The Chinese national men’s cricket team begins a three game warm up series ahead of the ACC Challenge Cup this weekend with a match against SCC League side Pudong Power at the Shanghai Rugby Football Club on Sunday.
The Chinese team will travel to Penang, Malaysia in July to participate in the ACC U-19 Challenge Cup. They will face Bhutan on July 3, Iran on July 4, and Myanmar on July 6.
The match between Pudong and the Chinese national team is the first in a three-game series to be played over the next three weekends. The Daredevils Cricket Club will play China on June 12 at Dulwich College and the DPR Hot Dogs will face the national side on June 19 at the Shangha Rugby Football Club.
“It is certainly an honour for my team to play against the Chinese national cricket team,” said Ram Deshpande, the captain of Pudong Power. “We take a lot of pride in this and it is going to be a special weekend for us.”
“Our match on Sunday is also an excellent opportunity to make friends with fellow Chinese cricketers,” he continued. “We would love to see the Chinese Cricket team become a major force in the cricketing world.”
China is ranked 16th in the Asian Cricket Council’s 2009-2010 rankings. They are coming off a season that saw them participate in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou – the first time cricket has been played in the Games. Although China lost both of their matches, captain Wang Lei called the performance a learning experience.
“We did our best, but we really need time,” Wang said. “That will enable us to get better in cricket. Hopefully, we will have more opportunities to play against top teams.”
Pudong Power began the 2011 SCC League season slowly, with just one win from the first round, but the team is looking to build on some impressive individual performances as they move into the second round.
The club welcomed the chance to play a friendly with China. “This series of matches is also an indication of how far the Shanghai Cricket Club has come,” said Deshpande. “Someday, we will look back on this series of matches as a small but significant contribution to the development of Cricket in China.”
The match starts at 12:15pm at the Shanghai Rugby Football Club.