Asian Games 2023: narrow defeat gives Hong Kong coach cause for optimism ahead of men’s cricket tournament
- Despite not winning a game in recent T20 tri-series in Malaysia, battling defeat against Papua New Guinea gives Simon Willis hope
- Performances by Nasrulla Rana with the ball and teenage batter Shiv Mathur hint at potential ahead of clash with Cambodia on Friday
Hong Kong’s men’s cricketers tuned up for the Asian Games with a T20 defeat at the hands of Papua New Guinea, but a battling performance at least gave skipper Nizakat Khan reason for optimism as they headed to Hangzhou.
Nasrulla Rana’s six-wicket haul nearly snatched victory for the city’s side at the Malaysia Men’s Tri Nations Cup on Sunday when defending a rather anaemic 90, and his figures of six for 12 were the best ever by a Hong Kong bowler in the format.
A team hampered by a loss of key players because of the passport requirements for the Games, and a lack of competitive cricket generally, showed incremental improvement, giving captain Khan and coach Simon Willis reason to believe their side can get off to a winning start at the Games on Friday against Cambodia.
“For me, this is a win, and we will take this momentum to China,” Khan said of the PNG loss, which followed another defeat against Malaysia.
Similarly unperturbed by the results, Willis felt the games at Bayuemas Oval in Selangor served as crucial preparation for Hangzhou, helping him confirm his ideal starting 11.
“Absolutely. We know what our best side is,” Willis said. “[Sunday’s performance] shows how far we have come as a group from playing no cricket at all to struggling in our first game to almost pulling something out of the bag [despite] a low score.”
