Cricket has been played in Hong Kong for over 160 years. The rich tradition of the game will remain as an enduring legacy of the colonial era, and provides a solid foundation for the future growth of cricket as a popular sport amongst the local community.
There are many milestones of note and the following chronology makes very interesting reading:
1841 * First game of cricket played in Hong Kong
1851 * Hong Kong Cricket Club founded
1866 * First Interport match between Hong Kong and Shanghai
1888 * First recorded match by Diocesan Boys School
1890 * First Interport match v The Straights
* First match v Ceylon
1892 * On 10th October, the P&O steamship SS Bokhara, carrying the Hong Kong cricket team back from an Interport against Shanghai, sinks in a typhoon with the loss of 125 lives. Only two members of the 13-man Hong Kong cricket team survived the disaster. [Sinking of the SS Bokhara]
1894 * Craigengower Cricket Club founded
1897 * Hong Kong Parsee Cricket Club founded
1903 * Civil Service Cricket Club founded
* Police Recreation Club founded
1903-4 * First Division League Cricket commenced
1904 * Kowloon Cricket Club founded
1906 * Club de Recreio founded
1911 * Chinese Recreation Club founded
1912 * The University of Hong Kong founded
1914-17 * Matches suspended due to World War I
1918 * Indian Recreation Club founded
1921-22 * Second Division League Cricket commenced
* First recorded match by King George the Fifth School (KGV, then known as Central British School)
1941-48 * Matches suspended due to World War II
1948 * Last recorded Interport match v Shanghai
1951 * 100th Anniversary of Hong Kong Cricket Club
1952 * Jack Chegwyn’s team become the first International team to visit Hong Kong
1961 * Craigengower Sixes commenced
1962 * St Georges Cricket Club founded
1964 * Little Sai Wan Cricket Club founded
1966 * First MCC team to visit Hong Kong
1967-68 * Gillette Cup competition introduced
1968 * Hong Kong Cricket Association replaces the Hong Kong Cricket League
* First recorded match by Island School
1969 * HKCA becomes Associate Member of the International Cricket Council
1970-71 * Rothmans Cup competition introduced
1973-74 * Sunday and Saturday Leagues replace First and Second Divisions
1975 * Last matches played at HKCC ground at Chater Road
1975-76 * Saturday and Sunday Cup and Plate competitions introduced
* Limited overs introduced for Saturday League
1976-77 * Ted Wilson Schools Trophy introduced
1982 * Hong Kong plays in the ICC Trophy for the first time
1982-83 * Artificial wickets introduced at KCC and Mission Road grounds
1983 * Asian Cricket Council established
1984 * First South East Asian competition
1986 * Annual Charity Cricket Festivals commenced
* First Silk Cut International Single Wicket competition in Hong Kong
1987 * Last Interport v Singapore
1990 * Volvo Cup commences between Hong Kong and Thailand
1992 * Malaysia joins the Volvo Cup and the Tuanku Jaafar Cup begins between Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore
* Hong Kong-born Dermot Reeve selected to play for England
* First Cathay Pacific/Wharf Holdings International Sixes at KCC
1994 * 100th Anniversary of Craigengower Cricket Club
* Hong Kong finishes 8th in ICC Trophy
* HKCA employ first full-time coaching staff
* Hong Kong Dragons (all Chinese) team undertake first tour to Taiwan and to Beijing Sixes
1995 * HKCA employ first full-time administrative/development staff
* HKCA Development programme commences
* Tuanku Jaafar Cup expanded to include an Under-18 competition
1996 * Hong Kong wins both Senior and Under-18 Tuanku Jaafar Cup competitions
* Summer Eight-a-side competition commences
* First overseas scholarships awarded to promising Hong Kong players
* Hong Kong plays in the first Asian Cricket Council Trophy competition
* Cathay Pacific/Wheelock Natwest International Sixes moves to Hong Kong Stadium
* Under-12 Hardball competition commences
1997 * Hong Kong hosts first One day International between Australia and The Rest of the World at KCC
* Hong Kong finishes 8th in ICC Trophy
* Hong Kong team wins Bowl at International Sixes after victories over India and South Africa
* Handover of Sovereignty of Hong Kong from Great Britain to China
* Tuanku Ja’afar Cup further expanded to include an Under-15 and Under-13 competitions
* Hong Kong hosts the Asian Cricket Council Under-19 tournament (Youth Asia Cup) and finishes third
1998 * Hong Kong make it to the ACC Trophy semi-finals in Nepal
* HKCA Junior Leagues at Under-13, Under-15 and Under-19 levels start
* Two all Chinese cricket clubs – Genius CC and Happy CC – are formed
* Hong Kong retains the Under-19 Tuanku Ja’afar Cup for the third year running
* Hong Kong finishes second in Under-23 Tuanku Ja’afar Cup
* First Hong Kong Under-13 representative side travels to Singapore
* Hong Kong hosts Sri Lankan Schools Cricket Association Under-17 tour
1999 * Hong Kong finishes 4th at the Youth Asia Cup in Singapore
* Hong Kong wins the Senior Tuanku Ja’afar Cup
* Hong Kong retains the Under-19 Tuanku Ja’afar Cup
* Hong Kong finishes second at Under-13, Under-15 and Under-23 Tuanku Ja’afar Cups
* SuperTeam CC, the third all Chinese cricket club, is formed
2000 * HKCA Under-11 Junior League commences
* Primary School Playground League commences
* Hong Kong hosts the Under-13 Tuanku Ja’afar Cup
* The 1st HKCA Junior Cricket Sixes Festival held
* HKCA Coaches Lal Jaysinghe and Rahuman Farcy receive top coaching awards
* Hong Kong qualifies for the 2002 Asia Cup after finishing runners-up at the ACC Trophy tournament played in Sharjah – Rahul Sharma is named player of the tournament
2001 * Hong Kong senior team retains the Tuanku Ja’afar Cup in a rain-affected tournament played in Thailand
* Hong Kong beats PNG at the 2001 ICC Trophy played in Toronto, Canada but fails to progress past the preliminary round of the tournament
* Hong Kong finishes runners-up at the Under-13 South East Asia Championships in Penang
* Hong Kong finishes runners-up at the inaugural Under-19 East Asia-Pacific Championships played in Fiji
* Hong Kong hosts the Under-15 Tuanku Ja’afar Cup 2001 and finishes second
* The Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes returns to the Kowloon Cricket Club
* The 2001 Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes website attracts over 1 million visitors
* Hong Kong hosts the ACC Curatorship Seminar
* HKCA’s junior cricket programmes attain a 96% take-up rate
* Teams from the Marylebone Cricket Club and Melbourne Cricket Club join in a festival of cricket to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Hong Kong Cricket Club
2002 * HKCA opens new ground at Po Kong Village Road
* Hong Kong wins Under-13 Tuanku Ja’afar Cup 2002 played in Singapore
* Hong Kong hosts the senior Tuanku Ja’afar Cup 2002 and retains the Cup again
* Hong Kong participates in the Under 15 ACC Trophy but fails to progress to the championship round (Asia Cup).