Cricket aims to bowl over fans in China

England legend Cook backs growth of sport in new territory

This week, a global television audience of 1.5 billion viewers and tens of thousands of ticket holders settled down to watch the start of one of the world's biggest sporting events, and in Asia more than anywhere else, every twist and turn of the drama will be followed avidly.

The tournament in question is the 12^th International Cricket Council, or ICC, Cricket World Cup, which began in London on Thursday. And while the sport may not yet be hugely popular in China, in neighboring countries including India and Pakistan, it is a national obsession.

This year's competition takes place in England and Wales, and Chinese technology company OPPO has recognized the game's appeal by signing up as an official global partner of the tournament, and shirt sponsors of the Indian national team.

Cricket's traditional form is played in all white, with games lasting up to five days, but the Cricket World Cup is in colored outfits, and in a shorter, faster format. What critics initially dismissed as the'pyjama game'has ended up taking the sport's popularity and commercial profile to new heights.

The sport does have a presence in China. There are men's and women's national teams, playing in a format known as Twenty20 Cricket, and on June 7-9, the Shanghai Community Sports Club is hosting a six-team weekend Twenty20 tournament.

Not only that, but Pakistani cricket authorities have put so much effort into promoting the game in China that in 2018, two Chinese players, Li Jian and Zhang Yufie, trained with Pakistan Super League team Peshawar Zalmi.

Will Glenwright of the ICC said the top-down nature of sporting policy in China posed some challenges, but also offered hope for growing cricket.

"Sports in the Olympics and Asian Games get priority as everything is structured around the high-level performance system, which does make it difficult," he explained. "But cricket being back in the 2022 Asian Games is a real opportunity to work with the government and get the game more embedded".