The four teams that will compete in the inaugural Hong Kong T20 Blitz have been revealed following a successful auctioning off of the franchises.

Rude Bar Island Warriors, Kowloon Cantons, Hung Hom JD Jaguars and Lantau GII Galaxy Riders were the names chosen by their respective owners to compete in the tournament run by the Hong Kong Cricket Association over the 28th and 29th of May.

The four teams will play each other once with the final to be held on the Sunday afternoon on the 29th of May.

The Island Warriors are run by the owners of a sports bar (Rude Bar Stock Exchange) in Wyndham St and placed the top bid in the silent auction that will earn the franchise first pick in the player draft.

“The format of cricket is tried and tested which always attracts a lot of people,” Warriors marketing manager Amanda Folcarelli said.

“By starting this in Hong Kong it will put the region a step closer to the global cricket world and help the development of its young players.”

“We as a business will also gain lots of untapped clients from the HK cricket fraternity which is good for us too.”

The Kowloon Cantons are made up of a syndicate of 10 owners and will wear the colour blue with their slogan “Cricket, Passion, Faith”.

The Cantons will have a derby match with neighbours the Hung Hom JD Jaguars, who are owned by Jedi Dia a company with close family ties to Hong Kong national team player Kinchit Shah. The Jaguars will play in Pink and Black.

And the fourth team will be the Lantau GII Galaxy Riders, who are owned by Indian businessman Suresh Khandewal. The team will play in Black and white.

Hong Kong Cricket Association Marketing and Commercial Director Max Abbott said the announcement of the teams was an exciting step for event organisers.

“Now that we have the names, the tournament is really starting to take shape and we can start to promote these franchises.”

“It will be up to the teams to build their fan base now and us as an Association to get Hong Kong excited about this tournament.”

“It’s looking likely we will have some big name signings to announce as overseas players, which will prove that we want this to be a high quality cricket tournament.”

“Our aim is to sell the ground out at Tin Kwong Rd Recreation ground for both days when tickets go on sale next month.”

The draft will be held on April 28, which include players being selected from the Hong Kong squad and the domestic Premier League.

香港板球總會推出全新20回合制板球盃賽「香港T20 Blitz」，四隊球隊成功被拍賣。

各支球隊的班主分別將球隊命名為「Rude Bar Island Warriors」、「Kowloon Cantons」、「Hung Hom JD Jaguars」及「Lantau GII Galaxy Riders」。他們將會於5月28及29日進行賽事。

四隊球隊將會進行單循環賽事，然後於星期日（29日）下午進行決賽。

「Island Warriors」由位於中環雲咸街、有「啤酒交易所」之稱的酒吧Rude Bar擁有，於暗標中出價最高，因此獲得第一位球員選秀權。

「Island Warriors」市場推廣經理Amanda Folcarelli表示：「20回合制板球瘋魔全球，吸引到很多觀眾。」

「香港能夠創辦今次賽事，將會把香港板球推進國際舞台，對年輕球員的發展亦很有幫助。」

「作為一間酒吧，我們亦可以藉此於香港板球社群中尋找新客戶，相得益彰。」

「Kowloon Cantons」由十位班主共同擁有，球隊將會穿起藍色球衣，口號是「板球、熱情、信念」。

「Kowloon Cantons」將會與「Hung Hom JD Jaguars」進行「九龍打吡戰」。「Hung Hom JD Jaguars」由Jedi Dia公司擁有，此公司是香港隊球員金赤沙（Kinchit Shah）的家族生意。球隊將會穿起粉紅色及黑色戰衣。

「Lantau GII Galaxy Riders」則由印度商人Suresh Khandewal擁有，將會穿起黑白球衣。

香港板球總會市場及商務總監艾明思（Max Abbott）認為今次球隊發布為賽事奠定基礎：「各支球隊得到命名後，賽事開始成形，我們可以開始為球隊進行宣傳。」

「每次球隊將會各自吸引擁躉，而本會則會對外推廣今次賽事。」

「球隊很大機會可以簽入知名外援，將會令賽事水準大大提升。」

「賽事將於天光道板球場舉行，門票將於下月開售，我們的目標是要將兩日的門票全數售出。」

球員選秀會將於4月28日舉行，香港隊成員及本地聯賽球員將會參加遴選。