Chance for SAR to make amends

Hong Kong's cricketers will be looking to exorcise the ghost of their 1996 Asian Cricket Council Trophy disaster when they fly to Nepal to take part in the second edition of the tournament today.

Although Hong Kong have been talking up their chances in this year's competition, many of the squad will be aware of the desperately disappointing campaign two years ago when an eligibility fiasco scuppered their chances.

Crashing out in the group phase, as Hong Kong did in 1996 after losing to Fiji and getting hammered by Bangladesh, is not on the agenda for the class of 1998.

What coach David Trist describes as 'intelligent cricket' is what Hong Kong will be striving for in Kathmandu - and a place in the semi-finals should not be beyond the reach of Stewart Brew and company.

'Intelligent cricket is going to be the key for us. I firmly believe that if we put thought into our bowling and batting we can do well in Nepal,' Trist said.

'It's all about knowing when to mix up the bowling and when to start cranking up the run rate and going for shots,' he added.

Getting beyond the last four and into the final will probably hinge on the result of Saturday's opening game against the United Arab Emirates at the Institute of Engineers Stadium.

'Ideally we would like to think we are worthy of a place in the semi-finals at least. But it would be wrong for us to start thinking that there are only three teams who have a chance of winning the whole tournament,' Trist said. 'We won't be underestimating anyone.' Hong Kong will end their preparations for the tournament with an open-wicket session at the Kowloon Cricket Club this morning and are hoping to organise a training match in Nepal tomorrow before Saturday's opener against the UAE.

'We would like to get a light training game on Friday just to help with the acclimatisation,' Trist said. Acclimatising to altitude in Nepal is going to be one of Hong Kong's biggest challenges, Trist added. 'Ideally we would have liked four or five days beforehand to prepare but that just wasn't feasible for us.' The winner of the ACC Trophy goes through to next year's Asian Cup, a one-day round-robin tournament featuring India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

SQUAD Hong Kong squad for Asian Cricket Council Trophy, Nepal, October 3-13: Stewart Brew (capt), Raymond Brewster, Riaz Farcy, Ravi Sujanani, Bharat Gohel, Rahul Sharma, Munir Hussain, Sada Hussain, Kamran Raza, Mohammad Zubair, Geoff Hurrell, Jignesh Tailor, Sher Lama, Adrian Lee. Coach: David Trist. Manager: Clive Howard.

Hong Kong Fixtures: October 3, v United Arab Emirates; October 5, v Japan; Ocotber 7, v Thailand; October 9, v Nepal.