Hong Kong thrash Malaysia in tournament opener

Hong Kong Women 143 for 4 (Pratt 71) beat Malaysia Women 29 (Pratt 4-4) by 114 runs
Scorecard

Neisha Pratt led the way with both bat and ball © HKCA

Neisha Pratt, the Hong Kong captain, almost single-handedly subjected hosts Malaysia to a 114-run trouncing at the Johor Cricket Academy in the opening match of the ACC women's tournament.

Pratt made a thumping, chanceless 71 off 77 deliveries as Hong Kong piled on 143 runs off their allotted 30 overs. In reply, Malaysia could only muster a mere 29, that too off 29.5 overs.

The hosts almost seemed to be playing for a draw. Opening batsman Emylia Eliani took 36 deliveries for her 5 runs - but that was better than Norlida Hamid, who was out without scoring after 45 deliveries. The crowd waited patiently while 30 deliveries were played back to the bowler, and were put out of their misery when Kaori Iida clipped her Hamid's off-stump.

Few runs came off the bat for Malaysia, with 14 of the 29 runs coming in extras. Pratt shone with the ball too, capping the day with a haul of four wickets.

Pratt's innings of 71 contained three boundaries and a couple of sixes. She played some powerful strokes, hitting on the up and it was only the introduction of the slower bowlers that curtailed her run-scoring.

The margin of victory could have been higher for Hong Kong, who were at 86 for 1 at one stage - with Pratt going strong - and looking likely to sail past their pre-match target of 150. However, they managed only 57 in the last 15 overs, the batsmen tied down by disciplined bowling. The bowlers though did benefit from umpires being lenient on a number of deliveries that went down the leg side.