Babar Hayat to captain Hong Kong in World Sixes

Hong Kong are aiming to win the World Sixes this weekend after announcing on Wednesday an experienced squad for the two-day tournament.

Babar Hayat will captain the seven-strong squad and with all the players drawn from a limited-overs team who are ranked 14th in the world, hopes are high that they will be competitive against the world’s top sides.

“Hong Kong have put together some stand-out performances in years gone by in the Sixes and confidence is high amongst the group to take home the title this year,” Cricket Hong Kong director of cricket, Mark Wright, said.

Hayat, who narrowly missed out on winning player of the tournament at the 2012 event, will be joined by fellow big hitters Nizakat Khan and Jamie Atkinson. Completing the squad are Aizaz Khan, Ehsan Khan, Ehsan Nawaz and Tanveer Ahmed. Mark Farmer will coach the side.

The Hong Kong side face a tough task in group A against defending champions South Africa, Pakistan and the Marylebone Cricket Club. Group B comprises Australia, New Zealand Kiwis, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Hong Kong’s best performance in the Sixes was in 2009 when they reached the final before being beaten by South Africa.

CHK also announced on Wednesday that the squad is to be sponsored by digital cross-border payment company InstaReM. Director Jonathan Cummings said the partnership was testament to the commercial potential of the Sixes.

 “The Sixes is a world class event that has enormous reach around the world, so it’s fantastic to be able to secure commercial sponsorship for our national team at our home event,” Cummings said.

 The Sixes will feature 23 games over two turbo-charged days at Kowloon Cricket Club on October 28 and 29. Tickets are available at www.ticketflap.com/hksixes.