Bred on a diet of one-day cricket, those players fortunate enough to be members of the Hong Kong Cricket Club and the Kowloon Cricket Club - and worthy of being picked - will this weekend turn out for a rare two-day game. This year's traditional meeting of the two established clubs for the Hancock Shield at the HKCC - if it was played at the KCC it would be for the Fincher Shield - will revert to its old style, when the match was held over two days. 'We decided to resurrect the two-day game as we feel it would be better for Hong Kong cricket,' said Tony Melloy, captain-of-cricket at the HKCC, the current holders of the Hancock Shield. But while tradition must continue, it is widely acknowledged that to keep in line with current trends, the independent clubs should also be brought into the picture. Even Melloy, a staunch traditionalist, admits that the balance of power is now firmly in the grasp of the younger, independent clubs who have come such a long way in recent years. 'Pakistan Association would most probably beat any combined selection on their own,' says Melloy, who is among a growing crowd of supporters for a match between the established clubs and a combined independent XI. 'That would be an excellent idea. And I hope it will happen next year,' Melloy said. And for once, the Hong Kong Cricket Association is not averse to change. It likes the idea too. 'We are looking at such a fixture and we may have it at the end of this season or next season. It would make for a very interesting game,' said Mark Burns, HKCA operations manager. Hong Kong's premier Sunday League competition currently has two independent teams, defending champions Pakistan Association and JKN Little Sai Wan, holding the top two spots respectively. 'In these past few seasons, it is the independent sides which are strong and competitive,' said Tabarak Dar, secretary for Sai Wan.
