Cricket’s media-driven popularity has taken it to new territory. From Afghanistan to China, countries that knew nothing of the appeal of cricket twenty years ago have become members of the ACC and the ICC. Cricket has gone global as ICC membership has doubled in ten years.
The potential number of people exposed to cricket in Asia alone has risen from 750 million to almost 2.5 billion. Much of this increased number is due to the rise of China and, indeed, cricket could not be considered a global game without the participation of the most populous country in the world. China’s enormous resources could well see them make great strides in development in a relatively short period of time. Our CEOs and Directors of Development have been tireless in their efforts to create the vital foundations of a gaming culture and infrastructure in the nascent cricket countries. It has been an eventful 12 months for cricket in Asia.
It began with the historical series between Pakistan and India in Pakistan and concluded with the return matches between these teams in India. Our sport should take immense pride in the way it has brought these two nations together. Both countries welcomed their visitors with open arms and the matches provided a feast of entertainment for tens of thousands of spectators and millions of viewers from around the world.
The lowest point of the year was the December 26 tsunami. The tragic impact this had on the region will never be forgotten. News of young cricketers lost to the tsunami in Chennai and the utter devastation of Galle in Sri Lanka brought the world of cricket together like never before. The Asian Cricket Council reacted quickly by assembling a team containing the best players on the continent to face an ICC XI at the World Cricket Tsunami Appeal Match in Melbourne.
Sri Lanka’s memory of the year will undoubtedly focus on the devastation of the tsunami and the relief efforts that followed. Sri Lanka still posted a positive record for the year, losing just two of the eight test matches and five of the twenty-three ODIs, and its players showed dignity by taking a leadership role in helping survivors. Oman announced themselves on the international stage in qualifying for the ICC Trophy ahead of more experienced rivals and Malaysia acted as an impressive host to the ICC World Cup Qualification Series, an event for which Kuwait and Qatar were both. surprise qualifiers.
This will also go down in history as the year China joined the international cricket family.
