Sixes success has Hong Kong on alert for big names again
THE Hong Kong Sixes tournament, one of the more unique events on the cricketing calendar, returned last weekend after a five-year hiatus.
And it was the defending champions, South Africa, who emerged victorious in a thrilling final against Pakistan in which Aubrey Swanepoel hit the last ball for four to claim victory.
The last over was bowled by Sohail Khan who had an amazing all-round display in the final. He top-scored with 46 from 14 balls in Pakistan’s innings as they set South Africa 124 to win from five eight-ball overs. Then, with only 14 runs needed for a South African victory, Sohail almost saw his side home with a final over that was replete with inswing and accuracy.
There was also success for the home team who emerged victorious in the Plate final in which they defeated a very experienced MCC side. Playing against the likes of Darren Stevens, Samit Patel and Rikki Clarke, a young Hong Kong side led by Babar Hayat emerged victorious.
Hong Kong’s Nizakat Khan finished leading scorer across the event with 192 runs with a strike rate of 376 to earn himself the Ben Hollioake player of the tournament award.
As was anticipated in a tournament played in an age of big-hitting there was a sizeable uplift in the number of sixes from the last time the tournament took place in 2012. That year there were 220 sixes struck, this time there were 422.
Kowloon CC has one of the smaller grounds around, a tiny patch of land in one of the most built-up cities in the world.
Surrounded by skyscrapers there is no chance of further expansion and the already short boundaries were made even smaller by the hospitality boxes and advertising perimeter boards.
With the games played on an artificial pitch that had consistent pace and bounce, the big-hitting produced a home-run derby feel.
However, the entertainment level was high and the event was well attended over its two days of competition.
And, as with the T20 Blitz that had its second edition earlier in 2017, it was well organised by Cricket Hong Kong who are leading the way with domestic tournaments among Associate cricket nations.
It had been an absence of sponsors that brought the tournament to an end in 2012, but Cricket Hong Kong managed to secure some well-known names for this year’s event.
The matches were streamed over Facebook and YouTube around the world with seriously impressive viewing figures, so those sponsors are expected to be back for 2018.
It now requires some seriously big names to attract more fans and get the moneymen really excited.
In the past, the event has seen the very best players taking part with Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar both turning out in the Nineties. This year, however, there were no real global superstars.
With the ever-increasing frequency with which T20 tournaments are now taking place getting big names is harder than ever before, but working on player recruitment will now be top priority for the Sixes.