Hong Kong’s women stand on brink of history, as place in T20 World Cup global qualifier beckons
- The women’s team have never progressed beyond the regional round of qualifying for the global tournament
- But victory over the United Arab Emirates on Friday in the semi-finals of Asian qualifying would change that
Hong Kong have never made it to the global qualifier of the Women’s T20 World Cup, they are one game from changing that in arguably the biggest game in the history of the city’s team.
Kary Chan’s team face the United Arab Emirates on Friday in the semi-finals of the Asia regional qualifier, with the winners guaranteed a spot in the next phase.
Thailand, who beat Hong Kong by 43 runs in Wednesday’s final game in Group B, take on Nepal in the other encounter in Malaysia.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity,” Andy Cottam, the Hong Kong head coach, said. “There’s no better advertisement for women’s cricket than winning competitions or qualifying for global tournaments.”
Despite losing to Thailand, Hong Kong’s bowlers kept things tight for significant periods of the first innings, limiting a strong batting line up to 24 for one in the first six overs.
After the powerplay, opener Nannapat Koncharoenkai took advantage of some poor bowling to score a flurry of boundaries in a knock of 75 that put Thailand in the driver’s seat. In response, Hong Kong could only manage to score 78 runs in their 20 overs.
