HONG KONG—Warm and sunny conditions greeted players in Round 2 of The Epoch Times Elite Player Series at Hong Kong National Training Centre, Kai Tak Cricket Ground last weekend.
The historic series, in the Twenty20 format, is the selection path for the men’s and women’s national representative teams, and as such, it is vital to the Hong Kong Cricket Association’s pursuit of success.
Head coach of the national teams, Charlie Burke was pleased with the preceding two Sundays of the four-week men’s series. “Things have gone well. This round should be a cracker. All teams can still make the final which is a ‘promoters’ dream,” he said following victories to Dragons and Peaks over Victory and Stormers respectively on Sunday July 25.
With the women’s tournament starting this Saturday, one of the spectators in the last two weeks has had more than just a passing interest in the proceedings.
Godiva Li, who has been playing cricket for nine years, was there to cheer on her older brother Ming Li who is a member of the Stormers team.
At just 18 years of age, she is excited at the prospect of representing Hong Kong in the Asian Games and has all the encouragement she needs from her family who would love to see her playing in international matches. She admitted that she does feel a little pressured at times, but remains positive.
“Pressure can be turned into motivation and can force me to improve on my weaknesses,” said the school student who is also fortunate that her school is supportive of her cricket ambitions.
“When I have to choose between school and cricket, it’s hard to take care of both at the same time. Sometimes it’s study time for exams when I have a match to play. At the end, I choose to do cricket and the school allows me [to] make it up afterwards.”
Godiva was introduced to cricket by a classmate. With her curiosity aroused by a game she had not heard of before, she saw an opportunity to learn a new sport. Her friends though “don’t know cricket at all, they just feel that I’m always under the sun and asked me if I don’t mind the sun.
“At first cricket seems boring, but as I got familiar with it, I realized that it can get very exciting as well and it requires teamwork. It gets exciting when the team needs to chase the score; it’s not easy to achieve, especially when you don’t know your opponents,” said Godiva, who admitted that the most difficult challenge she faces is the language barrier, as she sometimes finds it hard to understand English.
The historic series, in the Twenty20 format, is the selection path for the men’s and women’s national representative teams, and as such, it is vital to the Hong Kong Cricket Association’s pursuit of success.
Head coach of the national teams, Charlie Burke was pleased with the preceding two Sundays of the four-week men’s series. “Things have gone well. This round should be a cracker. All teams can still make the final which is a ‘promoters’ dream,” he said following victories to Dragons and Peaks over Victory and Stormers respectively on Sunday July 25.
Siblings’ Journey
With the women’s tournament starting this Saturday, one of the spectators in the last two weeks has had more than just a passing interest in the proceedings.
Godiva Li, who has been playing cricket for nine years, was there to cheer on her older brother Ming Li who is a member of the Stormers team.
At just 18 years of age, she is excited at the prospect of representing Hong Kong in the Asian Games and has all the encouragement she needs from her family who would love to see her playing in international matches. She admitted that she does feel a little pressured at times, but remains positive.
“Pressure can be turned into motivation and can force me to improve on my weaknesses,” said the school student who is also fortunate that her school is supportive of her cricket ambitions.
“When I have to choose between school and cricket, it’s hard to take care of both at the same time. Sometimes it’s study time for exams when I have a match to play. At the end, I choose to do cricket and the school allows me [to] make it up afterwards.”
Godiva was introduced to cricket by a classmate. With her curiosity aroused by a game she had not heard of before, she saw an opportunity to learn a new sport. Her friends though “don’t know cricket at all, they just feel that I’m always under the sun and asked me if I don’t mind the sun.
“At first cricket seems boring, but as I got familiar with it, I realized that it can get very exciting as well and it requires teamwork. It gets exciting when the team needs to chase the score; it’s not easy to achieve, especially when you don’t know your opponents,” said Godiva, who admitted that the most difficult challenge she faces is the language barrier, as she sometimes finds it hard to understand English.
But those difficulties aside, it hasn’t stopped her from embracing the sport. She said that cricket is really a sport of team coordination and that “you also have to show your confidence on the field in order to stun your opponents.”
Godiva introduced her brother, Ming, to cricket and he has been playing for six years. He used to play soccer when he was in primary school, but felt that it is too common, so when Godiva asked him to join he went for it.
“The most important thing is to have team spirit,” he said, “and how to do well at a personal level, [how to make] fewer mistakes while playing defensive and helping the team to avoid losing runs.”
Ming also wants to be chosen to represent Hong Kong and be a Chinese face in the team. He’s also eager to make cricket really well known in Hong Kong.
“My family is very supportive of me and asked me to be more serious in practising,” said the 19-year-old. “I have to get up at 6a.m. in order to make it to the practice field. I practice for three hours; it’s tough, but it’s worth it. And I won’t quit.”
Godiva introduced her brother, Ming, to cricket and he has been playing for six years. He used to play soccer when he was in primary school, but felt that it is too common, so when Godiva asked him to join he went for it.
“The most important thing is to have team spirit,” he said, “and how to do well at a personal level, [how to make] fewer mistakes while playing defensive and helping the team to avoid losing runs.”
Ming also wants to be chosen to represent Hong Kong and be a Chinese face in the team. He’s also eager to make cricket really well known in Hong Kong.
“My family is very supportive of me and asked me to be more serious in practising,” said the 19-year-old. “I have to get up at 6a.m. in order to make it to the practice field. I practice for three hours; it’s tough, but it’s worth it. And I won’t quit.”
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