“The inclusion of cricket in the national tournament and the possibility of hosting matches in Hong Kong will give a huge boost to the sport,” Shroff said. “We believe this will lead to improved infrastructure, increased participation and improved standards.”
The inclusion of cricket in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is another driving force behind the new alliance between Hong Kong and mainland China.
“The Olympics will help grow cricket around the world. [mainland] “Many countries, including China, are looking to invest in the sport,” Shroff said.
“Hong Kong takes the Olympics very seriously so it will raise the profile of cricket within the government. Hopefully it will increase public interest and make more people want to play.”
Shroff also said the combined funds would “absolutely not” threaten Hong Kong's independent status in global cricket.
However, he said he would “certainly consider” having a Hong Kong team join a future China Super League, an idea that has been proposed as franchise cricket continues to thrive.
Whatever happens, Hong Kong's cricket team and mainland China's cricket team will “exchange experience, facilities and players,” Shroff said.
Hong Kong has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council since 1969, while China achieved associate membership status in 2017.
“Mainland China's technology is far ahead of Hong Kong's when it comes to certain aspects of physical fitness,” Shroff said. “Cricket will grow rapidly in mainland China and China has the resources to facilitate it.”
Besides improving cricket facilities in the city, Shroff's long-term goal is to get the men's team to “around 14th or 15th” in the world rankings and the women's team to 17th, with both teams competing regularly in the 50-over and T20 World Cups.
The men's and women's teams are currently ranked 21st and 22nd respectively, with the men competing in the last of the two T20 World Cups in 2016.
Most recently, the men's team finished third in the ACC Premier Cup in April, winning half of their six games, with Shroff acknowledging that “Hong Kong has clearly been underperforming recently.”
Responding to manager Simon Willis' comments that some players had not been fully focused during international matches, Shroff added: “If the players are not performing cohesively as a team then we will make changes straight away.”
“This is not an insurmountable problem and we have seen dramatic improvement recently. The team understands the wants of the coaching staff and the coaching staff has become more aware of the needs of the players.”
Shroff is confident that Hong Kong has a pool of up-and-coming players who can challenge the more experienced players, while the CHKC aims to further develop the player pool through “mechanisms and programmes to identify talent in schools and colleges”.
There was also recognition of the need to make cricket a viable career option for promising players.
““Retaining talented youngsters within the cricket system can be a challenge, especially when they have the opportunity to pursue higher education and professional careers,” Shroff said.
“It's important to mentor young players and give them the opportunity to develop while playing for Hong Kong.”
