Hong Kong cricket matches to continue amid coronavirus threat as Little Sai Wan and Kowloon Cricket Club claim Premier League wins
- Temperature checks and health declarations are being taken at venues with Cricket Hong Kong keen to stage successful Premier League
- Five teams are competing over 10 weeks in the tournament, which is returning to the domestic calendar after two years
Matches in the Hong Kong Premier League cricket tournament will carry on despite the coronavirus threat that has caused havoc with the global sporting calendar.
The league kicked off on Sunday with Diasqua Little Sai Wan scoring an 82-run victory over Hong Kong Cricket Club in their opener while Kowloon Cricket Club defeated United Services Recreation Club by seven wickets in the other game.
Cricket Hong Kong’s participation manager Ravi Nagdev said organisers were confident of staging a safe and successful tournament by implementing the necessary precautions.
“As long as the venues are open, we will be playing games,” said Nagdev. “Obviously, there are restrictions in place. There are not too many spectators, only players and officials, and we’re not opening to non-members [of clubs].”
The five-team, 50-overs league is due to be played over six weeks using a round-robin format. The tournament returns to the domestic calendar after a two-year break. The fifth team in the competition, Pakistan Association, had a bye on Sunday.