Country's cricket dream takes a battering

Ten years ago, there was much talk about China setting ambitious national goals for the development of the game of cricket, including a target of qualifying for the 2019 World Cup.

However, the Chinese Cricket Association faced formidable challenges as it set out to develop the sport, not least of which was that virtually no one on the mainland played the game.

In addition, awareness was so low that if you asked the average person about cricket they would think you were referring to the chirping insects that have played a significant role in Chinese culture for 2,000 years.