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Rain blots out HK hopes for World Youth Cup

Rain once again proved to be the bugbear in the Hong Kong camp as their chances of qualifying for the World Youth Cup were washed away in Singapore yesterday.

Needing to beat Malaysia in their final group game in the Youth Asia Cup, Hong Kong were once again frustrated by the weather which forced the abandonment of the match with the SAR on 81 for one off 20 overs.

'The frustration is that Hong Kong have not played one full game in the preliminary round robin because of rain,' said manager Julian Harness.

'Contingency plans should have been made by the organisers to ensure that teams had a chance of playing and establishing a proper pecking order in Asian cricket that truly ensures the two best teams would have qualified for the World Youth Cup,' he said.

Organisers should have taken into account the weather conditions prevailing in Singapore at this time of the year by having a reserve day for rain-affected matches, he said.

The only game which Hong Kong completed was against Bangladesh, the defending champions, on Monday. That match was also reduced by rain to 25 overs per side and Hong Kong were beaten by eight wickets.

On Tuesday, they met the United Arab Emirates and this match was abandoned in the 24th over with Hong Kong on 98 for two. The one point from that game and the one point which Hong Kong shared with Malaysia yesterday left Roy Lamsam's team with a total of two points from their three games.

It was not enough to finish runners-up in the group.

Malaysia, who beat the UAE, finished in second place (Bangladesh took the top slot) and booked a place in the semi-finals where they will meet Nepal. The other semis will be between Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea.

The finalists will qualify for the Youth World Cup in Sri Lanka in January.

'After months of training with what was regarded as the second-best side in the region . . . behind Bangladesh, I was quietly confident that Hong Kong would win through to the semi-finals and perhaps qualify to meet Bangladesh in the final. But the rain proved to be our biggest obstacle,' said coach Lal Jayasinghe.

Windies' woes - Page 24

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