Sri Lanka look to Fab four in title defence
Four of the players who helped Sri Lanka to their maiden Hong Kong Cricket Sixes triumph last year have been included in the team that will defend the title next week.
Captain Indika De Saram – the hero of Sri Lanka’s stunning final victory over the All-Stars – will lead the team once more.
He will be joined by three other members of the victorious 2007 squad, Jeewantha Kulatunga, Dilhara Lokuhettige and Kaushalya Weeraratne.
The three newcomers include talented all-rounder Gayan Wijekoon, who has played for his country at test level and in last year’s Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa.
“It’s a strong squad, packed with experience, and they’re bringing back players with a proven track record at the Sixes,” said tournament director Mark Burns. “They are going to be very difficult to beat.”
De Saram scored a tournament high of 40 not out when Sri Lanka recorded an imposing 127-3 in last year’s final.
Lokuhettige then played his part by dismissing Craig McMillan – the Player of the Tournament – with the first ball of the All-Stars innings.
Sri Lanka went on to win by 16 runs for their first Sixes success in 11 attempts.
The 2008 Hong Kong Cricket Sixes will be staged at the Kowloon Cricket Club on 8-9 November.
Sri Lanka have been drawn in the Sobers Group together with the 2008 All-Stars, Australia and Hong Kong.
This year’s All-Stars team will include test greats Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies), Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka), Justin Langer (Australia), Stephen Fleming (New Zealand) and Matthew Hoggard (England).
The Bradman Group contains India, Pakistan, England and South Africa.
Hosts Hong Kong have included in their squad five of the players who helped them win the ACC Trophy in Kuala Lumpur in August.
They include Najeeb Amar, who scored 100 and took four wickets as Hong Kong stunned the United Arab Emirates in the final.
He is joined from that winning team by Hussain Butt – Player of the Tournament at the 2004 Sixes – together with Monir Dar and the Ahmed brothers, Irfan and Nadeem.
Hong Kong will once again be captained by Manoj Cheruparambil while the squad is rounded out by Phil Pemberton.
Cheruparambil, Pemberton and Dar all played in last year’s Sixes.
“We’ve got guys who are good strikers of the ball and obviously our strength is our spin bowlers,” said Hong Kong coach Aftab Habib.
“It will be a case of making sure we hit our straps early and get some good totals on the scoreboard.
“The Sixes is a tremendous spectacle and I’m sure it will be a great weekend for everyone involved in Hong Kong cricket.”
Australia have chosen a squad containing some of the country's most promising young cricketers, including Michael Hill, who captained Australia's U19 ICC World Cup team last year.
The squad will be led by player-coach John Davison, who hit the headlines in 2003 when, playing for his native Canada, he stunned the West Indies with the fastest World Cup century in history.
“It should be a great experience for our team,” said Davison.
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“We’ve got some very good up and coming cricketers in our side and it will be a fantastic experience for them to travel to Hong Kong and play against some talented opposition from around the world.
“The tournament does a fantastic job to help raise the profile of cricket in Hong Kong. I know they get great crowds, which shows the popularity of the sport and I’m sure this year’s tournament will be no exception.”
Tickets for the 2008 Sixes – priced at $780 for adults and $450 for children – are on sale at the following locations:
• China Cricket International, Sheung Wan
(Tel: 2543 8500)
• Dot Cod Seafood Restaurant & Oyster Bar, Central (Tel: 2810 6988)
• Hong Kong Cricket Club, Happy Valley (Tel: 3511 8668)
• Kowloon Cricket Club, Jordan (Tel: 2376 4141)
The Hong Kong Cricket Sixes is fully sanctioned by the International Cricket Council and is the sport's longest-running, best-established and most high-profile sixes tournament.
Players who have taken part over the past 16 years include Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Steve and Mark Waugh, Viv Richards, Andrew Flintoff, Adam Gilchrist and Wasim Akram.
The tournament is organised and promoted by the Hong Kong Cricket Association’s commercial arm, China Cricket International Limited.
The HKCA’s proceeds from the Sixes will be ploughed directly back into cricket development in Hong Kong.
Squads
Sri Lanka: Indika De Saram (captain), Jeewantha Kulatunga, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Gayan Wijekoon, Chinthaka Jayasinghe, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara.
Hong Kong: Manoj Cheruparambil (captain), Najeeb Amar, Hussain Butt, Monir Dar, Irfan Ahmed, Nadeem Ahmed, Phil Pemberton
Australia: John Davison (captain), Brendan Drew, John Hastings, Michael Hill, Stephen O'Keefe, Nathan Reardon, David Warner.
About
the Hong Kong Cricket Association
The
Hong Kong Cricket Association (HKCA) is responsible for
professionally administering cricket at all levels in Hong
Kong. It aims to promote, expand and develop the sport,
improve standards in all areas of the game and increase
the number of participants from all sectors of the local
community. It organises competitions throughout the year
for all age groups, from primary school children to senior
players. The HKCA’s wholly owned subsidiary, China Cricket
International Limited, is responsible for the organisation
and management of the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes
Released
on behalf of the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes by Two
Up Front.
For
further information, please contact:
Niall
Donnelly
Two
Up Front
Tel: +852
2854 2136
Mob: +852
6052 3330
Fax: +852
3579 5955
Email: niall@tuf.com.hk
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斯里蘭卡望「四人幫」衛冕六人賽冠軍
去年為斯里蘭卡取得首次香港六人賽冠軍的「四人幫」，今年再度入選國家隊，於下星期的比賽中衛冕其冠軍寶座。
帶領斯里蘭卡贏得明星隊的隊長德薩蘭(Indika De Saram)，將再次引軍奪標。他與去年其他三人庫拉屯伽(Jeewantha Kulatunga)、陸庫賀緹格(Dilhara Lokuhettige)、韋爾阿拉那(Kaushalya Weeraratne)的「四人幫」，再加上三位新成員，包括全面板球手維基安(Gayan Wijekoon)，組成新的斯里蘭卡隊。
賽事總監貝馬可表示：「這隊球隊實力不容忽視，去年奪標隊員的豐富經驗，令他們在今年的比賽中很難被擊倒出局。」
斯里蘭卡去年以16個得分跑初嘗冠軍的滋味。
2008香港六人板球賽將於11月8至9日，在九龍板球會舉行。
斯里蘭卡與今年的明隊、澳洲和東道主香港編為Sobers組。
今年的明星隊成員包括西印度群島的陳德寶(Shivnarine Chanderpaul)、斯里蘭卡的賈亞蘇里亞(Sanath Jayasuriya)、澳洲的蘭格(Justin Langer)、紐西蘭的費林明(Stephen Fleming)和英格蘭的豪格(Matthew Hoggard)。
Bradman組則有印度、巴基斯坦、英格蘭和南非。
東道主香港派出在八月吉隆坡出戰ACC Trophy的其中五位隊員應戰。其中包括埃瑪(Najeeb Amar)，他在對阿聯酋的決賽中，為港隊共得一百分和擊中四個三柱門；2004六人賽最佳球員得主畢特(Hussain Butt)、戴阿(Monir Dar)、亞米德兄弟－伊爾凡和拿殿(the Ahmed brothers-Irfan, Nadeem)、彭伯頓(Phil Pemberton)，以及隊長車魯帕林比(Manoj Cheruparambil)。其中，車魯帕林比、彭伯頓和戴阿出任去年的六人賽。
港隊教練Aftab Habib表示：「我們有很好的擊球員，而我們的強勢在於旋轉投球手。六人賽可吸引很多觀眾，我肯定今年有份參加的將會有個美好的週末。」
澳洲隊派出教練兼球員戴維森(John Davison)，他在2003為出生地加拿大，以獲得世界杯史上最快的百分而震驚西印度群島。另外最有前途的年輕板球手希爾(Michael Hill) 出任隊伍成員，他曾在去年U19 ICC 世界杯擔任隊長一職。
戴維森表示：「這[六人賽]將是對我們一個寶貴的經驗。我們很榮幸能來香港作賽，與一眾勁旅一較高下。」
他續說：「六人賽成功地推廣、擴大及發展香港的板球運動。每年的觀眾均十分支持，我相信今年也不例外。」
2008六人賽門票可在下列地點購買，成人票價為780元，小童為450元：
• 上環，中國板球國際有限公司 (電話: 2543 8500)
• 中環，Dot
Cod Seafood Restaurant & Oyster Bar
(電話:
2810 6988)
• 跑馬地，香港木球會 (電話:3511
8668)
• 佐敦，九龍木球會 (電話:2376
4141)
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香港六人板球賽於1992年創辦，獲國際板球會全面認可，是該項運動最具歷史、最完善及最受注目的六人比賽。
曾在過去16年參賽的球手包括拿拉、鄧德家、史提夫及馬克華治、李察士、費度夫、基卓斯及艾林。
賽事由香港板球會附屬公司中國板球國際負責籌辦及推廣。
賽事所得款項會透過香港板球會投入本地板球發展。
小組:
斯里蘭卡: 隊長－德薩蘭(Indika De Saram)、庫拉屯伽(Jeewantha Kulatunga)、陸庫賀緹格(Dilhara Lokuhettige)、
韋爾阿拉那(Kaushalya Weeraratne)、維基安(Gayan Wijekoon)、積亞辛葛(Chinthaka Jayasinghe)、普士帕庫馬拉(Muthumudalige Pushpakumara)
香港: 隊長－車魯帕林比(Manoj Cheruparambil)、埃瑪(Najeeb Amar)、畢特(Hussain Butt)、戴阿(Monir Dar)、伊爾凡．亞米德(Irfan Ahmed)、拿殿．亞米德(Nadeem Ahmed)、彭伯頓(Phil Pemberton)
澳洲: 隊長－戴維森(John Davison)、德鲁(Brendan Drew)、
希斯廷(John Hastings)、希爾(Michael Hill)、奧凱弗(Stephen O'Keefe)、里爾頓(Nathan Reardon)、華納(David Warner)
有關香港板球總會
香港板球總會負責管理全港各級別的板球事務，目標為推廣、擴大及發展板球運動、改善運動各範疇及增加本港社區各階層的參加人數。會方全年為包括學界及年長級別籌辦比賽，其全資附屬機構中國板球國際有限公司負責籌辦及管理香港六人板球賽。
由Two Up Front代表香港六人木球賽發佈。
如欲查詢賽事詳情，請聯絡：
Niall
Donnelly Vivian
Pau
Two Up Front Two
Up Front
電話 : +852
2854 2136 電話 : +852
2110 5890
手提 : +852
6052 3330 手提 : +852
6055 4122
傳真 : +852
3579 5955 傳真 : +852
3579 5955
電郵 : niall@tuf.com.hk 電郵 : vivian@tuf.com.hk
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