The Tuanku Ja'afar Trophy went home to Malaysia yesterday.
Given by the previous king of Malaysia as a keepsake for the tournament, it has been in Hong Kong's possession for the past couple of years. But a poor batting performance saw Hong Kong lose the trophy to Malaysia at the Kallang ground in Singapore.
Three run outs, including those of in-form batsmen Ray Brewster and Tabarak Dar in quick succession, contributed towards a tepid response from Hong Kong, who were chasing a victory target of 244 in 50 overs.
'It is very disappointing. The batting should have showed a lot more application. It was a very good batting wicket and when we bowled Malaysia out for 243, we thought the score was attainable. But they are a very good fielding side and all credit to them,' said Hong Kong manager Clive Howard yesterday.
The run chase began promisingly with skipper Sada Hussain and Jawaid Iqbal opening the batting. However, Hussain was soon out going for a big hit for 15 and then Brewster was run out for 18. With the score on 78 for two at this stage, things still looked promising for Hong Kong. Then the rot set in.
'Dar got run out without even facing a ball. Jawaid square drove to cover and took off for a single. Dar responded but was given out to a direct hit. It was a good piece of fielding from the fielder who was looking at just one stump,' said Howard.
The loss of Dar, who scored two unbeaten half-centuries against Singapore and Thailand in the group games, was a big blow to Hong Kong.
