Shenyang shines bright in Chinese Championships

Watched by a stellar cast of what the Chinese have been calling "the leaders of world cricket" Shenyang Sports University"s men"s and women"s teams won the 2009 Chinese National Championships.

The visitors watching the Finals were led by International Cricket Council (ICC) Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat, who said after the prize-giving, "I"m encouraged by what I saw considering the Chinese cricketers have only been playing for three or four years. They"re obviously playing for the love of the game and to do what they"re doing shows the true spirit of cricket in this the ICC"s centenary year."

This was the fourth National Cricket Championships held by the Chinese Cricket Association (CCA) and the tournament has grown from a Beijing-based event to one that encompasses four provinces in China, 65 primary and secondary schools, universities and a brand-new venue in Shenyang in Liaoning Province in north-east China.

"It"s very good to see the way the Chinese have structured their development since things started here in 2005. Local umpires and coaches have been the educators who have taken the game into schools and across the country according to a well-thought out plan from the Chinese administrators and while there is more to do in terms of skills development there is undoubtedly a lot of potential here," said Mr. Lorgat.

Alongside the ICC Chief Executive was ICC Special Adviser Inderjt Singh Bindra who declared that "China will be at the top of other non-Test playing countries within five years if this rate of progress continues."

It had been the first time that Messrs. Lorgat and Bindra had witnessed Chinese cricket, for those who have been following progress since the start, this year"s National Championship marked significant advances.

The ACC Chief Executive Syed Ashraful Huq said, "This has been the first year competitive cricket has come outside Beijing and to be at such a prestigious institute as the Shenyang Sports University, home of so many Chinese Olympic champions shows how highly cricket is being regarded by the state. More than that, the standard of play was far better than anything I have seen so far. The Chinese cricketers are playing with passion, enthusiasm and skill and if they and their coaches can encourage more to follow, then Chinese cricket will definitely be a competitive force in the very near future."

CCA Secretary-General Liu Rongyao is a man of few words in English, but those he did speak in Mandarin told of his pride in his cricketers" achievements.

"China"s women have a very good chance in Twenty20 in world competition. They are ahead of the men now but the men are catching up and with continued interest inside China and support from the ACC and ICC China can start to invite other teams to play here and we can go abroad and play well," he said.

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