England retain Sixes crown

Kabir Ali smashed a quickfire 34 for England as they retained the Hong Kong Sixes title at Kowloon Cricket Club after beating Sri Lanka by four wickets in the final.

England always looked in the driving seat after a fine bowling performance restricted Sri Lanka to 61 for four, with Essex all-rounder Graham Napier the pick of the crop after conceding just six runs and bowling opener Gayan Wijekoon.

Kabir then hammered 34 from just 11 deliveries before retiring, while fellow opener Darren Maddy made nine. It was then left to Dimitri Mascarenhas (12 not out) and captain Matthew Maynard (five not out) to steer England home with 11 balls to spare.

It was only the third time in the history of the competition that a side had retained the title (following Pakistan in 2002 and England in 1994) and England team manager David Graveney was fullsome in praise of his side.

He told ecb.co.uk: "We have gained a lot from the experience and did well to reach the final after struggling at 30 for three in the semi-final against UAE, but played our best cricket in the final.

"Darren Maddy pulled us through in the semi and throughout the competition Kabir Ali, Dimitri Mascarenhas and most of the other guys have all made significant contributions.

"It has been an important tournament for players with international aspirations but as one of the team said, five-over cricket makes the Twenty20 competition look like a Test match."

Final

Sri Lanka 61-4 ( Dilruwan Perera 24, Graham Napier 1-6); England 62-1 (Kabir Ali 34 retired, Dimitri Mascarenhas 12no).

England won by four wickets

Semi-finals

England 92-5 (Darren Maddy 39 not out, Graham Napier 15, Chris Tremlett 14 not out, Arshad Ali 3-8); UAE 77-2 (Arshad Ali 17, Zahid Shah 29 not out 29, Ali Asad Abbas 15 not out, Dimitri Mascarenhas 1-22).

England won by 15 runs

Sri Lanka 73-2; Pakistan 61-4.

Sri Lanka won by 12 runs.

Matches were five overs a side with eight-ball overs in the final .