Hong Kong make confident start to ACC Trophy

Hong Kong made a confient sart to the ACC Trophy 2006 by thrashing Bhutan by nine wickets.

15-Aug-2006

Hong Kong made a confident start to their ACC Trophy 2006 campaign by thrashing competition minnows Bhutan by nine wickets in a match played at the Royal Selangor Club.

Bhutan were never in the match as they were skittled for just 77 after electing to bat first. Chief destroyer for Hong Kong was Hussain Butt who claimed 4-20 from his eight overs. Nadeem Ahmed also claimed the impressive figures of 3-18 from 10 overs. The only criticism of Hong Kong's effort in the field was that wides were the chief contributor to the Bhutan total with 16.

With an eye to future matches in the tournament, Hong Kong made light work of the run chase as they reached 78-1 in 15 overs with skipper Tim Smart hitting an unbeaten 32 while Rahul Sharma finished on 26 not out.

[ Full Scorecard ]

Before the match, Hong Kong's chances received a timely boost with the news that Afzaal Haider now qualifies as a full representative after completing his seven years residency in the HKSAR. This gives the team selection panel more freedom to pick their strongest side as only two players with less than seven years residency can play in one match. Hussain Butt and Najeeb Amar currently fall into this latter category.