Hong Kong cricketers to play four-day matches for the first time at ICC Intercontinental Cup
The side face a major test having never played the extended format at international level
The team will have a week of preparation and warm-up matches in Johannesburg, South Africa, before heading for Windhoek, the capital of Namibia and the tournament’s host city.
Playing four-day cricket is going to be a huge mental challenge for our guys
Roy Lamsam will open the batting in their opening fixture against Namibia on May 8.
It will be a massive challenge for a team bred on a diet of limited-overs fare – one-day as well as Twenty20 – and head coach Charlie Burke has called for the batsmen to lead the way.
“Playing four-day cricket is going to be a huge mental challenge for our guys. Apart from skipper Jamie Atkinson, no one has played this version of the game at this level,” Burke said. “We have played a few two-day matches at domestic level, but this is going to be a whole new ball game for the guys.
“It s going to be an interesting test of character for the batsmen. It is all about rotating the strike and keeping the scoreboard ticking over. In one-day cricket, you bat for partnerships of a 100 runs, but here you will need to keep going. You will have to bat session after session and it is going to be a massive test especially against opponents who play in South Africa’s domestic first-class cricket,” Burke said.