HONG KONG, October 23, 2001 – In a stunning coup for the tournament, MikeWalsh, Chairman of the Hong Kong Cricket Association (HKCA), today revealedthat Pakistan will send a stellar squad of current Test and one-day stars tothe 2001 Cathay

HKCA24-Oct-2001HONG KONG, October 23, 2001 – In a stunning coup for the tournament, MikeWalsh, Chairman of the Hong Kong Cricket Association (HKCA), today revealedthat Pakistan will send a stellar squad of current Test and one-day stars tothe 2001 Cathay Pacific/ Standard Chartered Hong Kong Cricket Sixes to beheld from November 10-11 at the Kowloon Cricket Club (KCC).The Pakistan Cricket Board has informed organisers that their Sixes squadwill include current international team members Wasim Akram (LHB, LH fast),Abdur Razzaq (RHB, RH fast medium), Rashid Latif (RHB, wicketkeeper), ShahidAfridi (RHB, RH leg-spinner), Azhar Mahmood (RHB, RH fast medium) and ImranNazir (RHB, RH leg-spinner). Rana Naveed-ul-Hassan and Shoaib Malik completethe Pakistanis’ eight-man squad.”With this announcement, Pakistan must now be the team to beat at the 2001Cathay Pacific/ Standard Chartered Hong Kong Cricket Sixes,” said Walsh.”Six of this team will be playing in the Sharjah one-day tournament beforearriving in Hong Kong. As the ‘defending champions’, they will not only bedeep with talent but also match hardened. That should be a tough combinationto defeat.”Akram captained his nation to victory the last time the Sixes were contestedin Hong Kong in 1997.Akram is widely revered as one of the game’s all-time greats, andundoubtedly one of the very best left-handers to have played the game. Witha slew of international records to his name, the 35-year-old has played 103Tests and 319 one-day internationals (ODI). He is the only player to haveclaimed 400 international wickets in both forms of the game and boasts ahighest Test score of 257 not out.Afridi (21) will also be one of the players to watch during the Sixes. Asthe current record holder for the fastest century in ODI history, when hepounded 11 sixes as he brought up his hundred against Sri Lanka off just 37balls, the small boundaries at the KCC are sure to be to his liking.Latif (31) is another established member in Pakistan’s national team withhis dependable middle-order batting combining with his emergence as one ofthe best wicketkeepers in international cricket. Razzaq (21), considered aninternational all-rounder in the making, possesses enough natural talentthat his fast medium pace bowling offsets his ability to bat at number threewhen required.Mahmood (26), who impressed with innings of 128 not out and 50 not out inhis 1997 Test debut against South Africa is a genuine internationalall-rounder while 19-year-old Nazir, considered one of the most excitingtalents in world cricket, has already notched Test and ODI hundreds.Players such as Dean Jones, Tom Moody, Craig McDermott, Jonty Rhodes, RobinSingh, Agit Agarkar, Matthew Maynard, Ben Hollioake and Steve Elworthy haveall committed to the Cathay Pacific/ Standard Chartered Hong Kong CricketSixes.Australia, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India and the UAEwill join Hong Kong at the 2001 tournament. The teams will be drawn into twopools for the tournament with the top two sides in each pool entering theCup semi-finals and the remaining two sides contesting the Platesemi-finals.Tickets for the Cathay Pacific/ Standard Chartered Hong Kong Cricket Sixesare now on sale from Hong Kong Cricket Club, the Kowloon Cricket Club andDot Cod Seafood Restaurant and Oyster Bar in the Princes Building, Central.Passes for the two days of the tournament are priced at HK$450 for adultswith children’s tickets (15 years and under) costing $HK250. Corporatehospitality is also available.For further information please contact David Deller at WSG – Asia on (852)2891-2000 or Mark Burns at the Hong Kong Cricket Association on (852)2504-8101.