Well not really a "crisis", a BBC piece on cricket in China
BBC News - Could cricket have a big future in China?
Could cricket have a big future in China?
This weekend, sports fans in England and Australia are likely to be gripped by the Ashes. In China, they are more likely to be watching basketball. But could that be about to change?
"It's a paddle. For a canoe. Isn't it?" We had just shown a cricket bat to a lady in a park to see if she knew what it was.
Night was falling, and many people were strolling among the trees, enjoying cooler evening temperatures. From nearby came the rousing chorus of revolutionary songs, sung by dozens of men and women, who could remember different times in China.
Other passers-by, shown the bat, were similarly perplexed. But there was some recognition - one boy said he had seen some cricket coaching at his school.
That was reassuring, because this little unscientific experiment was taking place in the north-eastern city of Shenyang, described by some as the "cricketing capital of China".
Both the men's and women's national champions are based at the local sports university so I was to see some of those top players in action there. Before that though - and this will come as no surprise to any cricketer - it rained, on and off, all day. But fortunately, the huge pitch was all astroturf, with a green mat as the wicket.
Apart from grounds in private clubs and international schools in major cities, there is currently only one proper grass wicket in all of China, and that is in Guangzhou in the far south, in a cricket stadium purpose-built for the 2010 Asian Games.
I'd quote the rest but I vaguely recalled someone PMed me saying we shouldn't post full articles for whatever reason
BBC News - Could cricket have a big future in China?
Could cricket have a big future in China?
This weekend, sports fans in England and Australia are likely to be gripped by the Ashes. In China, they are more likely to be watching basketball. But could that be about to change?
"It's a paddle. For a canoe. Isn't it?" We had just shown a cricket bat to a lady in a park to see if she knew what it was.
Night was falling, and many people were strolling among the trees, enjoying cooler evening temperatures. From nearby came the rousing chorus of revolutionary songs, sung by dozens of men and women, who could remember different times in China.
Other passers-by, shown the bat, were similarly perplexed. But there was some recognition - one boy said he had seen some cricket coaching at his school.
That was reassuring, because this little unscientific experiment was taking place in the north-eastern city of Shenyang, described by some as the "cricketing capital of China".
Both the men's and women's national champions are based at the local sports university so I was to see some of those top players in action there. Before that though - and this will come as no surprise to any cricketer - it rained, on and off, all day. But fortunately, the huge pitch was all astroturf, with a green mat as the wicket.
Apart from grounds in private clubs and international schools in major cities, there is currently only one proper grass wicket in all of China, and that is in Guangzhou in the far south, in a cricket stadium purpose-built for the 2010 Asian Games.
I'd quote the rest but I vaguely recalled someone PMed me saying we shouldn't post full articles for whatever reason
