Of sweat, sacrifices and self-belief: what Asia Cup qualification has meant to Hong Kong
- After being away from home for 3 months, Hong Kong’s cricketers are nearing the end of their mammoth summer tour
- But the stress has taken its toll mentally and physically, with several players missing out on the birth of their children
Matches against top-tier sides may be few and far between for Hong Kong’s men’s national cricket team, but on Friday they will face Pakistan just 48 hours after playing India in the Asia Cup.
Being the only Associate representative at the six-team T20 competition in the United Arab Emirates, they earned their right with an unbeaten run in the qualifiers in Oman beating Singapore, Kuwait and the favourites, UAE.
Despite a change in format – the 2018 edition was 50 overs – Nizakat Khan’s charges will once again look to show they are not out of their depth, and having pushed India close four years ago, were hardly embarrassed in their 40-run loss this time around.
“Even though it was a different format, we learned from our mistakes we made in that game [in 2018],” Khan said on the eve of their match against India. “There were plenty of lessons we took from it and we are confident of not repeating the errors if we are put in a similar situation.”
Qualification for the Asia Cup was particularly impressive after three long months on the road, and the disappointment of missing out on a T20 World Cup spot and a failure to regain their ODI status in Jersey.
Not only is this week an opportunity to shrug off their status as underdogs, but also to grow the game back home and inspire the next generation to take up the sport.
“As experienced players, it is the responsibility for the likes of me, Babar [Hayat], Ehsan [Khan] and Yasim [Murtaza] to teach the younger players how tough International cricket can be,” Nizakat Khan said.
“Watching us play against high-profile teams will also inspire the next generation back home to don the Hong Kong jersey some day.”