2009 Hong Kong Sixes

[James]

Anyone follow this tournament?

Got the media release through this evening for anyone interested.

Hong Kong, September 22, 2009 – The Hong Kong Cricket Sixes will welcome one of the sport’s biggest names to its annual carnival of elite cricket, when Anil Kumble plays for traditional crowd favourites India at the Kowloon Cricket Club from October 31-November 1.

First played in 1992, the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes is the longest-running international tournament of its kind and will this year celebrate its 15th edition. As such, the Sixes has been included by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as a ‘Catch the Spirit’ event to celebrate the global governing body’s centenary celebrations.

Kumble, India’s leading wicket taker in both Test and one-day cricket, is one of the legends of the international game. Ranked third amongst all-time Test wicket-takers with 619 dismissals, the 38-year-old leg-spinner is also an inspirational captain. Under his leadership, the Royal Challengers Bangalore reached the IPL final in 2009.

Kumble, who played at the Sixes two years ago, said: “I am looking forward to returning to Hong Kong for one of the most exciting sporting events in the world. I had a great time in 2007 and to play here once again is very exciting for me.”

The 2009 Hong Kong Cricket Sixes will feature a new pool system with teams grouped into a Northern Hemisphere Pool and a Southern Hemisphere Pool of four teams each. The Northern Hemisphere will feature defending champions England alongside India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, while the Southern Hemisphere will include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and hosts Hong Kong.

Playmore, a Hong Kong-based sports apparel brand, will outfit the eight squads in dynamic new team kits, while the event has once again received the coveted ‘M Mark’ status from the Hong Kong Government denoting its status as a ‘Major Event’ for the city.

Captain Shahzada Saleem Ahmed, President of the Hong Kong Cricket Association, commented: “The Hong Kong Cricket Sixes is one of cricket’s most exciting tournaments, something that the ICC has acknowledged with our participation in its ‘Catch The Spirit’ celebrations in 2009.

“This year, we are confident of seeing another extremely competitive Hong Kong Cricket Sixes and are delighted to announce that that the first step in that process is Anil Kumble returning to Hong Kong, where he was incredibly popular in 2007,” said Captain Saleem.

Ticket prices have also been revised in 2009, allowing fans to purchase two-day passes for $HK680 for adults, a 13 per cent discount over last year, while children’s tickets will be available for $380, a reduction of 15 per cent.

To give spectators greater flexibility, for the first time single-day passes will also be available at $HK300 (Saturday)/$470 (Sunday) for adults and $180 (Saturday/$220 (Sunday) for kids. Tickets will go on sale on Wednesday September 23 through HK Ticketing, the Kowloon and Hong Kong Cricket Clubs and Dot Cod restaurant in Central.


Added Dinesh Tandon, Chairman of the Hong Kong Cricket Association: “The Hong Kong
Cricket Sixes is a great Hong Kong event and we have received excellent support from the local corporate community. Our corporate boxes are almost sold out and we have a group of exciting new sponsors in 2009.

“This year, we are also focused on having even more involvement from crowds through more competitions and through the involvement of and interaction with the players, further increasing the entertainment value of this fun event,” said Tandon.

The host broadcaster for the 2009 Hong Kong Cricket Sixes will again be Taj TV-owned Ten Sports from Dubai, who will provide a live broadcast of the entire event into Hong Kong, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Australia and South Africa.

Additional coverage will also be seen in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe and China. The 2008 Sixes was broadcast to 80 million households worldwide.

– ENDS –​

About the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes
In 2009, the Sixes has been selected as an ICC Centenary Celebration World Event and will feature a special ceremony to honour 100 years of the International Cricket Council and the Spirit of Cricket.

Six-a-side cricket is the quickest, most fun-filled version of the game – a feast of world-class players, thrilling matches and big hits.

First played in 1992, the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes is the longest-running and highest-profile Sixes tournament in the world. It offers two days of fast and furious action in a festival atmosphere – eight international teams, 45-minute clashes and global television coverage.


Stars who have taken part include Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Javed Miandad, Steve and Mark Waugh, Viv Richards, Andrew Flintoff, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble, Adam Gilchrist, Wasim Akram, MS Dhoni and Sanath Jayasuriya.

The Sixes won the prestigious 2007 ICC Award for Best Cricket Promotional and Marketing Award.

England recorded a record fifth Sixes title last year after a stunning final in which they finished tied with Australia on 121 runs. When Australian batsman Stephen O’Keefe was run out attempting a second run from the final delivery that would have given his team victory, England were confirmed victors as they had lost fewer wickets (three wickets to one).

In a nod to the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes reputation for being a breeding ground of young talent, amongst the leading scorers in the final was Jonathan Trott, who scored a century on debut in England’s Ashes win last month, along with Australia’s Twenty20 opening bat wunderkind David Warner.

Photo Captions

Photo 1
Captain SHAHZADA SALEEM AHMED, President of the Hong Kong Cricket Association (second left) and Mr HERMAN HU JP, Chairman of the Major Sports Events Committee (second right) unveil the competition groups of the 2009 Hong Kong Cricket Sixes; in association with Mr DINESH TANDON, Chairman of the Hong Kong Cricket Association (right), Mr MARK BURNS, Tournament Director of the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes (left) and models in the latest team uniform of the eight participating countries.

Photo 2
Eight models dressed in the latest team uniforms of the participating countries – defending champions England, Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and hosts Hong Kong – form the shape of number “6”, representing the teamwork among the Cricket Sixes.

 

[Spinksy]

Seems fairly interesting tbh. I might follow it...

 

[Jakester1288]

Anyone follow this tournament?

Yes.

Not me though.

 

[James]

News on where Scott Styris is......

CRAIG McMILLAN, SCOTT STYRIS TO HEAD POWERFUL KIWIS AT ​

HONG KONG CRICKET SIXES​

Hong Kong, September 29, 2009 – New Zealand will return to the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes as legitimate title contenders after naming international short-game specialists Craig McMillan and Scott Styris in their squad for the 2009 tournament, to be played at the Kowloon Cricket Club on October 31-November 1.

First played in 1992, the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes is the longest-running international tournament of its kind and will this year celebrate its 15th edition. As such, the Sixes has been included by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as a ‘Catch the Spirit’ event to celebrate the global governing body’s centenary celebrations.

New Zealand, who did not play in Hong Kong in 2008, have never won the Sixes and will be determined to set that record straight with the big-hitting McMillan returning to entertain cricket fans.

The 33-year-old batsman won the Ben Hollioake Trophy as the Player of the Tournament in 2007 as a member of the All Stars, repeatedly setting his side on the way to big scores when opening the batting. He also ventured to the 1995 Sixes earlier in his career.

McMillan’s power hitting is ideally suited to the Kowloon Cricket Club, ably illustrated by having belted a tournament-best 13 sixes in the first World Twenty20 championship in 2007. He recently returned to domestic cricket to play Twenty20s for Canterbury and to share his experience with some of the province’s rising stars.

Said McMillan: “I cannot wait to get back to Hong Kong for the Sixes, which is one of the great weekends of the international cricket world. I have great memories from my first Sixes almost 15 years ago and, of course, coming back to play really well in 2007.

“I like the new pool system and look forward to giving the Aussies and South Africans a real fight to get through to the Cup rounds,” added McMillan, a veteran of 197 one-day internationals (ODIs) who teamed with India’s Anil Kumble on the All-Star team that finished runners-up in 2007.

Meanwhile, the 34-year-old Styris, a member of the IPL-winning Deccan Chargers earlier this year, will come to Hong Kong hot off playing in the inaugural Twenty20 Champions League (October 8-23) for his Indian team.

Competing alongside players such as Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds with Deccan, the all-rounder (right-hand bat, right-arm medium bowler) has become one of the sport’s finest exponents of cricket’s shortest forms having also played 157 ODIs.

The New Zealand squad also includes several other big names, with Peter Fulton, who has played 49 ODIs, and Craig Spearman, who has played 51, on the team. Corey Anderson and Anaru Kitchen will also be representing the Kiwis, to be managed by Steve Wilkins, with another player to be confirmed.

At last week’s tournament launch, it was announced one of the sport’s biggest names, Anil Kumble, will play for traditional crowd favourites India at the Kowloon Cricket Club from October 31-November 1.

Captain Shahzada Saleem Ahmed, President of the Hong Kong Cricket Association, commented: “We are focused on putting on an extremely competitive Hong Kong Cricket Sixes in 2009. By welcoming great players like Craig and Scott, plus Anil Kumble’s participation with this year’s India team, we are well on the way to once again having a wonderful weekend of cricket.”

Ticket prices have also been revised in 2009, allowing fans to purchase two-day passes for $HK680 for adults, a 13 per cent discount over last year, while children’s tickets will be available for $380, a reduction of 15 per cent.

To give spectators greater flexibility, for the first time single-day passes will also be available at $HK300 (Saturday)/$470 (Sunday) for adults and $180 (Saturday/$220 (Sunday) for kids. Tickets are on sale through HK Ticketing, the Kowloon and Hong Kong Cricket Clubs and Dot Cod restaurant in Central.

The 2009 Hong Kong Cricket Sixes will feature a new pool system with teams grouped into the Northern Hemisphere, which will feature defending champions England alongside India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and the Southern Hemisphere, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and hosts Hong Kong.

The host broadcaster for the 2009 Hong Kong Cricket Sixes will again be Taj TV-owned Ten Sports from Dubai, who will provide a live broadcast of the entire event into Hong Kong, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Australia and South Africa.

Additional coverage will also be seen in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe and China. The 2008 Sixes was broadcast to 80 million households worldwide.