da heads bet： Hong Kong’s ambitions for the Asian Cricket Council tournament continue to go from strength to strength
da fezbet： Cricinfo staff04-Jul-2007
Neisha Pratt just missed out on her first international century © Travis Pittman
Hong Kong’s ambitions for the Asian Cricket Council tournament continue to go from strength to strength. In a return friendly with China, who are also warming up for the competition which begins in Malaysia next week, they recorded an emphatic 117-run victory to make it two convincing wins in two. It was their first match on Hong Kong soil.Rain denied the Hong Kong captain Neisha Pratt a century – she was left stranded on 98 not out as they made 158 for 3 from 25.3 overs – but could not help China further as they crumbled to 41 all out. Conditions were hot and humid, and the match was played on astro turf.Chan Sau Har improves with every match – still only 13, she grabbed a hat-trick with her left-arm spin as she returned 3 for 4 from her five overs. Godiva Li also bagged cheap wickets, taking 1 for 3 off 4.3 overs, while Kaori Iida also profited, with 1 for 6 from two. Ishitaa Gidwani took 2 for 13 from her five overs.After a two-hour break, during which the KCC ground staff worked hard torepair the water-logged ground (now bathed in bright sunshine), China wereset a slightly revised target of 157 from 25 overs.Earlier, China got a quick breakthrough when their skipper Mei Chun Hua claimed thewicket of Emma Phillips, who was caught off a top edge that flew directlybehind the wicket-keeper where the very straight fine leg Hu Ting Ting racedin to take the catch. But that was to be their last success for quite awhile as Pratt and Keenu Gill built a useful partnership worth 56runs.Both batters were initially circumspect but they were quick to punishthe bad balls, of which there were plenty. Gill creamed three delightfulboundaries in her 19, including a well struck cut and a spankingstraight-drive. She eventually fell LBW to Hu Ting Ting when the score hadreached 67.For further information about the Hong Kong women’s team or photos of this match contact Mr Charles Li at HKCA [email protected] or HK women’s team manager Mark Burns [email protected]
