Siblings know no boundaries

Godiva Li Kai-ling has the perfect temperament for a bowler. She loves to bully the opposition into mistakes. Elder sibling Li Kai-ming knows her nature only too well - he was browbeaten into playing the game. 'She used to bully me and forced me to take up cricket. I joined just to satisfy her and stop her bullying me,' Kai-ming says affectionately. Kai-ming took up the game six years ago. At 19, he is only one year older than his sister but aeons behind her in terms of cricketing experience; Godiva joined at the tender age of 10 and at 12, she was representing Hong Kong against Pakistan. Today, the brother and sister are on the verge of a great adventure, as members of the men's and women's squads picked by the Hong Kong Cricket Association for next month's Asian Games in Guangzhou. 'We are so excited. This is the first time cricket is being played at the Asian Games and it is a great honour for Hong Kong that both a men's and a women's team will be going. And to be part of it is fantastic,' says Godiva. A right-arm medium-pacer with deceptive swing, Godiva is one of nine Chinese girls in the 15-strong women's squad. The rest are non-Chinese, but all are united in the fact that they qualify for the Games by being born in Hong Kong and holding SAR passports. Eight years ago when she first heard of cricket at the Little Flower School in Sha Tin, Godiva wouldn't have known that she would one day carry the flag for the local community at the Asian Games - side by side with her brother. 'I forced Kai-ming to take up cricket because I was lonely and needed company. Our parents encouraged us from the word go,' Godiva said. 'I never thought that one day we would both end up playing in the Asian Games.' That remains to be seen. Hong Kong head coach Charlie Burke has great faith in Kai-ming, who is a leg-spinner. Burke says he has never seen a cricketer more committed to the game. But it remains to be seen if he will pick Kai-ming, who is still a neophyte when it comes to the intricacies of cricket, with the stakes so high at the Asian Games. Twenty20 is the format. This version is unforgiving in that there is little or no time to recover from a mistake. Kai-ming is one of only two Chinese players in the men's squad - the other being Roy Lamsam - and it would be a gamble if Burke were to field the relative novice in the starting line-up. The Hong Kong men are drawn with Nepal and the Maldives in the preliminary round, and there is the possibility that Kai-ming might get a run in one of those games. The aim is to finish in the top two as they (along with the top two from Malaysia, Singapore and China) will advance to meet the big boys of Asian cricket - Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the next round. Unlike her brother, Godiva won't have any sleepless nights wondering if she will make the starting XI. She has been a mainstay of the senior squad ever since she took a hat-trick against Thailand a couple of years ago. 'I love bowling. That is the best part of my game,' says Godiva. 'I love cricket because it is so much a mind game with a lot of skill involved. There is no physical contact, and I think it suits the Chinese perfectly. 'We are among the first Chinese to play for Hong Kong. With cricket in the Asian Games, it will help boost the popularity of the sport among the local community and I'm very proud to be doing my part,' she adds. Lal Jayasinghe, an assistant coach with the women's squad, has nothing but praise for Godiva, who he says has transformed into a 'very good' bowler over the past couple of years. 'She is one of the better bowlers in the team and one of the most committed players around too,' says Jayasinghe. 'She is a steadying influence and the fact that she is only 18 means Hong Kong can benefit from her presence in the future too.' Friends of the siblings - they move in the same circles as they went to the same school - have mixed feelings about the pair's exploits in what is widely regarded as a 'gweilo' game. 'Our friends admire us but at the same time they think I am stupid for standing under the sun for so long. They ask me if I'm not worried about becoming 'dark',' laughs Godiva. Kai-ming, who is already bronzed by the sun, smiles, and says they never use any sunscreen in their pursuit of becoming better cricketers. It was a good thing that their parents did not have a clue, initially, what cricket was all about. But today their dad, a truck driver, and mum, a housewife, come and watch them play at every opportunity. 'I think I know the game quite well now,' smiles mum Winnie Li Hung-yuk. 'We are very supportive of whatever they do and we are very proud that they are both representing Hong Kong at the Asian Games. We hope to go to Guangzhou to watch them play.' She adds: 'My husband doesn't know the game very well but that doesn't prevent him from shouting out advice to them. He loves sports and he is very happy that his son and daughter are playing for Hong Kong. As parents we are happy for them. It doesn't matter whether Hong Kong win or lose as long as they enjoy themselves.' On paper, it would seem Godiva and her teammates have a better chance than the men to win a medal. They are drawn with Japan, Nepal and Bangladesh in preliminary round pool B. The other pool comprises China, Thailand, Pakistan and Singapore. The top two teams qualify for cross-over semi-finals, with the winners contesting the gold medal while the losers meet in the bronze medal play-off. 'I believe we can win a medal,' says Godiva. 'We are improving and have come a long way. There is pressure from within the group to do well and we know if we want to go all the way, we have to keep on pushing ourselves.' And if the women's team need someone to bully them to reach their goal, they need look no further than Godiva.