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Cricket in Hong Kong: a reader writes
By Will 4 years ago, mid-August Add your comment below
A couple of weeks ago I found a photo of a cricket club in Hong Kong. A reader, and fellow blogger, Salil Benegal, knew of it and has extensive knowledge of cricket in that region. The following guest-post is from Salil, with accompanying photos
Given Hong Kong's massive population density, it might be a bit surprising to know that there's even one cricket ground in the city. Yet two exist; the Hong Kong Cricket Club (HKCC) at Wong Nai Chung Gap on the main island, and its better known, and larger counterpart – the Kowloon Cricket Club in Kowloon. Few have heard of the former, which exists primarily as a country club with a small ground for members and the Hong Kong team to play on. Fine dinners (and particularly satays) are common at the HKCC, high profile matches aren't. Yet these photographs were taken at one of the very few held in recent times, when the Hong Kong side hosted Tamil Nadu, a strong Indian Ranji Trophy side, for an exhibition match attended by less than a hundred people, including your's truly and one Srinivas Venkataraghavan (former Indian off spinner and Test umpire).
The HKCC ground isn't one for watching matches on given the small capacity – or for playing on, if you're a bowler. The small dimensions make it a leather-hunt for any fielding side, and provide a rough day out for any person in a side for his bowling. Given the club's located in one of the hillier areas of Hong Kong, it's not surprising that high nets are erected around half the ground to try and prevent balls from being lost down the hills – and even then, they've had limited success.
The Kowloon Cricket Club lies a good distance away from the heart of the city, on the other side of Victoria Harbour in the Jordan district of Kowloon. The ground is far bigger than the HKCC's, and much better known, annually hosting the Hong Kong Sixes tournament every November. It's the one weekend in the year when the ground's small capacity of a few hundred is filled, mostly with expatriate fans and the odd curious local or sponsor. The Sixes are a six-a-side, five-overs-per-team tournament played with an orange plastic ball that see small teams of youngsters or retired/fringe players from various countries show up. Guests have been fairly high profile though – Hong Kong's had the likes of Moin Khan, Allan Donald, Vinod Kambli and Craig McDermott show up in past years in touring teams. But the Sixes are mainly about the atmosphere and seeing some fun slogging take place, rather than any real promotion for the sport. The small crowds are vociferous, particularly the Indian and Pakistani segments, and there's a fun family atmosphere with good food and players mingling freely with fans.
Salil Benegal also runs his own blog
Tags: cricket-photos, hkcc, hong-kong, hong-kong-cricket-club, kowloon, kowloon-cricket-club, photo, wong-nai-chung-gap |
3 Responses to “Cricket in Hong Kong: a reader writes”
August 9th, 2006 at 6.39 pm
August 9th, 2006 at 10.20 pm
Thanks for this info, Salil. It’s always great to hear about smaller cricketing nations. How is Hong Kong’s national team doing these days? I believe they used to have the oldest players in international cricket. I had a friend at university play for them – a very classy bat and top off-spinner. I believe he’s signed up for Worcestershire now.
How are their future prospects looking?
August 10th, 2006 at 5.58 am
Salil, looking at the picture on your right, I was sat at long-on to your long off.
Good to see some coverage for Hong Kong on The Corridor. The Sixes are a good laugh. England sent out a half decent team with a mixture of old men and A team-ers. Kabir Ali, Read, Croft, Cork plus a few other sloggers who came over and tucked into the bowling and the Tsingtao. Weirdly Phil DeFreitas was out here at the same time, coaching the HK side. Don’t know if he’s still here or not.
No sign of Dermot Reeve – Hong Kong’s most famous cricketer. He must still be recovering.
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