If you followed Howzit-Hong Kong.com in November last year, you will have experienced the drama that went down at the Kowloon Cricket Club where Davy Jacobs’ Boys went on to win the 2009 Karp Group & PC Jewellers Hong Kong Cricket Sixes in the most dramatic fashion.
You’ll be happy to hear that the Hong Kong Sixes will return to the Kowloon Cricket Club this year with the staging of the Karp Group & PC Jewellers Hong Kong Cricket Sixes.
This year’s tournament will take place on the weekend of the 6th & 7th November 2010 at the Kowloon Cricket Club where teams from England, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and last years champions South Africa will compete for the coveted title.
An added feature this year will be the introduction of an exhibition game between China and a Hong Kong Development team as the game continues to grow stronger and stronger in China and Hong Kong.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow (30th September) at www.hkticketing.com and all HK Ticketing outlets.
Stay close to Howzit-HongKong.com for the latest on this year’s Karp Group & PC Jewellers Hong Kong Cricket Sixes
Re-live all the action from last year’s tournament by clicking here
Skipper Davy Jacobs (middle) and his teammates celebrate their win over hosts Hong Kong (Pic: Mike Jansen)
Yours truly (Mike Jansen) gets doused in champagne during the 2009 celebrations (Pic: HK Sixes on FaceBook)
While there’s a bit of a break in the IRB Sevens Series schedule (the Series resumes in New Zealand in the first week of February 2010) I thought I’d refresh your collective memories about our experiences during the 2009 Hong Kong Sevens. For those of you who were parked on the South Stand, this is for you:
The 2010 edition of the Mother of all Sevens: the Hong Kong Sevens returns to the Hong Kong Stadium in Causeway Bay between 26-28 March 2010.
Nury Vittachi is a columnist for Hong Kong’s free English daily The Standard. He wrote this delightful piece about the universal nature of latter-day Christmas:
I hate people who corrupt Christmas, my favorite holiday.
And I am NOT showing religious bias here. My father was a Muslim and my mother a Buddhist, but when it came to December, we all became fervent Christians, even our imam. You may say this shows a lack of respect to the beliefs of our forebears, to which I would reply: get real.
You give folk a choice between going to work as normal, or staying home and wallowing in an orgy of affection, food and gifts under a tree, and suddenly we are all into tolerance and understanding, even atheists.
But before fundamentalists from any faith burn down my house, let me make it clear that I believe all major codes of belief deserve respect, INCLUDING the silly ones.
I have been fortunate enough to have travelled extensively and, in my honest opinion, nobody but NOBODY does (commercial) Christmas better than Hong Kong! The mega-corporates who own the mega-malls that dot the Hong Kong landscape leave no stone un-turned, no speck of dust around spotless mall-floors and no cent in their huge Christmas-promotion budget unspent come mid-November. That is when the competition starts. Malls in Hong Kong do battle in an unofficial “Best Christmas Display of the Year,” vying for the hard-earned (sometimes the not-so-hard-earned) dollars of locals, Mainland Chinese and other visitors.
This is what I’m talking about:
(Visit this page regularly, I will update the pics throughout this Christmas-week)
There is no doubt that Hong Kong (SAR) has become a premier destination for major international sporting events.
Early in the year, rugby (and party) fans enjoyed world-class Rugby Sevens action at the Hong Kong Stadium. The Hong Kong leg of the International Rugby Board’s (IRB) Sevens World Series is arguably the most exciting on the 8-leg World Series.
At the beginning of November, the Kowloon Cricket Club hosted yet another very successful Hong Kong Cricket Sixeswhich was won for the third time, in a dramatic Cup Final by South Africa. The Sixes was launched in 1992 and has quickly evolved into a world-class event. The tournament was afforded the prestigious “M-Mark” by the Hong Kong government, which denotes it’s status as one of the territory’s very important Major Events.
This was closely followed by the Hong Kong Golf Open, held at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fan Ling a week ago. Frenchman Gregory Bourdy sealed his invitation to the season-ending Dubai World Championship with a well-deserved victory in front of a packed gallery on the infamous Composite Course 18th hole.
The F1 of international sailing
As one of two exciting finales to a year of fantastic sporting events (Hong Kong also hosts the East Asian Games in December), the SAR will play host to the first round of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia which starts in Victoria Harbour tomorrow.
Six teams will race in the heart of Victoria Harbour just metres from the shoreline, bringing a vast array of sailing talent to the city including four Olympic gold medallists and numerous world champions.
Supported by the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, the five day event will run from 20-24 November 2009and include a media day, youth sailing programme and four days of high-octane racing on these 40-ft catamarans. The event is scheduled to coincide with the Yacht Club’s annual ‘Around the Island Race’ on the 22 November when the six Extreme 40s will compete alongside hundreds of other sailboats in the prestigious annual regatta.
The Extreme Sailing Series Asia is being brought to the region by organisers OC Events for the first time to demonstrate to VIPs and the media the potential of what a full scale public event could bring in future years. This comes after the spectacular success of its European counterpart that has changed the way sailing is seen, quickly gaining a reputation as the Formula 1 of sailing – it’s fast and exciting with high-tech catamarans driven by some of the world’s best sailors.
2009 Formula One Grand Prix winners led by Brawn F1 boss, Nick Fry, commented:
“This is very similar to Formula 1, in that it combines high technology, great team work and accessible entertainment for the fans. This type of sailing also provides a great commercial platform for companies who like to participate in high quality sport and want to encourage people from all backgrounds to see the benefit that sport provides.”
Mark Turner , CEO of OC Group, the parent company of event organisers OC Events said,
“The European Circuit has been running very successfully for three years now and the Extreme Sailing Series Asia is the next step in the evolution of this exciting sailing format – a format which has become a benchmark in terms of changing the way sailing is seen.
“Our aim is to build this series each year on the same foundations on which the European iShares Cup has been built – a comprehensive sailing entertainment event that packages the sport to appeal to the public, media and provide experiential VIP client hospitality.
“For this inaugural series in Asia we won’t be focused on the public side directly, instead we will work hard on the VIP and media aspects, as we did in the early iShares Cup years. But, of course, our aspiration is to build this circuit up over the coming years to match the award-winning iShares Cup format including a strong public element.”
Double Olympic Gold Medallist Shirley Robertson, who finished fifth overall in the European series, will skipper one of the Extreme 40s in Hong Kong:
“Every time I go to Asia I stop off in HongKong and love sailing there. These boats are amazing and it will be awesome to race them against such a spectacular backdrop – right up there with the European tour opener in Venice . Hong Kong has such a strong sporting heritage and the racecourse will create an incredible amphitheatre, I’m looking forward to it already. It’s a lot of fun racing these boats but we are all really competitive when on the water so watch out for some pretty close-quarter racing!”
The Extreme catamarans can race at over 40mph and “fly” a hull in just 8 knots of wind. They are also totally unique in the sport of sailing in that every boat races witha fifth man onboard – a VIP guest or member of the media, who sits in the heart of the action. Shirley Robertson describes it as “like racing shotgun with Lewis Hamilton”!
Recent Extreme Sailing action from Europe (Pic: ExtremeSailingSeriesEurope.com)
Warwick Downes, Commodore of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, declared:
“We’re delighted to welcome the Extreme Sailing Series Asia to Hong Kong and the Yacht Club is thrilled to be supporting OC Events as together we open a new chapter in yacht racing in Hong Kong. The event will deliver spectacular racing and promote Grand Prix sailing to a whole new audience. The Extreme Sailing Series Asia is set to become a fixture on the Asian sailing calendar.”
After the spectacular finale of the six-stage European circuit just three weeks ago in Almería, Andalucía ( Spain ), six of the boats were packed up and shipped directly to Hong Kong .
Soon after the Hong Kong event, the boats will be shipped straight down to Singapore (11-15 December) with the Extreme Sailing Series Asia Champions being decided in Muscat , Oman (1-5 February).
Grégory Bourdy held off a hard charging Rory McIlroy to win the UBS Hong Kong Open by two shots on Sunday (15 November).
The Frenchman carded a polished three-under-par 67 at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling to finish on 19-under 261 for the tournament. Northern Irish youngster McIlroy showed flashes of his prodigious talent in compiling a 64, but fell just short in the US$2.5 million showpiece for the second year in a row.
“It’s great, I had a fantastic week,” said a champagne-soaked Bourdy, 27. “It’s my best golf week, best golf day today. I played very consistent. I missed a few putts at the start of the round but I stayed confident.
“It’s my mother’s birthday today so I dedicate this to her. My girlfriend Anabelle is here also and everything went right.”
“I was relaxed today and all week. I was so confident. I tried to enjoy all my shots, all my rounds and did it. I missed just a few shots this week. I can’t believe it was so nice to play like this.”
A triumphant Bourdy poses with the UBS HK Open trophy in the fading Fanling light (Pic: Mike Jansen)
Bourdy, the overnight leader by two shots, was unflappable down the stretch, picking up birdies at the 10th and 13th and calmly playing the final five holes to par.
McIlroy, 20, roared on by the galleries, did his best to put Bourdy under pressure and closed the gap to one shot with consecutive birdies at the 15th and 16th. But a three-putt bogey at the 17th took the wind out of his sails and Bourdy arrived at Fanling’s notoriously difficult final hole with a two-shot cushion.
Bourdy collected the winner’s cheque for US$416,660 and enjoyed the bonus of leaping into the top 60 on the European Tour’s Race To Dubai, thereby qualifying for next week’s season-ending Dubai World Championship, “I wanted to stay focused on my game, play shot by shot, and I knew if I was three or four-under it would be OK to win the tournament,” said Bourdy.
“I didn’t look at the leaderboard until the 18th so I didn’t know Rory played well. I was three-under after 14 holes and it was nice to finish with a par on the 18th as it’s a tough hole.
Unfortunately for the Frenchman, there was little time to soak up the Hong Kong adoration and celebrate his victory as he immediately jetted out of the SAR to Dubai for next week’s Dubai World Championship.
“Dubai was the target before I played here. I knew if I won I’d go to Dubai but first was to play well today and win the UBS Hong Kong Open. I’ve played well, won and I’m going to Dubai, so I have everything.”
The victory was Bourdy’s third European Tour title after victories in the 2007 Mallorca Classic and the Open de Portugal last year.
A disappointed McIlroy speaks to the media after his final round at FanLing (Pic: Mike Jansen)
McIlroy – joint runner-up in the UBS Hong Kong Open a year ago after losing a three-way playoff to Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen Tang – was forced to settle for second best again.
But he could take consolation in the fact that he overtook Lee Westwood at the top of the Race To Dubai standings. World No.17 McIlroy, who earned US$277,770 for his second place, refused to be too downhearted and paid tribute to the winner.
“I played lovely, really, really well,” he said. “I thought I needed a low one and went out with the mindset that if I went lower than 65 then I might have a chance, but Grégory obviously played very well.
“If I’d birdied one of the last two holes I might have given myself a chance, so that’s the way it goes. I’m a bit disappointed at the moment but I have the consolation of going back to the top of the Race To Dubai.
“There’s a lot that can go on next week but my goal this week was to win the UBS Hong Kong Open and I’ve come up just short again, for the second year in a row. But I gave it my best shot and that’s all I can do.”
Of the 3 South African contenders who made the cut, Charl Schwartzel finished highest at 10 under. He was followed by Rory Sabbatini one shot back at 9 under, while Andrew McLardy concluded the 2009 UBS Hong Kong Open at 7 under par.
Vir baie mense is Vrydag die 13de ‘n dag van kwade dade en gebeure. Vir Suid Afrika se Charl Schwartzel was dit net een ding: ‘n gesamentlike 9-onder voorlopers-posisie aan die einde van die tweede rondte van die UBS Hong Kong Open in FanLing. Schwartzel deel die plek met China se Liang Wenchong, die Hollander Robert-Jan Derksen en Frankryk se Grégory Bourdy.
Schwartzel hoop dat sy suksesvolle tweede rondte in Hong Kong hom in ‘n goeie posisie sal plaas op die leiersbord vir die Europese Toer se Race to Dubai. Die Suid Afrikaner is tans nommer 24 op die Toer se inkomste-lys na hy reeds €938,019 hierdie seisoen gewen het. Sou hy in Hong Kong wen, sal hy, op nommer 15, sterk geplaas wees vir die laaste toernooi van die seisoen in Dubai.
“Ek kan seker nie meer die Race to Dubai wen nie, maar 2 oorwinnings sal die voorlopers sekerlik lekker skrik maak.” het hy gese na afloop van Vrydag se spel.
“Ek is reg waar ‘n speler wil wees na twee rondtes,” Se hy verder. “Ek speel tans goed en as ek so kan volhou, stuur hierdie toernooi op ‘n opwindende finaal af.”
Die vier voorlopers, insluitende Schwartzel is een hou voor nog ‘n Suid Afrikaner Rory Sabbatini asook Thailand se Chinnarat Phadungsil.
Na harde reen aan die einde van Dag 1, het Hong Kong vanoggend ietwat laer temperature ondervind. Die son het egter in die namiddag kop uitgesteek en volgens Schwartzel het dit die speel-oppervlak en kondisies verbeter.
Hy verduidelik: “Dit was koud vir die spelers in die oggend en die bal het nie te ver deur die lug getrek nie. Ek het vroeg in my rondte met ‘n trui aan gespeel so ek dink die na-middag spelers was baie beter af (in terme van die weer).”
Na afloop van die WGC-HSBC Champions Toernooi in Shanghai, China is Charl Schwartzel (71) tans Nommer 5 op die Suid Afrikaanse ranglys, een plek na Rory Sabbatini (61). Hulle onderskeie posisies op die wereld-ranglys is tussen hakies.
South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel drives at the par-four 15th hole during the second round of the UBS Hong Kong Open on Friday, 13 November 2009. (Picture: Parallel Media Group)
South Africa’s 4th and 5th ranked players Rory Sabbatini and Charl Schwartzel remains at the top of the leaderboard after round 1 of the 2009 UBS Hong Kong Open. Both players carded a five under 65 at Fanling in Hong Kong’s New Territories.
The top twenty players in South Africa was recently listed after the WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai, China. World number sixteen Ernie Els top the list followed by Retief Goosen and Tim Clarke.
Honours even between Westwood and McIlroy
Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy remained locked in their Race To Dubai battle when they carded matching four-under-par 66s on the opening day of the UBS Hong Kong Open on Thursday (12 November).
The duo’s efforts left them four shots off the lead in the US$2.5 million showpiece being held at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling.
World No.4 Westwood mixed six birdies with two bogeys on his debut in the tournament.
“It was good,” said the English ace. “The only green I missed was the last hole I played and that is a tough hole, No.9. I wouldn’t say I flushed it but I had enough control to hit 17 out of 18 greens. “I had a lot of chances but found the greens very puzzling. I think I’m at a real disadvantage having only played the course once before [in the pro-am].
“It’s alright learning a course tee to green – it’s pretty obvious how you play tee to green – but on the greens, it’s such an advantage having played a few tournaments round here. So to start with four-under 66, I’m delighted.
“The only two bogeys I made were three putts and I had a load of chances.”
Asked what was so tough about the greens, Westwood replied: “The grain. It really does affect the ball, as much as anywhere. Sometimes it breaks up the hill. “After about six or seven holes I called my caddie in and he had more of an idea. We gradually got it right and I eventually holed a couple.”
As for the Race To Dubai, Westwood said he was trying not to think about it while playing this week. “I’m trying to win the UBS Hong Kong Open and that’s all,” he insisted.
Westwood leads the Race To Dubai with season earnings of €2,404,579 – a lead of €52,320 over McIlroy with just two tournaments remaining, Hong Kong and next week’s Dubai World Championship.
McIlroy – joint runner-up in the UBS Hong Kong Open last year – had five birdies and a lone bogey as he kept pace with his rival.
“There are 54 holes left so it doesn’t matter until Sunday,” the Northern Irish youngster said of his battle with Westwood. “We’re both playing pretty well to be in the positions we’re in so I’m not surprised Lee is up there.
“I’ve just got to keep doing it. I’m not sure if three more 66s will be good enough so I might need to go a little better over the next three days.”
McIlroy admitted that playing in his third straight UBS Hong Kong Open could give him an advantage over Westwood. “It’s just a question of getting used to the grain,” he said. “I don’t struggle too much. You just have to look to see which way the grass is going and then guess how much the grass is going to affect a putt. There’s no exact science to it.”
Thailand’s Udorn Duangdecha leads the tournament after carding a superb eight-under 62.
Lee Westwood hands his ball to his caddy during the first round of the UBS Hong Kong Open on Thursday, 12 November 2009. Westwood carded a four-under-par 66. (Pic: Paul Lakatos/UBS Hong Kong Open)
South Africa won the 2009 Hong Kong Cricket Sixes title in the most dramatic fashion at Kowloon Cricket Club on Sunday evening as Farhaan Behardien smashed a six off the final delivery of the tournament to down a gallant Hong Kong .
Set a total of 98 runs to win the title for a third time, the South Africans left it late to claim the trophy – and the first prize of US$55,000 – when Behardien thumped Mark Wright’s final ball into the stands to the delight of his team mates.
The defeat was a cruel blow for a Hong Kong side that had impressed throughout the competition and who went into the final having won all six of their previous matches, including two against South Africa.
Cheered on by the majority of the crowd at Kowloon Cricket Club, the home side were put into bat for the first time in the entire competition after the South Africans won the toss. Hong Kong made a disappointing start to the final, however, losing captain Najeeb Amar with the first ball of the game and then creeping tentatively through the opening overs.
Star man Irfan Ahmad was next to go when he holed out to Rory Kleinveldt off the bowling of David Jacobs for just seven runs – his lowest score of the tournament – in the second over with 17 on the scoreboard. Nerves looked to have taken hold of a Hong Kong team that was opening the batting for the first time in the competition.
The pressure to set a substantial total was threatening to take its toll, but Munir Dar steadied the ship for the home side alongside wicketkeeper Hussain Butt, with Dar eventually retiring with an unbeaten 31 runs. Butt scored 24 before being caught by Behardien off the bowling of Coetzee while Tanwir Afzal claimed 20, only to be run out, but by the end of their innings Hong Kong had set a respectable target of 98 runs for South Africa to win.
The South Africans started confidently enough, claiming 21 runs off the first over from Dar, but a spectacular spell from Tanwir Afzal put the result back in the balance. The 21-year-old picked up the wicket of Loots Bosman with his first ball and, two balls later, Kleinveldt was heading back to the pavilion after being bowled. By the end of the over, Jacobs had joined Afzal’s casualty list, leaving South Africa on 32 for 3.
However, the South Africans steadied the ship until the final over, when Mark Wright claimed the wicket of David Wiese to set up a grandstand finish.
Seven runs from the next four balls left South Africa needing six off the final ball to win the title, and Behardien duly obliged, dispatching Wright’s half volleyed delivery over the boundary. There was some consolation for Hong Kong ’s Irfan Ahmad, who won the Ben Hollioake Trophy – which is awarded to the competition’s leading player – as a result of his performances throughout the weekend.
Earlier in the day, New Zealand handed Australia a comprehensive defeat to win the Plate competition, winning by five wickets when they successfully chased down a total of 69 runs to pick up US$13,000 in prize money.
Alvin Sallay’s article in Monday’s South China Morning Post (Pic: Oliver Tsang)
South Africa won their third Hong Kong Sixes Tournament this afternoon when they beat a spirited Hong Kong side. The Cup Final at the Kowloon Cricket Club came close to last year’s thriller-in-Kowloon when England beat Australia. This time around, the South Africans required 6 runs off the last ball to win their third tournament after clinching it in 1995 and 2006.
