A One Day International (ODI) is an international cricket match between two representative teams, each having ODI status, as determined by the International Cricket Council (ICC). An ODI differs from Test matches in that the number of overs per team is limited, and that each team has only one innings. As of November 2016[update], 37 players have represented the Hong Kong national team in ODIs, since its debut in 2004. Many of these players are of South Asian origin, a demographic which comprises only a small fraction of the overall population of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong gained ODI status in its own right following the 2014 World Cup Qualifier, but had previously been accorded ODI status twice on a temporary basis, when it participated in the Asia Cup. The team's first ODI came against Bangladesh in the 2004 Asia Cup, with the team then playing one further match in that competition, against Pakistan. At the 2008 Asia Cup, Hong Kong again played two matches, against Pakistan and India, although it lost heavily in all matches played. After gaining full ODI status in 2014, the team's first matches in that format came in the 2014 ACC Premier League tournament, against Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Hong Kong did not win an ODI until its tenth match, in November 2015, when it defeated the UAE by 89 runs as part of the World Cricket League Championship.