With less a week to go, Hong Kong Women’s team is eager to shine on home turf during the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 - Asia Qualifier 2016.

Starting this Sunday, China, Nepal, Thailand and Hong Kong will compete in a round-robin tournament, in which the top ranked team will earn a place in the global qualifiers.

Captain Mariko Hill is looking forward to the tournament. “The pre-tour to India has boosted everyone's confidence up, so I'm sure everyone is looking forward to displaying their abilities.”

“Hosting an ICC event is rare let alone playing on home soil! We understand the conditions better and so we can use this to our advantage. We can then plan strategies ahead of time according to the ground conditions and the team we are playing against,” said Hill.

“Hong Kong are likely contestants to win this tournament. I have full faith and confidence that we will too, seeing how hard we have trained over the last few months. Although I have some personal goals, the overarching goal for me is simply to carry the team to the ICC World Cup Qualifiers next year,” added the captain.

Chloe Ip is one of the newer members of the Hong Kong team, after recently being scouted in a programme designed to find Hong Kong-born cricketers abroad.

“I was born in Hong Kong but moved to Australia with Mum and Dad when I was three years old, and my relatives are still based in Hong Kong,” said Ip.

“I don't think it has really fully sunk in yet. Hopefully I will get picked to play at some stage during the tournament and wear the Hong Kong shirt. It will be an honour. The whole family living here are very excited and proud of the prospect of this happening.”

“Even though I've grown up in Australia I haven't forgotten my roots and family history.
Hong Kong has been close to my heart and have been back as much as possible to visit.”

“I am fitting in well with the girls, they've welcomed me with open arms from the first day. I enjoy the cultural diversity within the squad a lot.”

The tournament starts on the ninth of October, ends on the 15th of October. Entry is free.

Below are the fixtures and venues:

還有不夠一星期，港隊將會於主場出戰「國際板球理事會 2017女子世界盃 亞洲區外圍賽」！

今個星期日開始，中國、尼泊爾、泰國及主隊香港將會進行單循環賽事，成績最好的隊伍將會晉身國際外圍賽！

港隊隊長Mariko Hill非常期待此項賽事：「早前球隊到印度集訓，令各位隊員信心大增，大家都很希望在賽事中展示實力。」

她說：「香港很難得可以舉辦國際板球理事會賽事，主場作賽的機會難逢。我們了解場地情況，是我們的優勢。球隊將可以在賽前因應草地狀況及對手訂好策略。」

Mariko亦指出：「香港是賽事熱門球隊。球隊過去數月訓練有素，我對港隊很有信心。我對自己的表現有目標，但是最大的目標仍然是球隊取得勝利，並晉級國際外圍賽。」

香港板球總會早前在海外舉行選拔，尋找合資格代表香港的板球員。葉子蕙就是經此選拔而成為香港隊的最新成員。

她說：「我在香港出生，三歲時跟隨父母搬到澳洲，我的親戚仍然住在香港。」

「能夠代表香港，我仍然感到不太真實。如果能夠在賽事中上陣，披上港隊戰衣，將會是我的光榮。我在香港的家人都非常興奮，很為我感到自豪。」

「雖然我在澳洲長大，但是我沒有忘記的我的根。香港在我心目中佔有重要的位置，以往一有機會我便會回港探望。」

「我已經充分融入港隊，隊員由第一日開始就很歡迎我。我很享受球隊多元化的文化背景。」

「國際板球理事會 2017女子世界盃 亞洲區外圍賽」將於10月9至15日舉行，免費入場！

以下是時間表及地點：