kong cricket team are determined group of players, who have been playing cricket non-stop for the past three months. This includes ICC events in Namibia, Uganda and Jersey, preparatory tours in South Africa and England, the T20 World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe, the Asia cup qualifiers in Oman, and currently the Asia Cup in UAE, where they are set to face India and Pakistan in the group stage.

This has come at the cost of sacrifices, with three players – Babar Hayat, Ehsan Khan and Yasim Murtaza- becoming fathers while travelling.

The team has had to adhere to a relentless schedule, as they also mustsupplement income with additional jobs, since their income from cricket is lower than earned by those in more established teams.

This requires them to dedicate all possible time to cricket, with guidance from coach Trent Johnson, through six Covid-19 lockdowns that made them miss training for a year. Through it all, they have conducted their strength training and conditioning sessions remotely over Zoom, joining from various locations like their homes, car parks and parks. According to him, they have never complained and have always put their best foot forward.

Up until now, Hong Kong have put up spirited performances against Singapore, Kuwait, and UAE at the Asia Cup qualifiers, and hope to replicate the performance against India and Pakistan. The team had played against India four years ago at the 2018 Asia Cup, in a performance that had left India shaken, and it remains to be seen if they can repeat, or even improve on that performance.

The biggest challenge so far has been the balance that players must strike between cricket and the regular jobs that the players work in. The vice-captain Kinchit Shah is in the jewellery trade, the young bowler Ayush Shukla is still at university, several players are involved in coaching, and many are food delivery drivers.

Through all challenges, Hong Kong’s cricket has made steady progress. With Under-16, and Under-19 teams serving as initiation programmes, the future is brighter. The Under-18 team is currently gearing up for the Asia Cup qualifiers, signalling the increased participation of younger players.

The national team itself boasts of considerable variety, with two spinners in their 30s (Ehsan Khan and Yasmin), two fast bowlers who are 19 and 22 and skilled batters. The cricket board is also working on enhancing the cricket framework in the country, while women’s cricket is also making strides.

Overall coach Johnston has high hopes for his team, who he has decided not to measure against conventional standards of success. He looks forward to Hong Kong not only performing well at the Asia Cup matches against India and Pakistan but hopes to cause a few upsets as well.