In keeping with last year when David Warner thrilled local crowds, Cricket Australia has announced a team of dynamic stars of the future will compete at the 2009 Hong Kong Cricket Sixes, to be played at the Kowloon Cricket Club on October 31-November 1.
First played in 1992, the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes is the longest-running international tournament of its kind and will this year celebrate its 15th edition. As such, the Sixes has been included by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as a ‘Catch the Spirit’ event to celebrate the global governing body’s centenary celebrations.
Warner starred at last year’s Sixes, including the final in which England won a record fifth title. Australia finished tied with England on 121 runs, but Stephen O’Keefe was run out attempting a second run from the final ball that would have given his team victory. England were confirmed as victors as they had lost fewer wickets (three wickets to one).
The power-hitting Warner went home from Hong Kong to terrorise South Africa in Twenty20 and ODI games in 2008-2009 Australian summer before returning to the spotlight for New South Wales in the current Twenty20 Champions League, where he is among the leading run-getters for the semi-finalists.
This year, it will be new crop of youngsters seeking to earn Australia’s first-ever victory in the Sixes – led by the rising trio of Michael Cranmer, Josh Hazelwood and Marcus Stoinis. All three were members of the Aussie team that finished equal fifth at the 2008 ICC Under-19 World Cup last year in Malaysia, where they played alongside another Twenty20 star, Phil Hughes.
In addition, the squad includes Simon Keen (22 years of age), Glenn Maxwell (21), Jeremy Smith (21) and former Queensland Sheffield player Greg Moller, at 26, the veteran of the side.
The team will be managed by John Davison, himself no stranger to the kind of big hitting required at the Sixes having set a then record for the fastest World Cup century, off just 67 balls, in 2003 against the West Indies.
Captain Shahzada Saleem Ahmed, President of the Hong Kong Cricket Association, said:
“With the confirmation of this great young Australian team, we have a strong line up of very competitive teams for the 2009 Hong Kong Cricket Sixes. All of them are capable of lifting the Butani Trophy as the winners in a week or so, so it is going to be another outstanding tournament.”
In a new innovation for 2009, the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes pools will be divided into Northern and Southern hemisphere groups. As such, Australia will compete against traditional rivals South Africa and New Zealand along with hosts Hong Kong on day one.
Ticket prices have been revised this year for the Sixes, allowing fans to purchase two-day passes for $HK680 for adults, a 13 per cent discount over last year, while children’s tickets will be available for $380, a reduction of 15 per cent.
To give spectators greater flexibility, for the first time single-day passes will also be available at $HK300 (Saturday)/$470 (Sunday) for adults and $180 (Saturday/$220 (Sunday) for kids. Tickets are on sale through HK Ticketing, the Kowloon and Hong Kong Cricket Clubs and Dot Cod restaurant in Central.
The host broadcaster for the 2009 Hong Kong Cricket Sixes will again be Taj TV-owned Ten Sports from Dubai, who will provide a live broadcast of the entire event into Hong Kong, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Australia and South Africa.
Additional coverage will also be seen in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe and China. The 2008 Sixes was broadcast to 80 million households worldwide.
Hmmm cool