Photo Credit: Cricket Hong Kong
The SDG FairBreak Global Invitational T20 Cricket Tournament starts in ten days at the UAE’s Dubai International Cricket Stadium and promises to be a ground-breaking event. It is an ICC sanctioned competition that will take place on 1-15 May 2022 in Dubai in conjunction with Cricket Hong Kong.
The six-team tournament is made up of players from all around the world and will be the world’s first privately funded tournament in women’s cricket history with SDG Impact Fund as the title sponsor and the leading healthcare group Gencor as a major sponsor.
Twelve players from the Hong Kong Women’s Cricket Team will be among the ninety (90) women, from 35 countries competing in six teams in the tournament.
The twelve Hong Kong players involved are:
- Kary Chan Ka Ying (South Coash Sapphires)
- Emma Lai (South Coash Sapphires)
- Mariko Hill (Falcons)
- Marina Lamplough (Falcons)
- Betty Chan (Spirits)
- Yasmin Daswani (Spirits)
- Ruchi Venkatesh (Barmy Army)
- Iqra Sahar (Barmy Army)
- Natasha Miles (Tornadoes)
- Maryam Bibi (Tornadoes)
- Shanzeen Shahzad (Warriors)
- Bella Poon (Warriors)
Hong Kong’s players will be heading from the Gencor Women’s Premier League (best in HK), to sharing the field with some of the best cricketers in the world. So, what does the SDG FairBreak Global Invitational T20 mean for Hong Kong’s players and women’s cricket in Hong Kong as a whole?
Here’s what some of the players had to say:
The Hong Kong captain, Kary Chan said “It’s a great opportunity to play with top-class cricketers. I can learn from them and gain more experience to help myself with the captaincy of the Hong Kong team.” says Kary Chan.
Marina Lamplough’s cricket idol, Suzie Bates, will be the playing in the SDG FairBreak Global T20. Marina says “Suzie Bates is my fellow Otego Spark teammate; she is the world’s greatest and always makes the environment a positive one. I am looking forward to playing with her”.
Mariko Hill says “It is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the talent of associate cricketers and reduce the disparity between associate and international cricket”.
Hong Kong team experienced bowler Betty Chan will be in the team Spirit along with the Hong Kong vice-captain Yasmin Daswani. Yasmin says ” It is an incredible opportunity to play with and against some brilliant cricketers and to test our skills against them”.
Natasha Miles and the HK up and coming player Maryam Bibi will join Tornadoes. The 19-year-old, Maryam says ”I am excited to play in FairBreak. It’s because I can chat and learn from the world class cricketers and coaches also. It may inspire my cricket skills and sense.”
Shanzeen Shahzad and Bella Poon are part of team Warriors. Shanzeen says ”It’s a huge event for women’s cricket. An opportunity to learn from international players also”.
Ruchi Venkatesh and Iqra Sahar will represent Barmy Army. Ruchi Venkatesh says “The knowledge and skills we learn from FairBreak we can bring back to our home country to help develop cricket and help Hong Kong Team to improve at an international level.”
Talking about the impact of the FairBreak event on Hong Kong Women’s Cricket as a whole, the General Manager of High Performance had this to say. “The impact of this event for Hong Kong will reach far beyond those players involved in the tournament. It will put the game in the headlines, showcasing women’s cricket, attracting players to the game, and supporting us in inspiring the next generation of female cricketers in Hong Kong.”
