Hong Kong head coach Willis says side cannot afford passengers in bid to compete with best, after Oman semi-final loss
- Hong Kong suffer five-wicket defeat by Oman in ACC Premier Cup semi-final, after setting hosts meagre 131 target
- Team left to rely heavily on experienced batting pair of Nizakat Khan and Babar Hayat with rest of side failing to contribute
Simon Willis praised the fight mustered by Hong Kong to take their ACC Premier Cup semi-final against hosts Oman to the wire, but said his side cannot afford to carry passengers against the strongest associate nations.
The head coach will join city officials in conducting a review of performances in Oman, where his team managed wins against Malaysia and Qatar, but were well beaten by Saudi Arabia and Nepal before their semi-final loss.
Having missed out on the chance to qualify for the Asia Cup, which will now come down to straight fight between Oman and United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong must beat Nepal in Saturday’s third-place play-off to at least earn a spot in the second-tier Emerging Teams Asia Cup.
Hong Kong limped to 130 for 9 in their last-four encounter on Friday, on a wicket where a score of around 150 would have been par. Oman slumped to 65 for four in reply, but an unbeaten 62 from Aqib Ilyas guided them home with five wickets and four balls to spare.
“I was proud of how the players fought in the field, we have spoken a lot about competing rather than participating, as individuals, and in the two games [against Malaysia and Oman ] we did that,” Willis said. “To still be in the game in the final over was an outstanding effort.”
