But despite its grand billing, yesterday's fights were just ordinary cricket matches among club members, said Senior Inspector Angus Yeung Fu-yin, from the Special Duties Squad in Mongkok.

The arrested men included nine mainlanders and two people from Macau. Police also seized about 150 crickets, $8,000 in cash and gambling apparatus.

Most of those arrested were middle-aged or elderly, with the oldest 80. Five, aged between 38 and 69, were believed to be gambling ringleaders, who police suspect have backgrounds with the 14K and Wo Shing Wo triad societies.

Each arrested man was tagged with an identification number on his arm.

While the police conducted investigations at the scene, those arrested were taken in groups to the Mongkok police station for questioning.

Police sealed off the section of Fife Street between Sai Yee Street and Fa Yuen Street for about two hours as police vans ferried those arrested, the crickets and other evidence to the station.

The raid came after a week-long operation that involved undercover police infiltrating the social club, which was set up in 1978, Mr Yeung said.

The police had launched investigations after receiving information about gambling at the otherwise legitimate club.

'The club claimed to be a legitimate operation, and we didn't see any criminal activities as far as the cricket fights are concerned,' Mr Yeung said. 'But it became a criminal operation when gambling was involved.'

He said the arrested men would be released if investigations confirmed they had not taken part in the gambling.

The club could open as usual for cricket fights or appreciation of the insects as long as no gambling took place.

The seized crickets, if they are not needed as evidence in court, could be returned to their owners or handed over to relevant government departments.

Mr Yeung added that there had been no similar illegal gambling cases involving crickets in Mongkok over the past five years.

'According to my experience, cricket fights are now very rare in Mongkok,' he said. 'The activity was popular about 50 years ago, but nowadays few people do it. This is the first time we received similar information [over cricket-fight gambling].'

Another officer involved in the investigations said that although cricket fighting had faded out in Hong Kong, the activity still had faithful followers among the older population.

Some fans would even go to the countryside to search for a 'more wild' variety of cricket. Others would buy them for up to $30 from places such as bird stalls.