Does China have hope in Cricket?

[Turbinator]

According to the chinese government, they will try their level best to make China a test nation by 2020. The ICC and the Asian Cricket Council have also invested to $400,000 to promote cricket in China. So far 51 schools in Beijing and Shangai are playing cricket, with about 6,500 kids involved. Quite immpressive if you ask me. Even thought the idea of it becoming a test nation by 2020 is farfetched.

 

[silentstriker]

Their main goal is to beat India in a test match. They certainly have a chance by say 2030. They tend to excel at a sport if they really put their mind to it. But we'll see. In the end, it has to become popular, instead of just being forced, in order for it to really work.

I'd love to see a test match in Shanghai. I think it'd be great for cricket.

 

[Perm]

Like silentstriker mentioned, China usually excel at sports that they really put their minds and efforts into. They just have so many people and so much money that anything is possible, though I think it will take them more than 14 years to become a fully fledged test nation. This kind of expansion is very good for cricket.

 

[Dravid]

Before that USA will become a test nation(sarcasm)

 

[silentstriker]

Forget Test status, they'll be winning the 2019 world cup!

It's very possible to win a world cup without being a test calibre nation. Look at how far Kenya got recently . They were two games away from winning the WC, yet they are nowhere near Test calibre. They would need a lot of luck and some good streaking combined with a collective slump in a couple other nations...but thats a lot more likely than being a winner in the test arena. Or they could just repeatedly play England to gain confidence .

But if they try playing England in Tests...they wouldn't last two days. Its just too hard to keep it going for five days.

Test Status > ODI wins

 

[andyc]

Yes. They're so damn efficient that if they really do set their mind and money to it, anything is possible. And when a test match is finally played in Shanghai, as SS said, I'm gonna do my best to be there to see it. The only real problem ATM is the lack of a proper ground (the one where we played was owned by the neighbouring Dulwich College, and doubles as a football ground), though once the government finds a place to build one, it'll be built pretty quickly anyway.

 

[AussieDominance]

China have a very big chance of being a Test Playing Nation in 2020 it is such a big country no one could rule it out

 

[Jono]

I hope so.

 

[BhupinderSingh]

I'd love to see China becoming a test playing nation.But is a common chinese man taking any interrest in the sport?

 

[andyc]

I'd love to see China becoming a test playing nation.But is a common chinese man taking any interrest in the sport?

From my time in Shanghai (which ended a year ago, mind you), pretty much no one at all on the streets knew what it was. We had a grand total of one local chinese man playing in our club, although half the women's team were locals, initially roped in by expat boyfriends. Some of the local women were really quite good though, especially since they hadn't been playing for very long, and just recently a few of them took and passed an umpiring course. But yeah, no one in China really knows what it is. It isn't shown on TV, only the occasional (Lara's 400*, for example) cricket gets more than a few sentences in the local (English language) newspaper. Our ground was right next to a large supermarket, and we'd have locals going by on their bikes stopping for up to 10, 15 minutes, just leaning on the fence, no doubt wondering what the hell we were doing. They were good for retrieving sixes, at least.

 

[maxpower]

It depends on how ICC helps to promote the game there..if an american game like basketball can end having a lot of foreign superstars in NBA (Dirk, Yao, Parker, Ginobli), its possible for cricket too...although basketball did have Michael Jordan helping spread the game...

 

[ash chaulk]

china naa

 

[alternative]

china naa

A man with few words..

anyway China with that the world's largest poplulation have a mighty big chance of succeding in cricket, maybe not by 2020 but they would be there by 2030.. Up there with the best i would assume..

 

[AussieDominance]

Chaulky bit harsh give em a chance

 

[age_master]

I hope so.

I have to agree, with that sort of a population they could be a fantastic boost to the game as a whole.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Yay. Great. Another country with appalling human rights records to play cricket.

 

[Pedro Delgado]

Indeed.

I hope not.

 

[Jono]

Yay. Great. Another country with appalling human rights records to play cricket.

Australia's refugee policy is hardly something to look up to. Kick them out.

 

[silentstriker]

Australia's refugee policy is hardly something to look up to. Kick them out.

Slight difference between Australia and China when it comes to human rights records.

 

[Slow Love™]

Yay. Great. Another country with appalling human rights records to play cricket.

Yeah, a bit of a can of worms, there. It's hard to feel comfortable introducing the game (at least, in an official context) to a country that doesn't allow religious freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of movement and who deprives it's citizens of basic rights that most of us take for granted.

Some would argue that playing with such nations will expose them more to these values - while I think this is definitely true in the case of trade in general, I'm less convinced by cricket alone, and I think history probably demonstrates why we might be doubtful in that regard.

At the very least, I think funding and so forth should come with some healthy assurances. Though nothing would stop the Chinese government from committing nothing more than a "sure, whatever.". I guess you could argue that China's trajectory is more towards the desirable, while a place like Zimbabwe is trending towards the less desirable. But it's a tough call - I wouldn't be entirely comfortable with it right at this point.