08 November 2004	Monday	24 Ramazan 1425

KARACHI, Nov 7: England successfully defended their Hong Kong Sixes crown when they defeated Sri Lanka by five wickets in the final played at the Kowloon Cricket Club in Kowloon on Sunday.

Former Test batsman Darren Maddy hammered 34 off 11 balls with the aid of four fours and two sixes as England needed only 3.1 overs to overhaul Sri Lanka's 61 for four in the allotted quota of five eight-ball overs.

England, who had previously retained their title in 1994 followed by Pakistan in 2002, had earlier beaten United Arab Emirates by 15 runs in the semifinal.

In the other semifinal, off-spinner Dilruwan Perera grabbed a hat trick to help Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 10 runs.

Meanwhile, the Plate competition, hosts Hong Kong won the championship with an easy 50-run victory over Kenya, who were bowled out for 85 in 4.6 overs despite an 18-ball 43 by their experienced opener Ravindu Shah.

Summarised scores:

Final: England beat Sri Lanka by five wickets.

SRI LANKA 61-4 in 5 overs (Dilruwan Perera 24, Roshan Peiris 14; Graham Napier 1-6, Darren Maddy 1-9, Dimitri Mascarenhas 1-10, Kabir Ali 1-12); ENGLAND 62-1 in 3.1 overs (Darren Maddy 34 retired, Dimitri Mascarenhas 12 not out; Dilruwan Perera 1-18).

Plate final: Hong Kong beat Kenya by 50 runs.

HONG KONG 135-1 in 5 overs (Rahul Sharma 36 retired, Hussain Butt 35 retired, Ryan Easgleson 35 retired, Najeeb Amar 17 not out; Kalpesh Patel 1-22); KENYA 85 in 4.6 overs (Ravindu Shah 43, Lameck Ngoche 19; Ryan Eagleson 2-9, Rahul Sharma 2-10, Afzaal Haider 1-16).