Hong Kong Cricket Sixes 2008 - 8 & 9 November 2008

The Hong Kong Cricket Sixes 2008 will be held at KCC on 8 & 9 November 2008 © CCIL

It is now some months since the the 2007 Sixes, probably the most memorable Sixes to date. What a tournament! It's incredible to look back and reminisce that so many of the biggest names in world cricket - Warne, Lara, Kumble, McGrath etc - were here and playing in Hong Kong.

Dancing girls, big screens, live TV, all fantastic and the event made money for the HKCA to put towards vital projects such as new ground development. Quite a feat to match for the 2008 Sixes, far from easy and far from cheap to arrange! To achieve this a great deal of activity has been going on since the 2007 tournament, and is going on, to prepare for ther Sixes 2008 and develop the tournament even further.

Over the years the Sixes has grown significantly in size and complexity. Subseqently the Board of China Cricket International, HKCA's sixes company, has decided recently to invest in a full time tournament organiser for this year's tournament, a role I will fill for the next 12 months.

And due to space contraints at the HKCA office in Olympic House a new Sixes office to run the tournament from has been established in Sheung Wan at Skyline Commercial Centre on Wing Lok Street. Strategically these investments in the Sixes are intended to benefit the tournament substantially moving forward.

At this point I must pay a personal tribute to Glyn Davies who has been an incredible Tournament Director of the Sixes for me to work under for the last several years. The Sixes TD faces substantial challenges at the best of times but Glyn's determination, energy and enthusiasm were never more evident than at the 2007 Sixes where the organisers faced a whole raft of difficulties to overcome. Under Glyn's leadership overcome they were and the 2007 Sixes must go down as the most successful Hong Kong Sixes ever, indeed so well that the tournament scooped a major award from the ICC, a fantastic achievement.

We all know and love the party atmosphere of the Sixes; it's a wonderful weekend for cricket lovers in Hong Kong. Ultimately though, as well as to have a great weekend, the purpose of the tournament is to earn funds for HKCA to promote cricket in Hong Kong and to benefit Hong Kong cricket's profile internationally, and these goals form the mantra behind the decision making processes for myself and the Sixes organisers.

We should all be aware that the Hong Kong Sixes is the only sixes event in the world sanctioned by the ICC. It's unique and of massive value to Hong Kong cricket in so many different ways. As cricketers in Hong Kong I believe we should treasure it as well as enjoying it.

With these thoughts in mind, negotiations for the sponsorship rights are progressing steadily and we expect these to be finalised soon. Invitations to all of the national Boards which competed in 2007, including newcomers Bangladesh, have been issued and accepted. Last year Sri Lanka caused something of an upset when they deservedly triumphed in the final to take the title for the first time since the tournament was founded in 1992. It's good to know that Sri Lanka will be back to defend their title this year.

The All Stars team, a successful innovation from last year, will also compete and the star players are being lined up to take part and add to the excitement.

I look forward to keeping members updated on the progress of the Sixes over the coming months. In the meantime put the dates of 8 & 9 November in your diary and start counting the days down to the Hong Kong Sixes 2008!

Mark Burns
Tournament Director
www.hksixes.com