Cricket in Hong Kong | |
---|---|
Country | Hong Kong |
Governing body | Cricket Hong Kong |
National team(s) | Hong Kong national cricket team |
First played | 1969 |
National competitions | |
International competitions | |
Cricket has been played in Hong Kong since at least 1841. Like most cricketing nations, it was part of the British Empire. The national cricket team has been active since 1866, and the Hong Kong Cricket Association was granted associate membership of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1969. The national team have played four matches with One Day International status, but have never been granted Test match status. Each year, Hong Kong hosts the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes, an ICC sanctioned event that features teams of six players in a six over competition.
Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42), and it was around this time that the first recorded cricket match was played in the colony; in 1841. [1] Ten years later, the Hong Kong Cricket Club was formed, while in 1866, Interport matches were established against Shanghai. In 1890, a further series of matches were started, against The Straits, and Ceylon. Two years after this, the Hong Kong cricket team was returning from one such match against Shanghai, when the ship they were travelling on, the SS Bokhara, was caught in a typhoon, and sank. All but two members of the cricket team, along with 114 others, drowned. [2]
An organised domestic cricket league was first established in the 1903–04 season, and was won during its inaugural year by the Army Ordnance Corps. [3] In 1966, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) visited Hong Kong for the first time, on their return from a tour of Australia and New Zealand. [4] The Hong Kong Cricket Association was granted associate membership of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1969, and a few years later, the domestic structure was altered, with the First and Second Division being replaced with Sunday and Saturday Leagues, respectively. [1]
In 1982, the Hong Kong national cricket team made they first appearance in the ICC Trophy, [1] and finished fifth in their group of eight, recording two wins, [5] against Israel, [6] and Gibraltar. [7] Interport matches continued until 1987, when the final one was played, against Singapore. In 1992, the first Hong Kong Cricket Sixes tournament was contested, [1] and was won by Pakistan. By finishing as runners-up in the 2000 ACC Trophy, Hong Kong qualified for the 2004 Asia Cup. At the 2004 competition, Hong Kong played their first One Day International (ODI) matches, suffering heavy losses to Bangladesh and Pakistan. [8] Later in 2004, a Saturday League match had to be cancelled, because Hussain Butt may have posed "a danger to passing traffic" during an innings of 311 not out, in which he hit 36 sixes. [9] [10] After finishing as runners-up in the 2006 ACC Trophy, Hong Kong once again qualified for the Asia Cup, where in the 2008 tournament, they once again lost heavily twice, against Pakistan and India. [11]
Cricket is now one of the fastest growing sports in Hong Kong. The game is spreading beyond the Sub Continent or English origin population and many Chinese are also taking up the sport. In a few years it is expected to make some good strides.[ citation needed ]
Typically, cricket is played between September and April in Hong Kong, during the cooler months of the year. There are only three grass pitches in the territory, with the rest of the grounds using artificial wickets. The top-level of the domestic cricket is the Sunday League, which consists of 50 over cricket contested by eleven teams. A Saturday League is also played, in which nineteen teams play 35 over matches. [12]
Tabarak Dar is a Pakistani-born former international cricketer who played for Hong Kong and is now an umpire.
The Hong Kong men's national cricket team is the team that represents Hong Kong in international competitions. It played its first match in 1866 and has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1969.
The United Arab Emirates men's national cricket team is the team that represents the United Arab Emirates in international cricket. They are governed by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) which became an Affiliate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1989 and an Associate Member the following year. Since 2005, the ICC's headquarters have been located in Dubai.
The Oman men's national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Oman in international matches and is governed by Oman Cricket, which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2000, and gained associate status in 2014. The national side has played matches at the Twenty20 International level. On 24 April 2019, Oman achieved One-Day International status for the first time until 2023, after they beat tournament hosts Namibia by four wickets in 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two.
The Malaysia national cricket team represents the country of Malaysia in international cricket matches. The team is organised by the Malaysian Cricket Association which has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1967.
The Singapore national cricket team is the team that represents Singapore in international cricket. Singapore has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1974, and was a founding member of the Asian Cricket Council formed in 1983.
The China national cricket team is the team that represents China in international cricket. The team was organised by the Chinese Cricket Association, which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2004 and an associate member in 2017. China did not make its debut in international cricket until the 2009 ACC Trophy Challenge, although the Shanghai Cricket Club had previously acted as a de facto national side, from 1866 playing interport matches against international teams. China has since participated in several other Asian Cricket Council (ACC) tournaments, as well as at the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games cricket events. Hong Kong and Taiwan both field separate teams in international cricket.
Marimuthu A Muniandy is a Malaysian former cricketer. A right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler, he played for the Malaysia national cricket team between 1990 and 2005.
Binod Kumar Das is a Nepalese former cricketer and a former captain of Nepal national cricket team. All-rounder Binod is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler. He made his debut for Nepal against UAE in November 2000.
Paras Khadka is a Nepalese former cricketer who is the current Secretary of Cricket Association of Nepal and President of Bagmati Province Cricket Association. He captained the Nepalese cricket team from 2008 to 2019. An all-rounder, Khadka was a right-handed batsman, and a right-arm medium-fast as well as an off-break bowler. He made his debut against Malaysia in April 2004. Khadka played in Nepal's inaugural One Day International (ODI) match, against the Netherlands, in August 2018. He is considered as the greatest cricketer of Nepal.
Kinrara Academy Oval was a cricket stadium located at Bandar Kinrara, Puchong, Selangor, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Constructed in 2003, it hosted its first recorded match in 2005 when Bhutan Under-17s played Kuwait Under-17s in the Asian Cricket Council Under-17 Cup. The stadium, which could seat 4,000 spectators, was closed on 30 June 2022.
The Shanghai Cricket Club is a cricket club based in Shanghai, China. The club dates back to 1858 when the first recorded cricket match was played between a team of British naval officers and a Shanghai XI. The original Shanghai Cricket Club ceased activities in 1948.
Cricket Hong Kong, China, previously known as the Hong Kong Cricket Association and Cricket Hong Kong, is the official governing body of the sport of cricket in Hong Kong. Its current headquarters is in So Kon Po, Causeway Bay. Established as the Hong Kong Cricket Association in 1968, CHK is Hong Kong's representative at the International Cricket Council and is an associate member having been admitted as a member of that body since 1969. It is also a member of the Asian Cricket Council.
Interport matches refer to a series of cricket matches which took place in Asia from 1866 to 1987, between Ceylon, the Federated Malay States, Hong Kong, Malaya, Malaysia, Shanghai, Singapore and the Straits Settlements.
Cricket in Nepal has gained popularity over the years and has become the country's one of the most popular and widely followed sport. It rapidly grew popularity in the mid 2010s, following the slight successes of the Nepalese cricket team as well as the country's explosive rise in social media and television viewing influence from neighboring country India. It is played by many people throughout the country, especially in the Terai region. The biggest cricketing achievement of the national cricket team was when the team reached the qualification tournament of 2014 ICC World T20 held in Bangladesh. Nepal's playing season runs from September to November and starts again in March before finishing in May. As of October 2023, there were 3400 senior cricket clubs and over 35000 registered players in Nepal.
Mark Sinclair Chapman is a Hong Kong and New Zealand international cricketer who has played limited over internationals for Hong Kong and New Zealand. Currently playing for New Zealand, Chapman is a left-handed batsman who bowls occasional slow left-arm orthodox. He made his One Day International debut for Hong Kong against the United Arab Emirates in the 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship on 16 November 2015. He is eligible to represent New Zealand through his father. In February 2018, he made T20I and ODI debuts for New Zealand against England.
Binod Bhandari is a Nepalese professional cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and an occasional wicket-keeper. He made his debut against Kuwait in November 2009.
Usman Mushtaq is a Pakistani-born cricketer who played for the United Arab Emirates national cricket team. He made his debut for the UAE in November 2015. He has represented the UAE at One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International levels. Before emigrating to the UAE, he played first-class cricket for Sialkot in Pakistan and also represented the Pakistan under-19s.
Dhivendran Mogan is a Malaysian cricketer. He was in Malaysia's squad for the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Four tournament also in Malaysia. He played in Malaysia's opening match of the tournament, against Uganda. In August 2018, he was named in Malaysia's squad for the 2018 Asia Cup Qualifier tournament. In September 2019, he was named in Malaysia's squad for the 2019 Malaysia Cricket World Cup Challenge League A tournament. He made his List A debut against Canada, in the Cricket World Cup Challenge League A tournament on 19 September 2019.
Natasha Tara Miles is a British Hong Kong cricketer who plays for the Hong Kong women's national cricket team and Middlesex in English county cricket. An all-rounder, she is a right-handed batter and right-arm medium bowler. She has previously played for Surrey and Otago, as well as Lancashire Thunder in the Women's Cricket Super League. She first played for Hong Kong in 2006, and made her Twenty20 International debut in 2021.