| International cricket fixtures involving representative teams from Hong Kong date back to 1866 when the first Interport match against Shanghai was played. Records from 1890 show Hong Kong playing matches against 'The Straights' and Ceylon. For a full chronology of important dates and events in Hong Kong cricket, visit our detailed History page. Hong Kong became an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council in 1969.
Hong Kong has a performed extremely well in recent years on the international cricket scene. As well as competing in the ICC Trophy since 1982 against other ICC Associate Members for the right to participate in the Cricket World Cup, Hong Kong also plays in the Asia Cup and the South East Asia Championships (a.k.a. Tuanku Ja'afar Cup) on a regular basis.
With its eighth place finish at the 1997 ICC Trophy tournament, Hong Kong attained a ranking of 17th in the world.
By reaching the final of the 2000 ACC Trophy Hong Kong qualified for the 2004 Asia Cup where they faced Pakistan and Bangladesh. Also in 2004, Hong Kong started playing in the ACC Fast Track Countries tournament which involves a series of 3-day matches (carrying First Class status) against other 'second-tier' countries in the Asia region, with the top teams qualifiying for the ICC Inter-Continental Cup.
In 2006, Hong Kong reached the final of the ACC Trophy tournament played in Malaysia and in doing so earned a place at the Asia Cup in 2008 and for a qualifying tournament for the 2011 World Cup in India.
At age group levels, Hong Kong participates in the Under 13, Under 15 and Under 19 Tuanku Ja'afar Cups, the Under 17 Asia Cup and in the Youth Asia Cup - an Under 19 event with the finalists qualifying for the Youth World Cup.
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