Portugal Colonial - ICC eyes China in bid to expand cricket

While South Asia accounts for about 90 percent of cricket's billion-plus fans, the ICC is seeking to expand the sport's fan base by 500 million and sees China's 1.4 billion people as a potentially huge audience -- helped by the steady progress of its women's team.

"The continued success of their women's team has provided a major boost to cricket in the country," ICC chief executive Sanjog Gupta told AFP.

China became a focus market after hosting cricket at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou and through the progress of its women's national team, which has climbed 10 places in the world rankings over the past two years.

There is still far to go, however. In the ICC T20 rankings the women are ranked a modest 36th, while the men languish in 92nd place.

The women were also knocked out of the Asian Games on Thursday without a ball being bowled, two days before the opening ceremony.

A sodden outfield caused by days of rain in Nagoya, Japan, prevented any play from taking place in China's morning quarter-final against Bangladesh, who went through to the semi-finals by virtue of being the higher.

Still, China is one of several markets the ICC sees as crucial to broadening cricket's appeal beyond its traditional strongholds of South Asia, England, and Australia.

- 'Next leap' -

The ICC has spent $1.5 million in China to boost the sport over the past five years.

The country now has three top-level cricket venues, including a new 1,500-seat stadium in Taicang expected to host domestic and international matches and provide a training base for the national teams.

The ICC has begun testing the appetite for the sport in China.

Some women's T20 World Cup matches were broadcast in Mandarin, and the final week of the 2026 men's T20 World Cup generated 4.4 million video views in China.

The country's potential emergence is particularly significant for the ICC because, unlike several newer cricket nations, its men's and women's teams are made up largely of homegrown players rather than players from South Asian communities.

Indonesia, a country of around 280 million people, has also been identified as a market with growth potential. Its men's team T20 ranking is 63rd, and the women's team, 23rd.

"If even segments of the population in China and Indonesia start engaging with the sport, then they could power the next leap in the scale of cricket's fandom," Gupta said.

"It can play a significant role in the sport's ambition to add 500 million fans to its global fan base, which is the ICC chair's stated ambition."

- 'Grow the game' -

The ICC believes cricket's return to the Olympics at the 2028 Los Angeles Games could provide another boost, with men's and women's T20 tournaments set to award medals for the first time since the sport's lone previous appearance in 1900.

The ICC's push into new markets has paid off elsewhere.

Italy offered a glimpse of the potential of another non-traditional market when it made its men's T20 World Cup debut earlier this year, beating Nepal and pushing England close.

The ICC push has the backing of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), custodian of the game's laws.

"MCC is very pleased to be sending a women's team for an overseas tour of China in 2027," MCC director of cricket and operations Rob Lynch told AFP.

"We see this tour as a huge opportunity to be able to grow the game in China," he added.

P.Sousa--PC