PNG U19 beat HKG U19 by four wickets

Hong Kong's quest to reach the 2010 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup got off to a disappointing start when they were soundly beaten by Papua New Guinea by 4 wickets in their opening match of the qualifying tournament being played in Canada.

Winning the toss and batting first, Hong Kong were rocked by the loss of three early wickets, including Shivang Baird for 0 and skipper James Atkinson for 1. A rusty looking Hong Kong, playing out of season and without any warm-up matches prior to the start of the tournament, never recovered from being three wickets down with only two runs on the board, despite a valiant innings from Irfan Ahmed. Irfan stroked 88 runs from 121 balls including 11 fours and 2 sixes, but his only support came from wicket-keeper Waqas Barkat (31) who was the only other Hong Kong batsman to register double figures. Hong Kong was eventually dismissed for 160 in the 50th over. Chief destroyer for PNG was Raymond Haoda who claimed 5-24 from 9.4 overs, including 4 maidens.

PNG's reply got off to a nervous start as they inched their way to 2-18 after 9 overs with Aizaz Khan and Nizakat Khan grabbing one wicket apiece. A 62-run partnership between PNG skipper Tony Ura and Lega Tau eased some of the pressure and despite two more wickets falling in quick succession with the score in the 80's, PNG coasted to victory for the loss of six wickets and with 9.4 overs to spare. Ura was the last man dismissed after scoring 65 runs from 76 balls, including 7 fours and 2 sixes - an innings that earned him the Man of the Match award. Hong Kong's cause was not helped by their wayward bowling with a disappointing 23 wides and 4 no-balls conceded in an Extras total of 42. Aizaz Khan was the best of the Hong Kong bowlers with figures of 8.2-1-24-2 while Nizakat Khan claimed 10-0-44-2.

Scorecard: Hong Kong Under-19 v. Papua New Guinea Under-19

The other victorious teams on the first day of play were Ireland, Canada and USA.