The Hong Kong Cricket Sixes tournament commenced in 1993, this format of cricket was even affiliated with ICC and probably lasted for 2-3 days. This is an international tournament held at Kowloon Cricket Club with about eight to twelve teams.
It is organized by Hong Kong, the format allows six players in each team to play against each other and the overs bowled in a math is five. All the bowlers have the allowance to bowl just one over and batsmen are told to retire after scoring more than 31 runs.
If the batting team loses the wickets early and consecutively then the retired batsman is allowed to bat again. For the final match there are eight balls bowled in an over with bowlers each having the allowance to bowl one. The last man standing is allowed to bat with no non-striker and the inning continues till the 6th wicket of a team falls.
The History of the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes Tournament
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This first edition of the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes tournament was played in 1993 when England won the final against Sri Lanka. The most successful teams of this tournament are – England with five titles in the years 1993, 1994, 2004, 2004, and 2008 along with South Africa who also won five titles in the years 1995, 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2017.
The rest of the teams’ standings in the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes tournament look like –
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Pakistan with four titles in the years 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2011
Sri Lanka with one title in the year 2007
Australia with one title in the year 2010
West Indies with one title in the year 1996
India with one title in the year 2005
Laws of playing in the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes Tournament
- Two teams, six players each: Picture a battle between two squads of six cricket warriors.
- Five overs per side: Each team gets five chances to bowl their best, with the final match extended to eight overs.
- No wicket-keeper bowling: The keeper is a defensive specialist, not an offensive one.
- Wides and no-balls are costly: A wide is penalized for 2 runs.
- Falling wickets: If the batting team loses half their batsmen, the last man stands tall, supported by a running partner.
- Retiring on 31: Batsmen aim for a quick 36 runs with six sixes, retiring once they reach 31. But the fight isn’t over! They can return to the field if needed.
Tournament Points:
Win = 2 points: Victory rewards the team with two points, and is played in a round-robin format.
Players like Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Shane Warne, and David Warner have participated in this format. The Hong Kong Cricket Tournament started in 1993 and continued till 1997, then after being stopped for 4 years, and resumed in 2001 and continued to go on till 2012. After that with four years in the Hond Kong Cricket Sixes tournament, the last one was played in 2017 which was won by South Africa.
Now in 2024, it is coming back to Hong Kong with the same rule, energy, enthusiasm, and abundance of entertainment. This year the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes tournament will be held between 1st and 3rd November.
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