Sixteenth in ACC Rankings for 2009 and 2010 seasons
Personnel qualified from ACC Courses:
They are aware of it now. Media coverage of China’s emergence has rivaled that of Afghanistan’s; following the initial euphoria has come an understanding of just how large the challenge is to introduce cricket into China. “Developing cricket in China is a twenty-year project,” said ICC Global Development Manager Matthew Kennedy in 2006. It still holds true.
The women are ahead of the men in that marathon, having reached the Final of the ACC Women’s Twenty20 Cup in 2011 and continue to show considerable promise. They were a catch away from beating Bangladesh in the ACC Women’s Twenty20 Asia Cup in October 2012.
Introducing cricket into China is a threefold testing-ground: i) for the Asian Cricket Council Development Program, ii) the Chinese state sporting machine and iii) the appeal of the game of cricket itself.
China’s coach Rashid Khan, seconded by the Pakistan Cricket Board since 2006, said in 2008, “Development is new, coaching systems are new and China is new to cricket so it is not easy. It is like me learning Chinese by reading a dictionary and watching Chinese movies. To those who want quick results I say it is not possible, to those who want good results I say it is possible. But only if good things are done every step of the way.”
Since the ACC formally introduced cricket to mainland China in 2005, much progress has been made. Coaches, umpires and, most importantly, player numbers in schools, have risen dramatically ever since then. In 2011 more than 100 new coaches were created across the nine provinces that currently have cricket programs in their schools. The search for new territories for cricket continues with the north-east being particularly favoured as the region is considered to breed the hardiest individuals in China.
Once cricket was confirmed as a medal sport in the 2010 Asian Games, the CCA’s primary target was the creation of men's and women's teams for Guangzhou. China’s men and women put on a spirited performance in front of their country’s onlookers and won many new fans. The Guangzhou stadium built specially for the Games continues to be used for domestic cricket, and most recently for the ACC Twenty20 Women’s Asia Cup. It is part of a ground-sharing scheme in operation with the neighbouring Hong Kong Cricket Association.
In order for China to play to the best of their abilities and meet their undeniable potential, a detailed plan has been outlined by the CCA with the help of ACC. The ACC Development Officer Aminul Islam, the national coach for China Rashid Khan and other local coaches, following a wide-ranging search for talent in 2008 have compiled a detailed information base of the players and their standards in batting, bowling and fielding. It is now to be maintained for future planning, development and training purposes with a ground-sharing scheme in operation with the Hong Kong Cricket Association.
In 2009 Javed Miandad was appointed Ambassador for Cricket to China by the Pakistan Cricket Board and he has worked for long stretches with the players and coaches in China, Malaysia and also in Pakistan.
Tours of Bangladesh and India were undertaken in 2009 by the men’s U-19 and women’s teams in order to raise playing standards and in April 2010 the elite men’s players spent three weeks in Karachi and Lahore where national team players worked with them. There is also increasing interaction with Hong Kong. Playing and coaching berths were found for China’s best players in England and Australia in 2012.
Non-professional sports in China (i.e. not table-tennis, badminton, soccer or basketball) face one major problem: children between the ages of 13 and 18 are compelled by their parents and schools to put their studies ahead of all other interests. “No teenager in China plays sport for fun,” says Dr. Liu Jingmin of Tsinghua University, Beijing who is a Level I coach and umpire and has written a textbook on cricket in Mandarin. Unless there is an exceptional push by their schooling institution, non-income generating sports are not played by China’s youth.
The Asian Cricket Council and International Cricket Council consider China to be a 'Special Project' and have allocated funds specifically to develop cricket in China. The CCA’s motto is ‘ming tien hui gen hao’, ‘a better tomorrow’. They have the desire, they seek the knowledge, they wish to repay investment and in turn make cricket their own. They’re Chinese. It’s possible.
CHINESE CRICKET ASSOCIATION
2 Tiyuguan Road
Chong Wen District
Tel: +86 10 87182911
Fax : + 86 10 6716 1733