Everything to play for, say HK

Hong Kong will meet Malaysia today in a dress rehearsal for tomorrow's final in the Tuanku Ja'afar tournament. So is it worthwhile getting all heated up for the starters, and would it not be better to save something for the main course?

Hong Kong coach Lal Jayasinghe firmly believes in the former option. 'I say we should go for the jugular straight away. It is always good if we can take the psychological advantage before the final. The other important thing is the weather. If rain should prevent the final from being played or completed, the trophy will be awarded on the results from the preliminary round,' Jayasinghe said.

At the moment, both Hong Kong and Malaysia are unbeaten and will advance to tomorrow's final whatever the outcome of today's final preliminary round match between the region's top two teams.

Hong Kong have looked confident in their 62-run win over Singapore and an eight-wicket rout of Thailand. Malaysia beat the Thais by 115 runs and defeated Singapore by four wickets, chasing 229 to win. They accomplished this in the 48th over and with plenty of flair.

With Jayasinghe stressing the importance of winning, Hong Kong will field their best side today. The final XI will be named this morning due to some concern over who will partner Mohammed Zubair in the bowling. The other strike bowler is most likely to be Khalid Khan, but unfortunately the left-armer was way below his best in the opening match against Singapore.

'He is a quality bowler but sadly he is lacking rhythm. We hope he will soon be back to his best for we need someone to partner Zubair, who has been bowling superbly,' said Jayasinghe.

Another medium-pace option is Mohammed Jamshaid, but he too did not shine in the opening game. Jamshaid adds another key ingredient to his side with his explosive batting which can take any bowling lineup apart.

But a slow wicket at the Selangor Cricket Club, together with the promising display of left-arm leg spinner Nadeem Ahmed, might see Hong Kong opt for an extra spinner rather than medium pace against Malaysia.

If picked, Ahmed is expected to play a role in tandem with skipper Rahul Sharma who has been bowling superbly. In the two games so far, Sharma has figures of six for 27 off 16 overs of tantalising leg-spin.

'Rahul is the key to our bowling. He has to take a leading role and needs to bowl his 10 overs. He is the most experienced player and Hong Kong will be pinning our hopes on him,' said Jayasinghe.

Sharma has been out of touch with the bat so far, scoring 22 and six. It is hoped he will get his big innings against Malaysia. But there have been some promising contributions from the rest, most notably Tabarak Dar's 92 not out against Singapore and Manoj Cheruparambil's classy knocks of 37 and 41.

Hong Kong's fielding has also brought a smile to Jayasinghe's face. 'This is one of the best fielding sides in recent years. Our ground fielding has improved and we are taking the catches.'

Cheruparambil has been the star. He has held five catches. And the wicket-keeping of debutant Nasir Hameed is another huge plus factor.