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Mascarenhas out to create history
Captain Dimitri Mascarenhas has pinpointed Graham Napier as his trump card as England attempt to win a record fifth Hong Kong Sixes crown.
Champions in 1993, 1994, 2003 and 2004, England have been drawn against India, Pakistan and South Africa in the Bradman Group of the flagship Sixes tournament, which begins at the Kowloon Cricket Club tomorrow.
The England team is packed with limited-overs specialists and in Essex’s Napier, perhaps have the most dangerous player on show.
Napier hammered an astonishing 152 – including a world record 16 sixes – in a Twenty20 Cup game against Sussex in June.
“We’ve got a decent team with a few internationals,” said Mascarenhas, who also skippers Hampshire.
“We’re a fairly young side, we all bat and we all bowl, whereas some of the other teams have specialist batters or bowlers, so we’ve got a good mix.
“And we’ve got Graham – hopefully he’ll be able to knock a few out of the park.
“It looks like a tough draw with India, Pakistan and South Africa and it’s going to be interesting to see who gets through.
“Obviously the first game’s going to be all-important. It’s vital to get off to a good start because if you lose the first one you’re going to be struggling.”
Mascarenhas leads a team boasting five players to have represented England at international level. Only Napier and Graham Wagg are yet to do so, though they are two of the standout performers from the English domestic season.
In the Sobers group the All-Stars will face defending champions Sri Lanka, Australia and hosts Hong Kong.
The All-Stars team includes iconic Sri Lanka World Cup winner Sanath Jayasuriya – scorer of an astonishing 27 hundreds in one-day internationals and 14 Test centuries, including an innings of 340 against India.
He is making his first visit to the Sixes since 1993, when he helped Sri Lanka reach the final.
“It’s nice to be back, it’s been a long time,” said Jayasuriya.
The big-hitting Jayasuriya is ideally suited to six-a-side cricket and he promised Hong Kong fans he would be going all out to entertain.
“I always try to play my natural game and I’ll be doing my best. We’ve got some very good players in our team and I’m looking forward to getting out there and playing,” he added.
Joining Jayasuriya in a world class All-Stars batting line-up will be West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the current Wisden and ICC cricketer of the year, together with Somerset skipper Justin Langer and former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming.
The bowling will be shouldered by Matthew Hoggard of England and Chaminda Vaas of Sri Lanka, plus South Africa all-rounder Tyron Henderson, the all-time leading wicket-taker in Twenty20 cricket.
Sri Lanka return with four of the players who helped them lift last year’s title.
“It’s good to be back and we’re looking forward to the tournament,” said Jeevantha Kulatunga, one of the quartet.
“We enjoyed winning last year and it was a fantastic moment for us. We played some really good cricket throughout the tournament but we never thought about winning it, we just took it match by match.
“We’re confident this time, but we’ve got a slightly different team. Of course, the All-Stars are a really good team but it’s going to be tough against any opponent.
“It’s the shortest version of the game and anything can happen, so we’ll just be aiming to do our best.”
The action starts at 8.20am on Saturday with group games throughout the day. Sunday will see matches in the Cup and Plate.
The HKCA’s proceeds from the Sixes will be ploughed directly back into cricket development in Hong Kong.
England squad: Dimitri Mascarenhas (Hampshire, captain), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Ed Joyce (Middlesex, wicketkeeper), Darren Maddy (Warwickshire), Graham Napier (Essex), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire), Graham Wagg (Derbyshire).
