Ben Hollioake will be remembered at next month's Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong Sixes. The Hong Kong Cricket Association has named the trophy which is awarded to the Player of the Tournament after the young England star who died in a car crash in March.
'With the consent of his family, we have decided to award the Ben Hollioake Trophy to the Player of the Tournament next month. Ben's brother Adam, who will also be playing for England that weekend, will make the inaugural presentation,' HKCA chairman Mike Walsh said yesterday.
Australian-born Hollioake was killed when his Porsche span out of control and hit a brick wall. He was 24. Also in the car was his 22-year-old girlfriend Janaya Scholten, who was critically injured. Ben and Adam were visiting their parents in Perth after Adam had played one-day matches for England in New Zealand.
'It was a great loss and we felt this would be a nice way of remembering him. A lot of people knew Ben in Hong Kong. He also played here last year and in previous years. It is appropriate that the Player of the Tournament Trophy be named after him,' said Walsh.
Both the Hollioake brothers got their first feel for the game in Hong Kong. Their father, John, lived here in 1980 and was a resident engineer involved in the Discovery Bay phase one project. He was also instrumental in setting up the Junior Gappers programme at the Hong Kong Cricket Club.
Adam was nine and Ben was three at the time, and they used to accompany their dad to the weekend clinics. Ben went to playschool in Hong Kong and then joined his brother at Bradbury Junior School. They left Hong Kong in 1983 for England.
