Dimitri Mascarenhas and Chris Tremlett "exceeded expectations" on the way to helping England retain the Hong Kong Sixes title.

The Hampshire pair helped England claim their fourth Sixes title at the Kowloon Cricket Club - and England Sixes captain and one-day assistant coach Matthew Maynard was impressed.

Maynard, who challenged the rest of the seven-man squad to boost their World Cup 2007 chances in Hong Kong, said: "They both did a very good job and it was nice to see them react positively in that situation in a pressurised environment.

"They both came through it very well and if anything they exceeded expectations. Dimi is a very good striker of the ball and we put him in at number three or four, which was perfect for him, the ball goes a long way when he connects properly.

"He's shown David Graveney what he can do and hopefully it won't be too long before he gets his chance to play at one-day level."

Maynard, a veteran of six Hong Kong Sixes campaigns, was at the crease with Mascarenhas when England secured the title with a five-wicket win against Sri Lanka.

He added: "In the final we played as well as any Sixes side I've been involved with, the bowlers were awesome.

"In the short form of the game it's all about how your bowlers bowl. Chris bowled just back of a length in the build up to the final and he'll have done his chances no harm at all either."

England won all five games, beating Kenya, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong to qualify from Pool One, before seeing off the UAE in the semi-final and Sri Lanka again in the final.

All-rounder Mascarenhas was England's star of the group games, most notably against Sri Lanka, when he hit an unbeaten 22 from just six balls.

With England needing 12 to win from three balls, Mascarenhas struck successive sixes off the medium pace of Ranga Dias, to clinch England's second victory with a ball to spare.

He said: "I didn't really know what to expect but it was like Twenty20 - quick, hectic and hell for leather.

"I got a few runs and bowled pretty well, it was a fun time. We did well to win all five games because anything can happen in six-a-side.

"The UAE beat India and South Africa and had us 30 for 3 in the semi-final before Twiggy helped get us out of it."

Tremlett, who scored a quick-fire 14 in the 15-run win against the UAE, said: "It was a really good trip, we played hard and it was very sociable too, everything came together as a team.

"There were some good players out there and Pakistan and Sri Lanka were the other main teams to beat. Pakistan had Shahid Afridi and a couple of other Test players, and Sri Lanka had a lot of their A team

"In the pool games Matthew Maynard thought I should bowl just back of a length and get the ball through at just under shoulder height to avoid no balls.

"But the umpires were very strict so I bowled a fuller length in the semi-final and final and did a lot better.

"It was a bit of a lottery, you could bowl a really good over that went for 20 runs and a not so good over could go for half that."