Two Hong Kong women cricketers banned for pulling out of Asia Cup squad
Two players withdraw from the women's squad for the Asia Cup because they feel Hong Kong have no chance without their ineligible skipper
Two leading Hong Kong women cricketers have been banned for a year after their "crazy" decision to withdraw from the squad competing at this week's Asian Cricket Council Women's Twenty20 Asia Cup in Guangzhou
Connie Wong Ar-yan and Keenu Gill decided to skip the tournament because they felt the team stood no chance after skipper Neisha Pratt was dropped because of eligibility issues. Teams are only allowed to field players who could take part at the Asian Games but with Pratt not being Hong Kong-born or of Asian parentage, she had to pull out.
Wong, captain of the women's team at the 2010 Asian Games, and Gill a former Under-23 captain, then walked out on the side, leading to their ban by the Hong Kong Cricket Association.
The ban was described as "harsh" by Pratt but national coach Charlie Burke, who leaves with the rest of the squad today for Guangzhou, said the move by Wong and Gill was "crazy".
"We were dealt a blow when Neisha had to pull out due to the eligibility requirements. This led to Connie and Keenu also saying they were pulling out. They apparently felt that without Neisha, our best player, Hong Kong would not be a force and as such decided to drop out. It was a crazy move on their part," Burke said.
A third player also pulled out - Yasmin Daswani - but her unavailability was apparently because she was overseas and unable to join the team.
Pratt threw her support behind the banned pair. "This is a level-three ban and it is very harsh. We are appealing it," said Pratt, who plays alongside Wong for Pakistan Association in the domestic league.