Hong Kong cricket eyeing ‘ruthless’ new dawn after emphatic win over Uganda in tri-series
Captain Yasim and coach Willis ‘on the same page’ as Anshuman Rath, Nasrulla Rana star in win that serves as warm-up for Challenge League B
Simon Willis said he was trying to instil a “ruthless” culture in Hong Kong cricket, after his team crushed Uganda by 68 runs to win their tri-series on Sunday despite playing at “70 per cent”.
Opener Anshuman Rath’s exquisite 107 laid the platform for Hong Kong’s innings of 234, but coach Willis said after the final six wickets fell for 43 that he was looking for a higher total.
With the ball, the rapid Nasrulla Rana claimed five for 29 from eight hostile overs, while skipper Yasim Murtaza’s left-arm spin picked up three cheap wickets as Uganda folded for 166.
As visiting sixth-wicket pair Raghav Dhawan and Dinesh Nakrani combined for 54 runs, after coming together at 58 for five, Willis could be seen whirling his arms and demanding increased intensity in the field. At another point, Hong Kong’s 12th man returned from the middle to report that Yasim had just “riled up the players”.
“The captain and I are on the same page with regard to how we win,” Willis said. “We want to dominate, which is a change in mindset. We have to be on the money until the last run is scored, or the last wicket is taken. There’s been a tendency for these guys to think they’ve won far too early and we’re trying to bring a ruthlessness.”
The tri-series, which also featured Bahrain, served as a warm-up for the second leg of the destiny-shaping Challenge League B, which begins with hosts Hong Kong’s game against Singapore on Thursday.