Cricket in China needs a spark. (Photo by Marcio Machado/Getty Images)
In the aftermath of the International Cricket Councils (ICC) recent era-defining board meeting, the U.S. cemented its status as the bearer of the sports global aspirations.
Cricket, a British sport traditionally confined mostly to Commonwealth countries, has for some time been trying to enter new terrain and unsurprisingly administrators have been besotted with the worlds biggest sports market much to the chagrin of some neglected Associate nations.
The U.S, long-viewed as thesleeping giantof cricket, will co-host the 2024 T20 World Cup along with the West Indies an accelerated timetable due to the ICCs much-hyped bid for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
It all means the U.S. will become something of an epi-centre on and off field this decade in a remarkable transformation after being viewed as a laughingstock for years.
There was a time, however, when China a mostly forgotten cricket nation - was embraced with almost as much gusto by the sports decision makers.
From a strategic point of view, U.S. and China were the two target markets. U.S. was No.1 and China was No.2, Tim Anderson, the ICCs head of global development from 2010-16, told me.
We needed to demonstrate return on investment. Having more competitive teams on the stage which we're seeing now - but equally it was about how the emerging cricket market could impact the economics globally of the sport.
Tim Anderson visited China to promote and develop cricket. (Photo by Marcio Machado/Getty Images)
In the mid-2000s, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) which is effectively the ICCs Asian office but has its own revenue streams - had deemed China a special project according to Aminul Islam, who at the time was an ACC development officer heavily focused onChina. With foresight and resources, cricket was included at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou and deemed a success marked by Chinas womens team finishing fourth.
It was hoped to be a game-changer for a country with no cricket tradition, relatively modest numbers of expats from Commonwealth nations and infamous bureaucratic hurdles negating the ICCs plans to have staff members based there permanently.
"China was different to the U.S. on those levels, said Anderson, who runs a sports consultancy business these days. But China also is a big market and has huge global power. There were some geopolitical opportunities between China and India, Pakistan and Australia that could be explored through cricket.
"There had been a push to get international cricket between Full Members there.
The ACC created 200 level 1 coaches and targeted universities to fuel crickets popularity. Women, in particular, took to cricket faster and with pathways easier for a quick rise up the rankings, there was hope a successful national team could inspire a generation.
The womens team has always been pretty good. They could become something like Thailand, Anderson said noting Thailands remarkable rise in womens cricket which has just recently seemingly been stunted by ICC red tape.
Meg Lanning, Captain of Australia Cricket Team (l) talks to the Chinese National Teamin Shanghai. ... [+] (Photo by Marcio Machado/Getty Images)
Even though the national womens team is still ranked 26thin T20, there are no grandiose talks of cricket in China right now. Forget visions of being a global power, Chinese cricket barely has visibility. The Chinese Cricket Association, which has been a member of the ICC since 2004, doesnt even have a website and seemingly shrouded in mystery like some type of shadowy organization.
Its led to observers on the ground fearing cricket in China has stalled and that the ICC has lost interest in its once pet project.
They point to the mens team being ranked 86 of 90 in the T20 rankings and the unused cricket ground in Guangzhou the showpiece at the 2010 Asian Games as confirmation of its sad slide and wasted potential.
However, Islam, who is now the ICC Asia regional development manager, admitted that cricket in China had grown slowly but said development was occurring through 21 universities, where it is recognized as an official sport under the curriculum.
A million students know the game and play at least once a week, said Islam, the former Bangladesh captain who speaks fluent Mandarin. There are about 2000 higher performance players coming from high schools and universities. Nine regions have been introduced to cricket.
China women's team still has a respectable ranking. (Photo by Marcio Machado/Getty Images)
With cricket returning to the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, a $20 million beautiful stadium is being built in Zhejian provinces capital which in the future can legitimately attract top end international cricket, according to Islam. But Shanghai the glitzy global financial hub is earmarked to be crickets home base in China.
Shanghai has the highest number of cricket players, Islam said. Its an international city and makes sense for crickets base to be there. Shanghai to Hangzhou is only one-hour away. Eventually we will look for land and build an (internationally accredited) ground in Shanghai.
It all sounds promising at the grassroots, but cricket undoubtedly needs more exposure amid a competitive sports landscape as rivals swarm into the lucrative Chinese market. In this tough environment, support from the Chinese government is crucial and thus far has not been forthcoming towards cricket but that could all change amid the sports $3 million Olympic bid.
Administrators hoping for crickets expansion into places such as China had long pushed for Olympic inclusion only to be rebuffed by reticent powers India and England. But with the board finally on the same page, cricket could be unlocked in a country like China where Olympic sports are granted priority.
If cricket got into the Olympics that would change the dynamics for the sport in China, Anderson said. China qualifying for a World Cup or cricket being part of the Olympics would be a thing.
As soon as it is in the Olympics, the whole face ofChinacricket will change, Islam concurred. Olympics would unlock a lot of resources from Chineseauthorities towards cricket.
With momentum building towards crickets Olympic bid, private promoters are eyeing China with renewed interest.
If the Olympics is happening then franchise cricket leagues could take place in China, said Haroon Lorgat, the former ICC chief executive turned T10 cricket advocate.
The experienced South African administrator is spearheading the growth and development of T10 - an unofficial 10-over per side format through global leagues such as the ongoing tournament in Abu Dhabi.
But gaining a foothold in Hong Kong, which has a cricket tradition and regarded as a top Associate nation, could be the first step towards China.
Cricket has a strong tradition in Hong Kong. (Photo by Power Sport Images/Getty Images)
"A T10 league is easier to establish in Hong Kong, which has grounds and facilities, but that could spark interest in China and perhaps places like Guangzhou, Lorgat said. Arguably T10 is a better vehicle to get started in new markets as it is easier to run multiple games per day. It might attract interest in youngsters in China.
Cricket has made great strides in conquering its American dream, but China looms as a far greater obstacle to legitimize the ICCs goal of unshackling this sport far beyond its Commonwealth origins.
China is growing and can help crickets perception worldwide, Islam said. WithoutChina, you can't say this is a global game.
More here:
As Focus Intensifies On Rising U.S, Cricket In China Remains A Work In Progress - Forbes
- No Rest For the Wicked | Review In Progress - XboxEra - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Maine made progress in wages and productivity, but still faces shrinking labor force - Press Herald - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- The Progress Report: How 4 Schools Are Teaching Kids to Read and Seeing Success - Voice of San Diego - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- PROGRESS MADE IN COLE REHAB? - Bleeding Yankee Blue - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Pollution or Progress? What's Next for LNG Development in the Rio Grande Valley - Progress Texas - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Lykos Therapeutics Makes Progress in Europe - The Dales Report - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Adelaide Film Fest Picks Five Works in Progress for Cannes Showcase, With Giant, Drafthouses Mockbuster Making the Cut (EXCLUSIVE) - Variety - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Washington says real progress needed before restoring UNRWA funding - The Times of Israel - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- LIGA Provides Further Guidance: Engages Audit Firm and Making Progress in Search for CEO and Management Team - Yahoo Finance - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Forest Health Council Reports Progress Toward Community Wildfire Resiliency-Greg Felt Talks Wildfire Mitigation with ... - Heart of the Rockies Radio - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Football notes: Robert Livingston pleased with progress of CU Buffs defense - BuffZone - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Spencer Hospital Emergency Department Project Continuing to Progress - KICD - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Proof-of-Concept Exploit Released for Progress Software OpenEdge Vulnerability - The Hacker News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Progress being made on fire alarms, Oswego town supervisor says - oswegocountynewsnow.com - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Progress on the Boyertown Express featured at Dinner - Berks Weekly - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Fire Crews Stop Forward Progress of Two-Acre Brush Fire Near Vandenberg - Santa Barbara Edhat - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Hopewell plans to install speed cameras at three city schools - Progress Index - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- New numbers on progress of penny sales tax - The Post and Courier - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Long Island woman who survived acid attack continues to make progress in recovery - PIX11 New York News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Beam marks progress toward bringing 1st-ever MLS team to San Diego - NBC San Diego - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- McKone: Irish-American progress and paradoxes | Perspective | timesargus.com - Barre Montpelier Times Argus - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Big East reportedly making a lot of progress on media rights deals with CBS, Fox - Awful Announcing - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Berrien County farmers note slow progress on the new Farm Bill - News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- END OF SESSION: Sen. Crider and Rep. Cherry reflect on progress made during the legislative session - Greenfield Daily Reporter - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Vowles being patient with Sargeant but expects to see "progress" - RaceFans - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Inflation ticked up in February, reversing some prior progress - ABC News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Latest NEOM progress video of The Line is indicator of scale - Supercar Blondie - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Statewide Impact of Ohio Intel ProjectEvident in Initial Progress Report - Scioto Post - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- SpaceX makes significant progress with third Starship orbital test flight - TechCrunch - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- UPDATE: Forward progress stopped on vegetation fire near Lompoc - KSBY News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Lady Rattlers and Diamondbacks ready to roll - Progresstimes - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- SpaceX celebrates major progress on the third flight of Starship - Ars Technica - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Helldivers 2 Galactic War live map: Track status and progress with this Liberty-approved web app - Windows Central - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Pittsburgh police will only respond to calls of in-progress emergencies as part of new staffing plan - Police News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- A year of achievement, rebuilding and progress for utilities - Yoursun.com - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Trkiye: No Direct Dialogue with Damascus, No Progress in Normalization - Asharq Al-awsat - English - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- A WORK IN PROGRESS | News | shelbynews.com - Shelbynews - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- From recurrent networks to GPT-4: Measuring algorithmic progress in language models - Tech Xplore - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- U.S. Inability To Address Nuclear Waste Harms Environmental Progress - Newsweek - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Park Progress - Greater Wilmington Business Journal - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- SF supervisor to hold hearing on homeless-shelter progress | Housing | sfexaminer.com - San Francisco Examiner - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- 'It's good to see progress being made on the site': Revised vision for Liberty Theater property in Libertyville - Daily Herald - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Diversity Among Emmy Winners Is a Result of Industry Progress - TheWrap - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- What would Dr. King say about progress and 2024? - The Chicago Cusader - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Police: Petersburg woman reportedly used hammer to hit her boyfriend - Progress Index - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Spokane County crews make great progress ahead of another storm system - AOL - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Lady Tigers Split Last Weeks Game's Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Lexington Police Investigate Shooting at Walmart Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Scotts Hill Lions Dominated Last Week Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Older Couple Rescued From Submerged Vehicle Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Fore-ward Progress | Bintelli's new River Ridge facility to focus on making electric golf carts - WDRB - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- VIDEO: Project manager gives update on Glenn McConnell Widening progress - Live 5 News WCSC - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Truck driver sentenced for trafficking cocaine to Prince George County - Progress Index - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- After decades of little progress, Milwaukee begins new approach to improve lives of Black men and boys - madison365.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Women are bored of waiting: Slow progress on shattering the glass ceiling on company boards - I by IMD - I by IMD - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Now Accepting Applications for the 2024 Progress Software Mary Szkely Scholarship for Women in STEM - GlobeNewswire - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- "Some progress made" at Onslow BOE meeting, according to number of parents - WCTI12.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Spokane County crews make great progress ahead of another storm system - Nonstop Local - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- DeSantis took credit for Florida's progress but Iowa may have sniffed out his bravado | Opinion - Yahoo News Canada - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Has the Israeli Military Made Progress in Its Goal of Destroying Hamas? : State of the World from NPR - NPR - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Jan. 19 Panel Examines 30-Year Progress of Women in Research - Mirage News - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Ducks' Midseason Check-in: Progress, Improvement Areas & More - The Hockey Writers - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Companies are hiding their climate progress. A new report explains why. - Grist - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Lou Leonatti With Progress Mexico Gives Hospital Bankruptcy Hearing Update On AM 1340 KXEO Am I Awake Morning Show - KXEO - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Seaside Heights Wants to See Progress From Developers, Will Investigate 'Bamboo' Property - Shorebeat - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Progress over perfection: Is Coach modelling a path for fashion transformation? - Vogue Business - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Watch the video of the Edmonds armed robbery in progress - MyNorthwest - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Albemarle County house burns to the ground in late night fire - The Daily Progress - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- GHDDI and Microsoft Research use AI technology to achieve significant progress in discovering new drugs to treat ... - Microsoft - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Henderson County Suspects Apprehended in Trenton Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- HCFD Reports Lowest Number of Residential Fires - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Unlocking The Future: CAGA's Progress In Web3 And Blockchain Innovation - Benzinga - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Underwhelming performance: Quarterbacks still a work in progress - Daily O'Collegian - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Governor Hochul Announces Progress in Increasing MTA Accessibility - ny.gov - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- A progress report: The columnist's garden in September - Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- September 2023: Innovative researchers celebrate scientific ... - Environmental Factor Newsletter - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Progress over perfectionism - Lynn University - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Signs of progress on new Folsom Medical Office Building - UC Davis Health - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- LA District FUDS team makes progress on Nellis Remedial Action ... - spl.usace.army.mil - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- UFC Fight Night 226 winner Volkan Oezdemir pleased with progress after training with Khamzat Chimaev - Yahoo Sports - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]