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Although the Sixes tournament has had a well-earned reputation of attracting some of the world's best players in its 15-year history, this is the first time organizers put together a special All-Star Team to compete with nine other cricket-playing nations. Ace Australian bowlers Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne joined hands with Indian spin wizard Anil Kumble and West Indian batting maestro Brian Lara on the All-Star bench, in a bid to raise the profile of the sport as well as display its inherent quality.
The International Cricket Council does not officially recognize the Sixes tournament like other forms of competitive cricket under its jurisdiction, which include one-day internationals, Twenty20 and test cricket. It has remained a spectacular showcase for the game, however, in a modified format of six players per team as opposed to eleven in the formal competitive version. While for the most part the Sixes follow the official laws of cricket, exceptions are designed to spin the game to a frantic pace and lead to high-scoring action.
The tournament is recognized by the Hong Kong government as one of its leading international events, largely supported by ethnic Indians, Sri Lankans, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis as well as those from Britain and Australia. Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang believes the games have raised the profile of the sport and also of Hong Kong as an international hub of major sports events. "Cricket will be a medal sport in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou. I trust that teams from Asia and our Hong Kong team will benefit from their participation in the Sixes as a warm-up for the 2010 Asian Games," he said.
Although not many locals witnessed the thrilling action on the field, local children did have an opportunity for a few lessons with some big stars at a junior coaching clinic prior to the two-day event. West Indian legend Lara gave personal batting lessons to more than 50 local schoolchildren while New Zealander Craig McMillian and Britain's Geraint Jones pitched in with bowling and wicket-keeping tips. "I think I see a lot of talent in Hong Kong," said Lara on the quality of the young local players.
The Hong Kong Cricket Association, which organizes the Sixes, also runs the Primary Schools Playground League to encourage local Chinese to play the game. Though 60 percent of the 64 school teams that participated in last year's school competition consisted of Chinese players, a majority of the children do not continue playing the game when they graduate from the primary to the secondary years. Even fewer remain involved in the game at higher levels.
The HKCA has started a new Secondary Schools Cricket League in a bid to keep children interested in the sport. Coaches at the association expect to select children with potential and admit them into their Cricket Academies. Ravi Nagdev, chairperson of the HKCA's Development Committee, reveals that "fast tracking" the development of local children is their priority so that local Chinese can make it to the national squads.
The winning Sri Lankan team notched up its first success after eleven tries at the tournament. The first-place prize money of US$100,000 delighted them. But the All-Stars Team donated its entire runners-up purse of US$45,000 to the development of junior cricket in Hong Kong.
While philanthropy and sporting action may be one side of the game, linking big names with potential sponsors and advertisers for commercial gain is the other. "The prize purse is tipped to be US$1 million in the coming years," said an organizing spokesperson, on condition of anonymity.
For all the action the Cricket Sixes has bolstered within a niche cricketing audience, inducing local Chinese spectators to the sport seems to be a distant hope. The spectator stands at the Kowloon Cricket Club were packed to capacity at the recently concluded Sixes, and had organizers smiling with the "sold out" boards. However, filling the club's modest capacity of 3,000-odd seats is not a big task compared to the 20,000 seats that the organizers of the Rugby Sevens, another of Hong Kong's international premium events, successfully sell.
Anchoring a strong culture of cricket within the local community, where football, rugby, and basketball all have wider appeal, is a difficult proposition for a single event like the Sixes, even with all the star power it can muster. However, flagging Hong Kong's image as a hub for premium sporting events and providing superb entertainment value is what the event has successfully achieved.
