Robert Croft gave David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, who was watching on from the sidelines, a timely reminder of his all-round talents with a match winning performance in the final against Pakistan . With the bat he set off like a train, hammering 31 runs from 14 balls to give England a lightening start, but it was with the ball that he clinched the game.Brought into the attack with Imran Nazir in full song and Pakistan racing home on 35 without loss after two overs, Croft lulled Nazir into a false shot and then sprinted 50 yards to take a diving catch at full stretch. Two balls later Abdul Razzaq was caught on the boundary edge by Dougie Brown on tiptoes. He finished with 2 for 4 and left Pakistan on the ropes. Pakistan were thrown further out of kilter by a bizarre four-run penalty when Razzaq and Moin Khan failed to cross on the field. Despite complaints from the Pakistani's, the umpires stood firm and Pakistan were left needing to score 52 from the last 12 balls. England , cheered on by most of Hong Kong and all of India , duly sealed their triumph, hugged like they had won the World Cup and embarked on a victory lap.
Croft was rightly adjudged man of the final - he could also have been adjudged man of the tournament for his 5 wickets and 125 runs but that award went to Saman Jayantha for his 152 runs and 3 wickets - but England's was a team performance: Kabir Ali was revelation with the bat; Darren Maddy nerveless with the ball; Dougie Brown scored 96 priceless runs without being dismissed and clung onto crucial catches; Chris Silverwood and Glen Chapple both threatened with the ball and Matthew Maynard's leadership was always assured. They fully deserved their USD$90,000 winners cheque.
SCORECARD
Hong Kong Sixes, 2003, Final
England v Pakistan
Kowloon Cricket Club, Kowloon ,
2 November 2003 (5-over match)
Result: England won by 21 runs, Series: England wins the 2003 Hong Kong Sixes, Toss: Pakistan , Umpires: Mike Walsh and Trevor Warburton, Player of the Match: RDB Croft, Player of the Tournament: S Jayantha (SL), Players per side: 6
| England | | R | B | 4 | 6 |
| RDB Croft | retired not out | 31 | 14 | 6 | 0 |
| Kabir Ali | retired not out | 31 | 10 | 3 | 2 |
| *+MP Maynard | not out | 20 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| DR Brown | not out | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Extras (lb 1, nb 2, pen 4) | | 7 | | | |
| Total (0 wickets, 5 overs) | | 90 | | | |
| DNB: G Chapple, DL Maddy. | | | | | |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W |
| Azhar Mahmood | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Bilal Asad | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Imran Nazir | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Abdur Razzaq | 1 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| Naved Latif | 1 | 0 | 23 | 0(1nb) |
| Total (0 wickets, 5 overs) | 90 | | | |
| DNB: G Chapple, DL Maddy. | | | | |
| PAKISTAN | | R | B | 4 | 6 |
| Imran Nazir | c & b Croft | 27 | 9 | 1 | 3 |
| Azhar Mahmood | c Brown b Ali | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Naved Latif | c Maynard b Maddy | 24 | 9 | 1 | 3 |
| Abdur Razzaq | c Brown b Croft | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| *+Moin Khan | not out | 9 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Bilal Asad | not out | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Extras (b 2) 2 | | 90 | | | |
| Total (4 wickets, 5 overs) 69 | | | | | |
FoW: 1-14 (Azhar Mahmood, 1.1 ov), 2-35 (Imran Nazir, 2.1 ov), 3-38 (Abdur Razzaq, 2.5 ov), 4-57 (Naved Latif, 4.2 ov).
| Bowling | O | M | R | W |
| Brown | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Ali | 1 | 0 | 21 | 1 |
| Croft | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Chapple | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| Maddy | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
Robert Croft gave David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, who was watching on from the sidelines, a timely reminder of his all-round talents with a match winning performance in the final against Pakistan . With the bat he set off like a train, hammering 31 runs from 14 balls to give England a lightening start, but it was with the ball that he clinched the game.
