Hong Kong could host a round of Australia's "smash-hit" Big Bash League -- and Hong Kong Cricket CEO Tim Cutler is hoping it will "increase pressure on authorities to help Hong Kong cricket find a permanent home," according to James Porteous of the SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. The five-year-old Twenty20 competition has "become a huge success in Australia." Organizers are now looking to "expand the brand and have Hong Kong in their sights, along with Singapore and possibly China." Cutler said, "I think [the proposal] has got legs, having the first round played across Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Singapore, would be a great chance to grow the game here. We can look at what international games could be played around it too, with Hong Kong having T20 international status." Proposals were reportedly put to Cricket Australia three months ago, with the governing body "set to examine them more closely after the conclusion of this year’s competition this Saturday." Cricket NSW CEO Andrew Jones said, "It’s a bit like starting the Tour De France in England or Ireland or Germany or Denmark as a way of globalizing the brand. It starts to look and feel a lot like a Hong Kong Sevens-type weekend targeted at a mix of expats and locals. It’s a good time zone for Australia and it’s an emerging market for cricket" (SCMP, 1/24).
WELSH REPRESENTATIVE?: In London, Elizabeth Ammon reported the new Twenty20 competition being proposed by the England & Wales Cricket Board "may include a team playing under the name of Wales," which will be based at the Swalec stadium in Cardiff. Glamorgan County Cricket Club CEO Hugh Morris reiterated his "strong support for the new competition and is keen for one of the eight teams to be situated in Cardiff" and playing as Wales, "albeit not necessarily made up of Welsh players," to represent the "silent W" in the ECB. Morris said, "The growth and development of the game in Wales could be driven by this new competition. We are going to fight really hard [to get a standalone team in Cardiff]. We are the 'Wales' in the 'England & Wales Cricket Board.'" No final decisions have been made as to where the eight teams will be located, although the traditional test match venues of Lord’s, the Kia Oval, Trent Bridge, Edgbaston, Emirates Old Trafford and Headingley "are likely to be six of the home venues" (LONDON TIMES, 1/24).
