Sunday Championship ─ Match Report (17th April 2016)

" style="line-height:1.6em">Pakistan Association suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of HKCC Scorpions in a low scoring match played at Hong Kong Cricket Club.

Asked to bat first, Pakistan Association lost three wickets with only eleven runs on the board with Scorpions’ skipper Matt Rafter picking up all three scalps. Regular strikes by the Scorpions’ bowlers reduced the visitors to 5/61 before a 52-run partnership for the sixth wicket got PACC to 6/113. Hamed Khan (30) and Ahsan Abbasi (52) held the innings together as PACC were all out for 147 in 35 overs. Three Scorpions bowlers shared the spoils with Matt Rafter claiming 3/23, Raag Kapur 3/33 and Anton Buntin 3/14.

The Scorpions reply got off to a poor start with Raag Kapur out for 0 after which Charlie Bright and Scott McKechnie shared a 92-run second wicket partnership for the second wicket before Bright fell for 36. McKechnie (94) saw Scorpions reach parity with the PACC score but he lost his wicket going for the winning runs, with a century in sight.

At HKCC: Pakistan Association 147 from 35 overs lost to HKCC Scorpions 4/151 from 25.3 overs by six wickets.

At Kowloon Cricket Club, HKCA Dragons gave KCC infidels a scare before the hosts prevailed by four wickets.

Batting first after winning the toss, the Dragons top-order batted well with the openers putting on 48 for the first wicket while the second pair added a further 34 runs to the total. Eddy Ang (44) contributed the bulk of the early runs to see Dragons well placed at 2/82 but then a flurry of wickets saw them slump to 6/98 as Ateeq Ul-Rehman picked up a hat-trick. Siegfried Wai added 32 runs and with the tail-enders making useful contributions, Dragons eventually reached 192 in 48.2 overs. Ateeq finished with the fine figures of 4/22 from ten overs.

The Infidels reply got off to a solid start but both openers fell in quick succession to leave them on 2/30. Muhammad Khan scored 33 and with Simandeep Singh hitting an unbeaten 77, Infidels chipped away at the Dragons total before getting over the line with six wickets down. Li Kai Ming was the pick of the bowlers for HKCA Dragons, picking up 3/49 from his ten overs of leg-spin.

At KCC: HKCA Dragons 192 from 48.2 overs lost to KCC Infidels 6/194 from 33.4 overs by six wickets.

At Mission Road, in a match-reduced to 38 overs per side due to a wet field, Shaffi’s Vagabonds beat DLSWCC Knights by 46 runs.

Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Vagabonds got off to a poor start with both openers dismissed with only ten runs on the board. Niaz Ali grabbed two early strikes as Vagabonds stumbled to 4/38 before an enterprising 52 from Mohammad Junaid allowed them to reach 183 in 36 overs. Sarfaraz Khan was the pick of the Knights bowlers, picking up 3/43 from five overs.

The Knights reply began well with the openers adding 29 runs but from then on, it was muddling effort as wickets fell at regular intervals. Despite a number of Knights batsmen making useful starts, Niaz Ali was the only one to pass 20 and the end came quickly after his dismissal. Niaz top-scored with 34 while Zubair Khan claimed 4/11 for Vagabonds and Mohammad Saad took 3/38.

At Mission Road: Shaffi’s Vagabonds 183 from 36 overs beat DLSWCC Knights 137 from 33.2 overs by 46 runs.