Chen Jingfen,
Chen Xiaoran, Feng Yu, Gen Changyue... Do these names strike a bell???
We are sure no because almost all of us
would have never heard these names before however it might not be a surprise if
our next generation have posters of these players on the bedroom walls cause
the people mentioned above are part of the Chinese National Cricket Team.
Yes you read it right, the Chinese do
have a cricket team of their own and it has been in existence since 2004.
In fact cricket was first introduced to
China way back in the 1800's with the formation of Shanghai Cricket Club http://shanghaicricket.com/.
Cricket in China was introduced by
British Naval Officers as is the case in most parts of the world. However like
in other Asian countries cricket never gained popularity and was mostly played
by the expats living there.
But with the
advent of the millennium the indigenous Chinese took to the sport with lot
of enthusiasm. Lot of clubs were formed and slowly a league system started
which gave people interested to play the sport lot of recognition.
The Chinese
Cricket Association became an Affiliate member of the ICC in 2005 and took part
in the 2009 edition of ACC Trophy Challenge.
Although most
of the clubs are made up of expats it is heartening to see for a cricket lover
that the entire Chinese National Team is made up of indigenous people. The
current team is captained by their best player Chen Jinfeng.
The Chinese
Cricket Association had the below plans when they started-
2009: Have 720 teams across the country in a well-organized structure
2015: Have 20,000 players and 2,000 coaches
2020: Gain Test status
We are not sure where they are right now in terms of achieving the first
two points but may be the last two points seem bit far fetched. However
Considering the Chinese mindset and their work ethics it might well be
possible.
They had taken a vow to produce Olympians who could earn medals in huge
numbers and they achieved that with the Govt spearheading development of
Sports. Now if the Govt of China and the people collectively decide to make a
mark in World Cricket then soon we might have a team in the Cricket World Cup
which is "Made In China".
A small video about the Game in China-
regards
Sportzmap.
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