The Hong Kong T20 Blitz was a cricket competition in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

that was first played in 2016. The inaugural event consisted of four franchised teams playing in a

Twenty20 Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the county cricket, inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two t ...

format only. Kowloon Cantons and Woodworm Island Warriors were joint winners of the inaugural DTC Hong Kong T20 Blitz after rain washed out finals day. In July 2019, the competition was cancelled, due to ongoing financial issues.

History

The

Cricket Hong Kong Cricket Hong Kong, China (), previously known as the Hong Kong Cricket Association and Cricket Hong Kong (), is the official governing body of the sport of cricket in Hong Kong. Its current headquarters is in So Kon Po, Causeway Bay. Established ...

(CHK) announced their plans for the event in April 2016, stating they would invest in a Twenty20 cricket league for the development cricket in

as well as in nearby countries. The competition would launch with four teams playing in a Twenty20 format.

announced that DTC Mobiles will sponsor the tournament. The

Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (; AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. With 2,400 employees of 100 nationalities, AFP has an editorial presence in 260 c ...

said, "A burgeoning Twenty20 tournament and growing interest from abroad is turning Hong Kong into one of Asia's fastest-rising cricketing destinations – and could help the sport make inroads into mainland China." Before the second season, Leonine Sports Group acquired the Woodworm Island Warriors, changing the name to Hong Kong Island (HKI) United. A new fifth franchise was also added and named City KaiTak.

Teams

Cricket Hong Kong announced the four hosts for the Hong Kong T20 Blitz League in April 2016, with hosting rights awarded for the first years of the competition. Team names, along with the fixtures and venues for the 2016 season, were announced in April 2016. The allocation of domestic players was decided by a draft held on April 28, 2016. All four franchises also subsequently signed a number of international players.

Tanwir Afzal Tanwir Afzal (born 12 June 1988) is a Hong Kong cricketer. He played for Hong Kong national cricket team, Hong Kong in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 tournament. He made his One Day International debut against Afghanistan national cricket team, Afgh ...

, captain of the

Hong Kong national cricket team The Hong Kong men's national cricket team is the team that represents Hong Kong in international competitions. It played its first match in 1866 and has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1969.Mission Road Ground The Mission Road Ground, also known as the Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground, is a multi-purpose sports field on in Kau Pui Lung, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The ground is mainly used for cricket matches. It was opened in 1976, and the first cricket match ...

Mong Kok Mong Kok (Chinese language, Chinese: 旺角), also spelled Mongkok, often abbreviated as MK, is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The Prince Edward, Hong Kong, Prince Edward subarea occupies the northern part of Mong Kok. As one of the major sho ...

. The 2017 event took place from 8 to 12 March. The five teams played each other once in a round-robin format, followed by a finals day. All the matches were played at the Mission Road Ground, Mong Kok.

Media coverage

Coverage of Hong Kong T20 Blitz 2016 was broadcast live on

Hong Kong Cricket Association Cricket Hong Kong, China (), previously known as the Hong Kong Cricket Association and Cricket Hong Kong (), is the official Sport governing body, governing body of the sport of cricket in Hong Kong. Its current headquarters is in So Kon Po, Caus ...

’s

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel. Dean Jones,

Jack Richards Jack Richards may refer to: * Jack Richards (cricketer, born 1958), English cricketer * Jack Richards (cricketer, born 1918), English cricketer and British Army officer * Jack C. Richards Jack Croft Richards (born 28 July 1943) is an applied lin ...

and

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...

’

Katherine Loughnan Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Christian sa ...

were hosts and also part of the commentary team.

References

External links

Cricinfo Home
{{Twenty20 leagues Hong Kong domestic cricket competitions 2016 establishments in Hong Kong Defunct cricket competitions Sports leagues established in 2016 Recurring sporting events established in 2016 Cricket in Hong Kong