England prepare for Sixes title defence

England will be aiming to retain their title when they take part in the Hong Kong Sixes tournament this weekend.

A seven-man squad, managed by David Graveney, have flown out for the two-day competition at Kowloon Cricket Club, where eight teams will be competing for a prize fund of US$260,000, with the winners taking away US$80,000.

Glamorgan batsman Matthew Maynard captains the side for the fourth successive year and he is joined by four members of last year’s winning team - Darren Maddy, Kabir Ali, Robert Croft and Glen Chapple. Essex’s Graham Napier and Chris Tremlett of Hampshire are the two newcomers in the squad.

Captain Matthew Maynard

England begin their campaign against Kenya, who are coached by former Warwickshire batsman Andy Moles, and also face Sri Lanka and the hosts Hong Kong during the group stage.

The top two teams from each group will go through to the semi-finals of the Cup competition on Sunday, with the bottom two sides contesting the Plate competition.

Graveney has urged his side to make a flying start if they are to go on and repeat their success of 2003, when they beat Pakistan in the final.

“It’s an interesting form of the game and it can all change in the space of an over,” he told ecb.co.uk. “There are some strong sides out here, as there have been in previous years.

“Last year we were actually a bit lucky to even get to the final as we started slowly so we need to make sure we come out of the blocks quickly.

Graham Napier is one of two newcomers in the squad

“We’re playing Kenya first and obviously Andy Moles knows all about our guys. He’s got a very young team as a result of some senior players not being available so we need to beat them.

“We know the way we’ve got to try and win. We’ve got some young guys in our team who have never played this form of cricket before but they’re all guys who are knocking on the door to play one-day cricket so it will be a good test for them.

“It’s a good competition and I’m sure the lads who haven’t been out here before will enjoy it.”

Graveney believes Pakistan will once again pose the biggest threat to England’s chances, along with South Africa.

“The draw is a funny one really in as much that if you’re drawn in a group with strong sides, you can actually lose to them and still get through to the final,” he added.

“This way if we do get through to the final, Pakistan and South Africa are in the other group and are expected to come through that but we’ll just see what happens.

“They’ve been our biggest rivals in the past and the last two finals have been between England and Pakistan.”

England hope the domestic introduction of Twenty20 cricket over the last two seasons will give them an advantage over their opponents due to the similarly frenzied nature of the game.

Graveney explained: “Twenty20 is a different sort of cricket and I’m sure the authorities over here would want to retain the fact that six-a-side is the shortest form of cricket played in the world, but there’s no doubt that Twenty20 cricket has helped the lads.

“Lots of people say you’ve got to play yourself in when you get to the crease but you can’t do that in this competition because balls missed can cost you the game.”

Hong Kong Sixes schedule
Pool 1
England
Sri Lanka
Kenya
Hong Kong

Pool 2
Pakistan
South Africa
India
United Arab Emirates

Fixtures
Preliminary rounds
Saturday November 6:

1. Kenya v Hong Kong
2. UAE v India
3. Sri Lanka v Hong Kong
4. South Africa v UAE
5. England v Kenya
6. Pakistan v South Africa
7. England v Sri Lanka
8. Pakistan v India
9. Sri Lanka v Kenya
10. India v South Africa
11. England v Hong Kong

Sunday November 7:
12. Pakistan v UAE
Points System
Win = 2 points; Lose = 0 points; Losing Tie = 1 point. Teams consolidated into final Pool positions (Pools 1 & 2 A-D). Top 2 teams: (Pools 1 & 2 A + B) into the Cup semi-finals. Remainder: (Pools 1 & 2 C + D) into the Plate semi-finals.

Final rounds

Sunday November 7:

13. Plate (Semi 1) Pool 1 D v Pool 2 C
14. Cup (Semi 1) Pool 1 A v Pool 2 B
15. Plate (Semi 2) Pool 1 C v Pool 2 D
16. Cup (Semi 2) Pool 1 B v Pool 2 A
17. Plate 3rd/4th - Loser 13 v Loser 15
18. Cup 3rd/4th - Loser 14 v Loser 16
19. Plate Final - Winner 13 v Winner 15
20. Cup Final - Winner 14 v Winner 16