Cricket in Taiwan is set to reach a new height tomorrow in Pingtung when the nation hosts a team from China for the first time.
The Shanghai Daredevils, the reigning Shanghai League Champions, are visiting and they hope to help promote the game in Taiwan by showing how far the game has developed in such a short space of time in China.
Shanghai Cricket Association representative Jon Newton, a former Taiwan Daredevils player, is looking forward to doing battle with his former side and also developing a close relationship with the Taiwanese side with an eye on future tournaments and the development of cricket on both sides of the -Taiwan Strait.
“I’m looking forward to playing against my Taiwanese brothers and I expect to see a higher standard of cricket played compared to the times when I was there in 2005,” Newton said, tongue in cheek.
Taiwan Daredevils have developed into a formidable side and they hope to show Shanghai just how high the standard now is on this side of the Strait.
New Taiwan Daredevils captain Jared Painter, a Sydney second-grade pace bowler, is expecting a close battle and he hopes to “ruffle a few feathers” with his bowling.
Newton retorted: “Well, Taiwan hasn’t seen our speedster Sanjay Anugula, known as the ‘Indian Express.’”
After being played in Taiwan for 12 years, cricket is still a sport that hardly gets recognized and it is always up against the popular sport of baseball when it comes to finding venues.
Taiwan Daredevils chairman Andrew Carrick has spent countless hours negotiating with the Greater Kaohsiung Government trying to find suitable venues for cricket, but to no avail.
However, a pitch at the Taiwan Sugar Corp factory on Fushin Road in Pingtung will host the showdown between the Daredevils tomorrow from noon until 7 pm, while the Pro ground on Fushin Road will host Sunday’s encounter from 10am until 5pm, thanks to the positive approach of Pingtung County government officials, who always welcome cricket to the city.
China has more than 1,000 youth cricket teams and Shanghai has about 450 players and about 40 teams, which they hope to increase by 300 percent by 2015.
The goal is for China to become an international playing nation. That only highlights how the sport is being left behind in Taiwan and how much work needs to be done.
The opening ceremony for the historic match will see the two teams exchange gifts and a carnival atmosphere is expected during the weekend, as the Shanghai Daredevils get their first taste of floodlit cricket tomorrow evening when two Twenty20 matches are scheduled be played.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
Batting great Virat Kohli yesterday announced his immediate retirement from Test cricket, just days before India name their squad for a tour to England. Kohli, who scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, posted his decision on Instagram five days after India captain Rohit Sharma called time on his own Test career. Since making his debut in 2011, Kohli struck 30 hundreds and 31 fifties with a highest score of 254 not out, mainly batting at number four in the order. “It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket,” the
RSS