As we inch closer to the much-anticipated Asia Cup to be held at Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground which commences on the 12th of June, hosts Hong Kong have announced their 14-member squad.
The home team will go on to play some competitive cricket over the next few weeks as they face formidable Asian opponents. They’ll look to ride on their home advantage, as it’ll add to their chances of making it big in the tournament. In addition to this Cricket Hong Kong has allowed free entry to the ground on all match days and will provide free live telecast of the tournament.
Hong Kong Squad for Emerging Asia Cup:
Kary Chan (C), Natasha Miles (VC), Alison Siu, Betty Chan, Dorothea Chan, Elysa Hubbard, Emma Lai, Iqra Sahar, Lemon Cheung, Mariko Hill, Marina Lamplough, Maryam Bibi, Ruchitha Venkatesh, Shanzeen Shahzad
📢 Squad Announcement 📢
Kary Chan to lead Hong Kong at the upcoming Emerging Asia Cup.
Check the entire squad 👇 #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/68KN2eFn2y— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) June 1, 2023
The squad also goes on to see important changes with Vice Captain Natasha Miles returning to the side along with Elysa Hubbard, Iqra Sahar, Mariko Hill, Marina Lamplough, and Ruchitha Venkatesh. The coming months will prove to be important to Hong Kong with ICC World Cup Qualifiers and Asian games later this year. Tracy Walker, selector for HK women’s team said, “These games and the quality of opposition will give us much-needed experience for the upcoming tours”.
26-year-old Kary Chan, who’ll be leading Hong Kong in this tournament has 45 wickets in WT20Is with a stunning average of 14.46 and has scored 650 runs with an average that is improving by the day. She said, “We found so much support from our supporters during the East Asian Cup in Hangzhou. We cannot wait to play in Hong Kong, and hope to see a lot of supporters cheering for us against teams like India, Pakistan, and Thailand!” And deputy Natasha Miles has a healthy batting average of 30.18 in the WT20Is who’ll be a key to HK’s chances.
Mariko Hill is yet another batter to keep an eye out for, she has 755 runs in the WT20Is with a healthy strike rate and 25 wickets to her name. With the ball, Betty Chan who has 59 wickets in the WT20Is, Maryam Bibi (30 wickets) and Ruchitha Venkatesh (18 wickets) will all play key roles in denting the opposition’s batting lineup.
The hosts come into this tournament with an optimistic approach as they don their red and look forward to come all guns blazing with an aim to send a strong message across to the opponents.
(Quote sourced from Cricket Hong Kong media release)
