Hong Kong, October 5: England's prospects of retaining the Cathay Pacific / Standard Chartered Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes title received a tonic today with a favourable draw in the pool stage.

The defending champions and top seeds have been drawn in Pool 1 in the 10th edition of the world's premier Sixes tournament that will be hosted by the Kowloon Cricket Club on November 6-7 and boasts a prize fund of US$260,000.

After opening their title defence with a match against Sri Lanka, England will then tackle Kenya and hosts Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Pakistan, four-time tournament winners, will be favourites to emerge unscathed in Pool 2, where they will take on arch-rivals India, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

The top two teams in each pool will progress to the Cup competition while the bottom two in the pools will compete in the Plate category.

"With Pakistan taking on India and England facing Sri Lanka in the pool stage, it promises to be a thrilling opening day at the 2004 Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes," said ex-Sri Lankan Test captain Hashan Tillakaratne reacting to the draw.

"When you look at the recent history of the tournament, it would be hard not to install England and Pakistan as the favourites. But the beauty of Sixes is that upsets are quite possible … and I expect some close contests," added Tillakaratne.

Mike Walsh, chairman of the Hong Kong Cricket Association (HKCA), said that England and Pakistan were seeded one and two based on the results of last year's Sixes.

Second tier seeds were Sri Lanka and South Africa; Kenya and India were seeded in the third tier; and Hong Kong and the UAE fourth.

 "The Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes is firmly established as the leading event of its kind in the world and we're confident that the 2004 edition will prove to be another outstanding weekend of cricket," said Walsh.

Despite being presented with a seemingly smooth passage through to the Cup competition, England will need to guard against complacency, especially when they take on the Kenyans, who suffered a narrow pool loss to the English last year.

Meanwhile, India will be seeking to avenge their pool defeat against Pakistan last year when the great rivals square off in a mid-afternoon showdown on the Saturday (November 6).

‘Early bird' two-day tickets for the 2004 Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes are currently available. Prices have been set at HK$350 for adults and HK$200 for children under the age of 15. From October 16, the price will increase to HK$450 for adults.

The 2004 Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes will take place at Kowloon Cricket Club, 10 Cox's Road, Kowloon on November 6-7. Early bird two-day passes cost HK$350 for adults and HK$200 for children under 15, and are on sale through Cityline at www.cityline.com as well as at the following outlets: Hong Kong Cricket Club (137 Wong Nai Chung Gap Road, Happy Valley, tel. 2574 6266); Kowloon Cricket Club (10 Cox's Road, Jordan, tel. 2367 4141); Dot Cod Seafood Restaurant & Oyster Bar (Prince's Building, Central tel. 2810 6988).