Mark Chapman hits unbeaten 64 but Hong Kong lose to Ireland in ICC World T20 warm-up match

Mark Chapman hit an unbeaten 64 from 53 deliveries but it wasn’t enough to stop Hong Kong from losing by 10 wickets to Ireland in a ICC World Twenty20 warm-up match in Dharamsala, India on Thursday.

After winning the toss and batting, Hong Kong were playing catch up from the very first over where they were reduced to 0-2 with Jamie Atkinson and Babar Hayat both dismissed without scoring.

Chapman was the only batsman to make a significant contribution as Hong Kong finished on 120 for seven after 20 overs.

In response Ireland made a watchful start to reach 24-0 after four overs, but from that point William Porterfield (74 not out) and Andy Balbirnie (47 not out) smashed their way to the total in the 13th over.

The loss for Hong Kong a stark reminder of the standards required in the matches ahead.

“Ireland were pretty clinical and we just weren’t up to it tonight, it was a disappointing performance,” Chapman said.

“At this level we have to be very tight with our lines and selective with the shots we play, so we need to be more clinical with our skills in the game.”

“I felt pretty good at the crease today – obviously wasn’t an ideal situation to come into but we needed someone to knuckle down so I just tried to bat 20 overs.”

“The guys love the big occasion and playing in front of a crowd as we saw in the last World T20, so hopefully that brings out the best in us when the tournament starts and we can turn things around.”

Hong Kong will face a HPCA XI in Dharamsala in their final warm-up game. Their first World Cup match is against Zimbabwe on Tuesday in Nagpur.