Atkinson and Butt boost Hong Kong batting
Exciting teenage batsman Jamie Atkinson and old-hand Hussain Butt are both set to make their debuts for Hong Kong at this summer's ACC Trophy after being included in a 20-strong preliminary squad.
The duo could bolster Hong Kong's fragile batting department, which in recent times has been the prime reason behind poor performances. Atkinson, 16, is an up-and-coming player cast in the same mould as his dad, former Dutch and Hong Kong international Steve Atkinson.
Veteran Butt is a hard-hitting all-rounder, famous for his feat of scoring an unbeaten triple-ton a couple of seasons ago in a Saturday League match at the Hong Kong Cricket Club. His knock, which included 36 sixes, forced the club to close the ground for a few weeks until the safety nets were raised. He has just qualified for Hong Kong under the four-year residency rule stipulated by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
'With Hussain [Butt] becoming eligible, we now have three players in the preliminary squad who come under the four-year rule, the other two being Afzaal Haider and Najeeb Amar, who have already played for Hong Kong,' said Lal Jayasinghe, Hong Kong Cricket Association (HKCA) coaching co-ordinator. 'What this means is that if all three are picked, only two can play at any one time.'
Luckily for Hong Kong, left-arm fast bowler Khalid Khan has just become eligible for a permanent identity card, taking him out of the previous bracketing with Haider and Amar. The ICC rules permit a team to field nine locally born players or citizens and two who have lived there for four years or more.
A couple of old faces - Ravi Sujanani and Alex French - have also forced their way back into contention for the August 12-25 ACC Trophy in Kuala Lumpur. Sujanani is making a comeback after briefly giving up the game to concentrate on his business while French missed out recently due to his studies abroad. Roy Lamsam and Manoj Cheruparambil were unavailable for selection.
'The squad will be cut to 14 plus four reserves by the end of this month,' said Jayasinghe. 'We will then go on a 10-day training trip to Chennai beginning from July 20 which will be ideal preparation.'
Chennai-based Hong Kong coach Robin Singh has lined up five matches for the SAR-squad, who will be captained by Tim Smart.
Hong Kong are grouped with Kuwait, Nepal, Myanmar and Bhutan at the ACC Trophy. The SAR will need to win this event, or finish second next to the United Arab Emirates or Oman - who have both already qualified - to be eligible for the next round of qualification for the 2011 World Cup.
'We are in a tough group with both Kuwait and Nepal being no pushovers. The top two from each of the four groups move on to the knockout stages. That is our first goal, to make it to the knockout stage,' said Jayasinghe.
Hong Kong squad: Tim Smart (captain), Najeeb Amar, Hussain Butt, Nadeem Ahmed, Khalid Khan, Irfan Ahmed, Alex French, Courtney Kruger, Tabarak Dar, Afzaal Haider, Jawaid Iqbal, Ravi Sujanani, Rahul Sharma, Ilyas Gull, Shkawat Ali, Jamshaid Khan, James Atkinson, Graeme Jardine, Nasir Hameed, Amjad Mehmood.
