A window into the local Chinese cricket scene

By Jason Lui

Cricket - not a traditional sport of choice for the local communities in Hong Kong, despite a British colonial past - is going through a boom. Historically, Chinese names within cricketing circles have been few and far between, from Benny Kwong-Wo to Roy Lamsam, on to Louis Chan and Adrian “Jet” Lee. However, in the past decade, with more Chinese cricketers gradually getting into or returning to the game, structures and resources have been put in place to take Chinese cricket to new heights.

Currently, there are three fully-Chinese teams in the men’s domestic league competition: Craigengower Cricket Club Hung See, CHK Pioneers Cricket Club and the Cricket Hong Kong Dragons. With an initiative to generate more interest and opportunities among the Chinese community, plus the backing and support of current Cricket Hong Kong President Rodney Miles, CCC Hung See was founded in 2011 and currently competes in the CHK Championship League, where it plays its home matches at the Police Training Centre in Aberdeen. After initially struggling in the competition, they have gone on in the following seasons to record victories over a variety opponents in the second division. Since their inception, CCC Hung See have regularly gone on tours abroad - Guangzhou in 2012, Shanghai in 2014, Tainan in 2016 - and they are looking to tour Tokyo and Yokohama in 2018.

In 2012, a second all-Chinese men’s team, CHK Pioneers, was introduced into the CHK Championship League as a development team, allowing promising cricketers of Chinese origin to come through and experience cricket in a competitive setting. With an expanding and developing pool of Chinese players, results are gradually progressing and there have been several standout individual performances in recent years.

The third, and now strongest local Chinese team, the CHK Dragons, was formed in 2015 and features combined talent from both CCC Hung See and CHK Pioneers to showcase the best of Chinese cricket. The concept of the Dragons was first tested in the domestic under-19 Twenty20 tournament, which they were in contention to win until the final day of the season. Following this success, the Dragons were entered into the CHK Elite League, the objectives being to integrate the best Chinese cricketers together, provide them with a platform to perform and, ultimately, reach the national squad. This season, under the tutelage of coach Chris Pickett, they finally recorded an historic maiden victory over Sri Lankan’s Cricket Club. The CHK Dragons also double up as Hong Kong’s Chinese representative side. They have played in two East Asian tournaments, pitting themselves against the national sides of Japan, Korea, China, Philippines and also Hong Kong ‘A’. The Dragons have a potential tour to Mumbai lined up for the summer of 2017.

The year 2017 is set to be monumental for Chinese men’s cricket, with huge exposure coming through the second edition of the Hong Kong Twenty20 Blitz, which has grown exponentially since its first year. At the conclusion of the draft, each of the five teams have secured themselves the services of a Dragons player: Dragons captain Damien Yee was drafted to the Hung Hom JD Jaguars; former captain Ady Lee to HK Island United; national player Jason Lui to Galaxy Gladiators Lantau; Li Kai Ming, the only Chinese player in last year’s Blitz, back to the Kowloon Cantons, and; Siegfried Wai, who spent an Australian summer playing in Melbourne, to the newly formed City Kaitak. It is an exciting opportunity for these players to train, play and learn around some of the world’s best players.

With the return of the Hong Kong Sixes this year, after a five-year hiatus, we may once again have a chance to see the Hong Kong Development VI in action. They featured in two showcase matches against the China national side in 2010 and 2011; there were five Chinese players representing them in the first match and they put out an all-Chinese squad of seven in the second.

There are many exciting and talented Chinese players, none more so than former Hong Kong vice-captain Mark Chapman, who is half-Chinese. Mark became the first Hong Kong cricketer, and 10^th overall, to score a century (124*) on his One Day International debut, which came against UAE in 2015. He currently represents Auckland in New Zealand domestic cricket and was recently selected for a New Zealand XI to take on South Africa.

Leg-spinner Li Kai Ming has been in the Hong Kong squad for the best part of 6 years. Last year, he became the poster boy for Chinese Cricket, having been the first Hong Kong and Chinese cricketer to be signed to a Big Bash League developmental contract. Representing the Sydney Sixers, he shared a dressing room and was able to learn from the likes of current Australian captain Steve Smith, 2015 World Cup Player of the Tournament Mitchell Starc, and Australia’s most successful finger spinner ever Nathan Lyon. He was well liked by his teammates, who dubbed him “The Great Ming”!

The most recent Chinese addition to the national squad is batsman Jason Lui who, after a string of performances in club cricket and a man-of-the-match performance in an East Asia tournament, was called up by Hong Kong to tour Australia. He played in matches against Sydney Thunder, New South Wales 2^nd XI and Sydney Sixers.

Chinese women’s cricket is perhaps at a more advanced stage in comparison to their male counterparts. Presently, half of the Hong Kong Women’s squad is made up of Chinese cricketers and, despite there currently being only one all-Chinese women’s team in the domestic competition (CCC Fung Wong), other clubs also boast an array of Chinese talent. Established in 2010 due to a surplus of female Chinese cricketers, CCC Fung Wong also has a second developmental team that competes in an 8-a-side tournament. Women’s cricket in Hong Kong has been on the rise ever since the early 2000s, largely thanks to the late Anita Miles who pushed and pioneered women’s cricket as a player, supporter and administrator of the game.

Her daughter and former Hong Kong representative Natasha, an all-rounder, pushed the boundaries by playing regularly in the men’s competition with Hong Kong Cricket Club. Natasha has represented the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and now plays for Middlesex CCC in the women’s county competition. She aspires to represent England.

Hong Kong captain Mariko Hill who, like Natasha, is of half-East Asian descent, starred with both bat and ball at the recent World Cup qualifiers in Hong Kong. She also got a taste of the Women’s Big Bash when she was selected as part of the Melbourne Renegades squad for last year’s tournament.

One of the biggest success stories in Chinese cricket is that of current Hong Kong Women’s squad member Emma Lai. A former waitress at the Hong Kong Cricket Club, Emma became an international cricketer within a year of picking up the game. She now juggles her playing commitments with working as a Women’s Development Coach and Cricket Officer for Cricket Hong Kong. Her story gained worldwide exposure when she was recently featured in ESPN Cricinfo article ‘Emma Lai walks on the grass’, written by the respected journalist Jarrod Kimber.

The foundation is laid and the opportunities are there for people to take. With more sponsorship and investment being pumped into the grassroots of the game, the future is bright for Chinese cricket; the sky really is the limit.