China is taking its cricket quite seriously. The opening of a new stadium earlier this month has been a big statement of intent from the world’s second most populous country after India. China joined the ICC as an affiliated member back in 2004 before they were handed the Associate Member status in 2017 after the global cricket governing body got rid of the affiliated level.
But cricket in China has not really caught on. Their teams, across men’s and women’s, keep featuring in ICC-organised events in the lower tier but they have not made their presence felt yet. Qualifying for an ICC top-level event will be the first step towards global recognition. The Shaxi Town Cricket Centre in Taicang, however, is expected to bring in more and more people to the game. Last week, the stadium was opened. And it’s a grand stadium. Although the crowd capacity is not big at present, it has as many as nine pitches. The stadium has been installed with floodlights, which means the day-nighters can be an option.
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“China’s newest international cricket stadium has officially opened! The Shaxi Town Cricket Centre in Taicang was opened on 17 August. The new venue features nine pitches, four floodlight towers and seating for 1,500 spectators,” an Associate Chronicles post said on X on Sunday.
China has not taken much time to construct the stadium. The Chinese are known for quick work with construction. It had begun just last year, and in less than two years, the stadium is ready to host matches among local teams or between international outfits. Last year, in February, chinadaily.com.cn had reported that things had been set in motion for a new cricket stadium.
“The construction of the Taicang Cricket Sports Center, located in Shaxi town, has commenced. Five hundred million yuan will be invested in the project to establish a comprehensive sports venue for professional competitions, training, and public fitness.
“Once opened to the public, it will serve as a training hub for China’s national cricket team and host domestic and international cricket competitions, athlete training, and summer and winter camps for children,” a report on chinadaily.com.cn said.
The Chinese women’s team is at present in action in a T20I tri-series involving Oman and Indonesia. The cricket stadium in Hangzhou is hosting these matches. And the final will be played tomorrow between China and Indonesia. China’s men’s team was last in action in June earlier this year when they featured in the Asian Games qualifier.