Men’s

Premier League 2-Day

KCC put in an outstanding effort with bat and ball to win the Hancock Shield and book themselves a spot in the finals, beating HKCC by an innings and 129 runs. Ateeq Iqbal returned match figures of 7/44 to help bowl HKCC out twice for 88 and 152, while fifties from Ninad Shah (91), Scott McKechnie (82), and Dan Pascoe (79) helped KCC score 369 in their solitary innings.

A full match report can be found over here.

KCC 369/7 dec (80) beat HKCC 88 a/o (34.3) and 152 a/o (47.3) by an innings and 129 runs | Scorecard

Saturday League

At PKVR Park it was the veterans of HKU CC getting over on the youngsters of DLSW Spartan, with off-spinning allrounder Mohammad Ali taking 6 wickets and scoring a 50 to guide HKU to a comfortable 5 wicket victory. Electing to bowl first after winning the toss, the HKU CC were under attack from the Spartans top order early – the first 3 overs brought 30 runs, and by drinks the Spartans were cruising at 102/3 after 18 overs. But Ali and fellow off-spinner Tiran Ranasinghe combined after the drinks break to take 7 wickets for 28 runs to swing the game into HKU’s favor. Together the pair took 9 of the wickets to fall – Tiran finishing with 3/31 in 7 overs, and Ali with a brilliant 6/21, taking the final wicket in the 2^nd ball of his final over. Noman Ahmed scored a nice 44 batting at 3 for the Spartans, and the openers contributed, but no one in the middle order was able to cross double digits. The Spartans struck second ball of the chase, and once again in the 7^th over, but it wasn’t enough – fresh from his heroics with the ball, Mohammad Ali would go on to score 51 off 53 balls (10 fours) opening the batting, and once again found an able partner in Tiran (27). Their 55-run partnership was the largest of the game, and together they scored 78 of the 133 runs HKU would eventually score. HKU CC got over the line and registered their 4^th consecutive win in the 23^rd over, and now sit 5^th in table.
HKU CC 133/5 (22.3) beat DLSW Spartans 130 a/o (27.2) by 5 wickets | Scorecard

Meanwhile at GDB, Taipans pulled off a much-needed victory over SCC Lancers, handing them their first loss of the season in the process. Manjinder Singh was the star with the bat yet again, blazing 75 off just 42 balls (5 fours, 7 sixes) to guide his team to a total of 239/9 in their 35 overs. There were contributions throughout the middle order, and all together the side hit 24 boundaries and 12 sixes. Shelton D’Cruz bowled well to take 3/35 in 7 overs, and Prashant Shivappa was extremely economical with 2/27 in his 7 overs. As we’ve seen in past weekends, GDB is a high-scoring ground, and SCC Lancers would have backed themselves to chase down 240 in these conditions. But the Taipans bowling proved excellent again – Mahmood Aqeel once again the pick of the bowlers with a spell of 5-2-18-4 to dismiss four of the Lancers top five, and reducing them to 81/5 in 15 overs. Uday Shetty hit a quick 41, but there was too much work left for the lower order. Zeeshan Haider and Umar Muhammad took 5 wickets between them to wrap up the innings for just 152 in 26.1 overs, Aqeel adding two catches to his four wickets. A big win for Taipans, this now opens up contest for 2^nd place – Kai Tak, Taipans, SCC and HKUCC all just 1.5 points apart.
Taipans-PACC 239/9 (35) beat SCC Lancers 152 a/o (26.1) by 87 runs | Scorecard

Women’s

A pair of games took place at PKVR Reservoir, starting with a massive win for the HKCC Cavaliers. Electing to bat first against the SCC Divas, they piled on 205/7 in their 35 overs, built around 49 by Emma Lai and a quick 40 from Natural Yip. Jennifer Alumbro and Zenny Badajos bowled well for the Divas to take 3 wickets each. In reply, they bowled out the Divas for the lowest score of the season – shooting them out in 10.3 overs for just 29 runs. Alison Siu took 4 wickets in just 3 overs, and Emma Lai capped off a good allround performance with 3 wickets of her own, as the Cavs registered a big 176 run victory. They sit 3^rd in the table, and continue to challenge for that top spot.
HKCC Cavaliers 205/7 (35) beat SCC Divas 29 a/o (10.3) by 176 runs | Scorecard

In the afternoon, the KCC Maidens toppled over defending champions HKCC Willow Wielders for their 2^nd win a row, beating them by 7 wickets. Opting to bowl first they dismissed Mary Henderson (24 off 29, 4 fours) early, and continued to pick up wickets as HK skipper Mariko Hill (49 off 39, 9 fours) collected runs at the other end. Mariko’s dismissal in the 22^nd over just 1 run short of fifty triggered a collapse, and the Willow Wielders went from 102/4 to 119 a/o in less than 7 overs. Maheen Haider took 4/31 and Keenu Gill 3/30. Keenu followed this up with an excellent 47* off 34 balls (7 fours, 2 sixes) coming in at 38/3 to take her side home with 9 overs to spare. Claire Brown weighing in with 35 (42 ball, 7 fours) as well. A big victory that sees them move to 2^nd in the table, just behind the unbeaten Wasps on NRR.
KCC Maidens 121/3 (26.1) beat HKCC Willow Wielders 119 a/o (28.3) by 7 wickets | Scorecard

Juniors

Under-17

PACC picked up their first victory in the 35-over Premier Division this past Saturday morning. beating USRC by 112 runs at GDB. Sajjad Mohammad hit 115* off 96 balls (18 fours, 1 six) opening the batting for PACC, remaining unbeaten as his side were bowled out for 223 in 33.5 overs. His exceptional innings accounted for over half his side’s runs, with the next highest score being 26. Skipper Hamzah Farooq starred with the ball for USRC, taking 5/45 in his 7 overs. Two of the stand-out performances of the season so far were then followed up by an even better bowling performance from 13-year old Ailyaan Zahir, whose 6/20 in just 4 overs caused USRC to collapse from 75/2 in 9 overs to 111 a/o in just 18.
PACC U17 223 a/o (33.5) beat USRC Premier U17 111 a/o (17.5) by 112 runs | Scorecard

Then on Sunday in the Elite Division, Lantau made it 3 out of 3 with a 37-run victory over DLSW Cheetahs U17 at GDB. Hussain Hamaad played another fine innings, with 70 off 56 (11 fours), but was dismissed by Jainam Sanghvi, who took 5/29 in an excellent 6 over spell. He helped bowl out a 9-man Lantau side for just 178 in 26.4 overs, after they were 121/1 in 17. In reply, Partik Vasandani hit a nice 50 (64 balls, 6 fours), and at the time of his dismissal the Cheetahs just needed another 47 runs in 9 overs to pull off the chase. But Lantau bowled well as a team, and the Cheetahs -who themselves had just 9 players as well- were bowled out just 9 runs later, all out for 141 in the 30^thover.
Lantau U-17 Lions 178 a/o (26.4) beat DLSW Cheetahs 141 a/o (29.1) by 37 runs | Scorecard

Then at 1 PM, the DLSW Lions got their first win of the season by beating LMC U17s by 8 wickets. 16-year old Hong Kong women’s player Maryam Bibi starred with the ball, taking 4 in a new-ball burst and 2 in her second spell to finish with exceptional figures of 6.1-0-20-6, and to bowl LMC out for just 105 in 21.1 overs. Yeshanpreet Singh Gill and Jaiveer S. Sandhawalia then put on 62 runs for the 3^rd wicket to take their side home in just the 15^th over. A comfortable win for the Lions to get their season underway.
DLSW Lions U17 109/2 (14.5) beat LMC U17 105 a/o (21.1) by 8 wickets | Scorecard

Under-13

Another busy weekend for the U13s. On Saturday at PKVR Reservoir the USRC kids picked up a big victory over the DLSW Cheetahs. Batting first, Rohaab Umer hit 63* off 65 (6 fours) to take USRC to 156/4 in their 20 overs. He then took 2/8 in 4 overs with the ball, and despite another good innings by Neil Patwa (48 off 50, 6 fours), the Cheetahs could only manage 117/8 in response. A good win for USRC to re-affirm their 3^rd place spot in the table.
USRC Premier U13 156/4 (20) beat DLSW Cheetahs U13 117/8 (20) by 39 runs | Scorecard

The Cheetahs had a chance to bounce back on Sunday, and did so in a narrow victory against the HKCC Scorpions at KGV. The Scorpions batted first and put on a healthy 115/6 in their 20 overs, built on contributions from their entire Top 6. In reply, the Cheetahs found themselves struggling at 47/4 in 7 overs, before Shaurya Mutha hammered 39 off 29 balls (3 fours, 3 sixes) to pull his side ahead. HKCC kept taking wickets, but just didn’t have enough on the board, and the Cheetahs crossed the line with just 9 balls and 2 wickets left in hand.
DLSW Cheetahs U13 118/8 (18.3) beat HKCC Scorpions U13 115/6 (20) by 2 wickets | Scorecard

Meanwhile PACC picked up their 7^th win of the season, beating LMC U13 by 39 runs. Their score of 127/4 was built around a rapid fifty from Usman Iqbal (50 off 37, 8 fours), after which their talented bowling attack combined to keep LMC to 88/8 in their 20 overs. Ali Ammar scored a good 38, but it wasn’t enough for his young team to pull off an upset against the 2^nd ranked side.
PACC U13 127/4 (20) beat LMC U13 88/8 (20) by 39 runs | Scorecard

Following on from these we had a pair of Elite Division games. The DLSW Littles handed Lantau a 31-run defeat after opting to bat first. Swayam Ghevariya scored 33 (29 balls, 6 fours) as his side piled on 94 in their 15 overs, with Sean Lavignes 2/9 in 3 overs being the pick of Lantau’s bowling. The Littles then bowled well together as a unit, and kept Lantau to just 63 in response. A good win that takes the Littles to 4^th in the table.
DLSW Littles U13 94/2 (15) beat Lantau Lions U13 63/7 (15) by 31 runs | Scorecard

At the same time, the DLSW Tigers were registering their 5^th win of the season by beating the KCC Buccaneers by 10 wickets. The Tigers sent them in to bat first, and at one point had them at 8/7! But Anirudh Rajesh (21) and Shayan Puri (16) recovered the innings with a 63-run partnership to take them to 71/7 in their 15 overs. Aarez Dar did the damage with the new ball, with 4/10 in his 3 overs, and Fazal Abubakr Farooq chipped in with 2/11. Aarez then saw his side home in the chase, scoring 15*, with Mohammad Ali Usman scoring 23*. The two openers finishing the game in the 12^thover.
DLSW Tigers U13 72/0 (11.5) beat KCC Buccaneers 71/7 (15) by 10 wickets | Scorecard

Under-11

Three games took place this past Saturday in the U11 League at PKVR Reservoir, starting with a pair of Pool 1 Hardball games. At 8 AM the HKCC Sharks picked up their 6^th win to wrap up an unbeaten season at the top of the table, beating India Club Blue by 31 runs. India Club batted well to score 186 in their 16 overs, with contributions throughout the lineup. But HKCC out-batted them to score 217 in their 16 overs, completing a successful chase and season for them.
HKCC Sharks U11 217 (16) beat India Club Blue 186 (16) by 31 runs | Scorecard

After this we had a nailbiting DLSW Derby match, with DLSW Cheetahs facing DLSW Tigers. Sent in to bat first, the DLSW Tigers scored 185 in their 16 overs, with four batsmen scoring exactly 13, and one batsman scoring 12! In reply, Stavya Italia batted well across two innings at the crease, but lacked support, and at the start of the final over the Cheetahs were only 163. Stavya however, then managed to take the first 4 balls for 15 runs, leaving 7 needed off the last 2. He could only score 2 off the penultimate ball, and with a six to win the game for his side, could only manage a boundary. An excellent effort to nearly pull off an unlikely victory, he finished with 44 runs to his name.
DLSW Tigers U11 185 (16) beat DLSW Cheetahs U11 184 (16) by 1 run | Scorecard

And then we had a virtual final to determine who would finish on top of Pool 2, when India Club Orange faced off against HKCC Hawks U11. The Pumas elected to bat first, and scored a decent 177 in their 16 overs. However, Abhimanyu Ganesan hammered 36 off just 13 balls in the run chase, and set his side on the path for a massive 225 in their 16 overs. A big win for India Club that sees them finish the U-11 League as table toppers in Pool 2!
India Club Orange 225 (16) beat HKCC Hawks 177 (16) by 48 runs | Scorecard