Video courtesy of: Hong Kong Cricket Association
Hong Kong has selected former Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Ryan Campbell in their Asia Cup squad and World Twenty20 side.
Campbell represented Australia in two ODIs and also had a tremendous domestic career, which saw him finish fourth on Western Australia’s all-time list of most dismissals by a wicketkeeper and ninth on their all-time run-scorers list.
Campbell, who also serves as Hong Kong’s batting coach, admitted that while he is nervous about returning to international cricket after a long time away from the game, he is also looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead.
“I’m pretty nervous to be honest,” he told the Hong Kong Cricket Association website. “I’m there to mentor them as I have done for so long … It has been a while (since I played international cricket), but if you look at my numbers I think I’m still one of the best batsmen in Hong Kong.
“My Grandmother is 100% Chinese and my great grandfather was actually born in Kowloon. Going through my family trees it does make me feel a part of this country and especially as my son was born here, I feel very proud to represent Hong Kong.”
However, what exactly motivated Campbell to go from a dormant state back to active?
“Brad Hogg is still going around for the Scorchers and I must admit he’s inspired me a bit to say age is just a number,” he said. “It’s going to be an exciting couple of weeks.”
Hong Kong head coach Simon Cook believes that Campbell will be a major asset to the national team due to his aggressive approach and mindset and his ability to mentor the younger players in the side.
“His form in Hong Kong has been good in Premier League and Sunday games for Kowloon Cricket Club,” Cook said. “One of the things that we learned about our last WT20 tournament is that having that ability to think clearly in high pressure situations is critical and Ryan’s experience will be an enormous help in that regard.”
Hong Kong will travel to Bangladesh next month to battle against Afghanistan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates for a spot in the 2016 Asia Cup, which will begin on February 24.
In regards to the World Twenty20 in India in March, Hong Kong will have to compete against Afghanistan, Scotland and Zimbabwe for a spot in the Super 10 stage of the tournament. Hong Kong have already made an impact in the World Twenty20 as in the 2014 edition of the tournament, they stunned Bangladesh by two wickets to record one of the biggest victories in Hong Kong cricketing history.
Hong Kong squad for Asia Cup: Tanwir Afzal (capt), Mark Chapman (vice-capt), Haseeb Amjad, Nadeem Ahmed, Tanwir Ahmed, Waqas Barkat, Christopher Carter, Babar Hayat, Nizakat Khan, Aizaz Khan, Waqas Khan, Adil Mehmood, Kinchit Shah, Ninad Shah, Anshuman Rath.
Hong Kong squad for World T20: Tanwir Afzal (capt), Mark Chapman (vice-capt), Haseeb Amjad, Nadeem Ahmed, Tanwir Ahmed, James Atkinson, Waqas Barkat, Ryan Campbell, Christopher Carter, Babar Hayat, Nizakat Khan, Aizaz Khan, Waqas Khan, Kinchit Shah, Anshuman Rath.