And even though their last competitive appearance was in April, Willis said the team was running at full speed after six weeks of hard training.

“The guys came back in good shape. Considering they had six weeks off, they could have easily let themselves go,” Willis said. “It shows the attitude of the group at the moment, that they are committed to improving and getting better.”

Before arriving in Malaysia, Hong Kong travelled to Colombo for two practice matches against the up-and-coming Sri Lankan team.

Hong Kong struggled in the first over, conceding 183 runs with the ball and also lagging far behind in the hunt for runs, despite a brave 52 from captain Nizakat Khan.

Martin Coetzee and Babar Hayat made sure things looked different the second time around, scoring 43 and 78 points respectively, while Willis’ side scored 178 points and then used the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method to fight their way to a five-point victory when the rain started to fall.

The overall performance gave Willis confidence that his team, which had occasionally struggled on the field, was steadily improving in all aspects of the game.

“We take a lot of our opportunities in the field when they present themselves, whether it’s catches or run outs,” Willis said.

Although Khan, Coetzee and Hayat together accounted for 197 of their team’s runs in Sri Lanka, Willis stressed that his team “bats from one to eleven”.

“History has shown that even if we lose wickets early, we have the experience and quality in our middle and lower order to achieve a competitive result,” he said.

“The responsibility does not lie with one or two players. It is a collective unit that plays with confidence.”

Willis said the bowlers had improved their control and were becoming more adept in their roles.

The trip to Sri Lanka even allowed the head coach to give playing time to young players Darsh Vora, Danny Mapp and Rajab Hussain, thus providing more depth ahead of a demanding eight-month season.

“To get them now was fantastic,” Willis said. “They were great, great in the group.”

Hong Kong begins its Tri-Nations Cup against Kuwait on Wednesday, followed by matches on Friday, next Monday and possibly Tuesday.

Immediately afterwards, the journey begins that ends a ten-year wait for a second World Cup appearance, and Willis said that now “every game is about winning”.

“We will select the team that we believe gives us the best chance under the conditions,” he said. “We know that if we play to our best, we can beat most teams in associate cricket.”

Hong Kong squad: Nizakat Khan (captain), Yasim Murtaza (vice-captain), Adil Mehmood, Aizaz Khan, Anas Khan, Anshuman Rath, Ateequl Rehman Iqbal, Ayush Shukla, Babar Hayat, Ehsan Khan, Martin Coetzee, Nasrulla Rana, Rajab Hussain, Zeeshan Ali.