Column | T20 Blitz or Sixes: Can Hong Kong sustain two big cricket events?
With the national team-based six-a-side tournament set to be revived, the debate is open on whether or not it’s too much for the city
Hong Kong has long stretched the boundaries when it comes to hosting international cricket events. The mindset that such a cosmopolitan city simply must have a marquee cricket tournament – just like the Rugby Sevens – was too powerful to ignore for the then-named Hong Kong Cricket Association in the late ’80s, spawning the international all-rounders competition.
That event, though not new to the world, was embraced by international fans and for tiny Hong Kong it was a huge success. You could not have had bigger names in cricket for that era gathering in one place at the same time – Ian Botham, Imran Khan, Clive Rice, Malcolm Marshall, Richard Hadlee ... these were the true star players of their era and Hong Kong was the centre of the cricketing world.
After a few years, Hong Kong officials realised that they would have to move on. Genuine all-rounders of the Botham and Hadlee level were a dying breed and they needed another event to bring world-class cricket to Hong Kong.
And so they came up with the Hong Kong Sixes, first held in 1992 and which has since become the standard-bearer for six-a-side cricket around the world. The first few events attracted strong squads, with test boards happy to send their best players to Hong Kong.
As such, Hong Kong fans were privileged to watch the likes of Wasim Akram, Phil de Freitas, Sachin Tendulkar and other leading players from the top test teams.