Tony Gough Cup (HKCC Over 45s v. KCC Over 45s) - KCC
Ted Wilson Trophy - DMS
2002-03 Season - HKCA Annual Awards
The following awards were presented at the HKCA Annual Awards Dinner, held at Kowloon Cricket Club:
Hong Kong Cricketer of the Year - Hussain Butt
Hong Kong Young Cricketer of the Year - Irfan Ahmed / Nicholas Lau
Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year - Skhawat Ali
Young Dragon of the Year - James Atkinson
Wellcome Most Improved Junior Cricketer - Billy Ko
Best Sunday Batsman - Tim Smart - Scorpions
Best Sunday Bowler - Adam Smith - Scorpions
Best Sunday Wicket-keeper - James Callow - Optimists
Sunday Captain of the Year - Ilyas Gul - Pakistan Association
Best Saturday Batsman - Ankur Sharma - St George's
Best Saturday Bowler - Tabarak Dar - Mainlanders
Best Saturday Wicket-keeper - Buw Perera - St George's
Saturday Captain of the Year - Peter Lisle - Police
Jungu Vachha Umpire of the Year - Alan Swift
2002-03 Season - President's Report
President’s Report 2002 – 2003
PREAMBLE
Cricket continued to thrive as a sport in Hong Kong during last year in all its many areas and our governance, finances, development, and links with international bodies continue to strengthen a slow and steady manner.
Of particular note was the success of the Hong Kong senior team in the HK Cricket Sixes event and the opening of a new ground at Po Kong Village Road.
The long term underlying challenge that the Association faces is to develop a successful mechanism for retaining and introducing into senior cricket the increasing number of youngsters who are playing the game at school and in our junior teams by virtue of the considerable success of our development programme recognizing that this will involve the identification and development of new grounds the better use of existing facilities which are available to us and the development of alternative strategies such as indoor cricket.
INTERNATIONAL
Hong Kong participated in many international tournaments staged locally and overseas during the year with mixed success. In respect of the U15 tournaments we took the opportunity to introduce a number of U13 cricketers for experience and this impacted overall competitiveness. However, the unusual differences in physical build up among the players were also noted by ACC, and as a result ACC is going to introduce a new weight-and-height formula in the coming youth competitions with a view to eliminate any abnormalities.
The Hong Kong Senior Team successfully defended the title in the rain affected Senior South East Asian Championships 2002 (Tuanku Ja’afar Cup) in Hong Kong by beating Malaysia and Singapore. In the ACC Trophy held in Singapore, Hong Kong was reached in the semi-final stage but were beaten by U.A.E. who went on to win the Trophy.
Hong Kong U15 played Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand in the South East Asia Championship in the Malaysian capital in October 2002 before competing in the U15 Asia Cup. Hong Kong was placed third among the four teams.
The Hong Kong U15 went on to participate in the ACC U15 Asia Cup held in Sharjah, U.A.E. in December but failed to proceed to the second round. Nevertheless the boys proved that they were strong in the skills area and competitive among other Asian teams.
There were no international matches for U13 and U19 during the year. The U19 South East Asia Championship which was scheduled for April was eventually postponed due to SARS in Hong Kong.
HONG KONG CRICKET SIXES
The Hong Kong Cricket Sixes event was successfully staged at the Kowloon Cricket Club in November with teams from England, South Africa, India, Australia, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong. The continuing support from Cathay Pacific Airways and Standard Chartered Bank ensures the event is now a permanent fixture on the Hong Kong cricket calendar.
Pakistan successfully defended their championship title by beating England in the Final, and Hong Kong did magnificently in winning the Plate competition.
A good many individuals and organizations especially K.C.C. gave tremendous support and on behalf of the association I would like to record our thanks and appreciation.
DOMESTIC
Another successful season. With the inclusion of SubCont CC in the League,17 teams participated in the Saturday League. The non-availability of the KGV ground for much of the season fortunately did not affect the fixtures much due to the fact that our new ground at Po Kong Village Road Cricket Ground became available for use.
The Sunday League comprised 8 teams, one team less than last year, but the League was still as competitive as ever with Pakistan Association being acclaimed champions.
The Sunday Cup began immediately following the conclusion of the League. An exciting and close final match between Pakistan Association and Scorpions, led to the latter clinching the title.
JUNIOR CRICKET
The Association successfully introduced an U17 Junior League last year in order to bring Hong Kong in line with international development trends. 25 junior teams participated in five divisions of the Junior League in the 2002 – 2003 season and 5 of them comprised all Chinese players.
The Playground League enjoyed its fourth year. 66 teams with over 1200 students took part in the tournament. It is particularly pleasing to see local student standards rising and it should be recognized that some players in the Hong Kong Junior National Teams came from the Playground League.
The Junior Player Pool proved to be successful and will continue during the next season.
The Association continued to join hands with the 4 community sports clubs to promote cricket in Hong Kong. The Association is also actively assisting a fifth community sports club to be established in the coming season.
GROUND AND FACILITIES
Hong Kong cricket entered a new era following the inaugural match between SubCont CC and Nomads at Po Kong Village Road Cricket Ground on 7th September 2002. With support from ICC, ACC, and members of the HKCA and particularly HKCC the initial development of Po Kong Village Road ground was finally completed. One pitch has been developed in the first season, and the development of a second pitch is already underway for completion during the off-season period. Improvement works on Pitch A have also been carried out. Members can expect to see an all new PKVR in the coming season.
The Association is petitioning the Lands Department to extend the lease of Po Kong Village Road beyond 2004.
Discussions with the Leisure & Cultural Services Department have begun on transferring Tin Kwong Road Ground (Mission Road) to the Association. Since complicated legal issues are involved, it is expected that the actual transfer may not take place until 2005 at the earliest. This, again, would be a major achievement on ground development and will present the opportunity for the HKCA to enjoy its own ground.
Finally in terms of grounds and facilities I would like to extend the Associations thanks to HKCC and KCC for their continuing splendid support to Hong Kong cricket.
COACHING CENTRES AND SCHOOLS VISITS
The LCSD Elementary Training Centres, Gappers at HKCC, and KCC training centre continued to attract more than 1500 participants annually.
Demonstrations to schools tripled in 2002/2003 from 51 to 156, illustrating the Association’s effort to promote cricket in the local community.
STAFF
There had been several important staff changes during the year. Mr Rahuman Farcy retired after 9 years of excellent service and on behalf of all our members we extend our thanks and best wishes to him for a happy retirement. His position has been filled by a Sports Development Executive who will mainly assist development of cricket. Tabarak Dar has been assigned to assist the National Coach Coordinator to train Junior National Teams on a regular basis following his attendance of an I.C.C. course in Pakistan specially designed for National Coaches. Danny Lai, Simone Kwan, Ron Brierly, Lal Jayasinghe, Charly Lam and the other coaching staff continue to provide a strong team to support the work of the Association whose thanks I must record for all their hard work and continuing dedication to the cause of cricket in Hong Kong.
Terry Smith HKCA President
Thank You to Sponsors & Supporters
The HKCA would like to thank all the sponsors and supporters for their contributions to Hong Kong Cricket in 2002-03:
International Cricket Council
Asian Cricket Council
Hong Kong Cricket Club
Kowloon Cricket Club
Craigengower Cricket Club
Hong Kong Sports Development Board
Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Umpires and Scorers of HKACUS
Cathay Pacific Airways
Standard Chartered Bank
Wellcome Supermarkets
Travis Pittman
CricInfo
and all who volunteered their time and services to help Hong Kong cricket this season.
