Opinion | Left Field: Hong Kong cricket's new chief executive and sponsor boost for Tanwir Afzal
HKCA naming CEO and business group funding national player are moves that bode well for the sport in the city
Hong Kong cricket crossed two watershed moments last week - the appointment of its first chief executive and an encouraging move by some members of the business community to put their money where their mouths are and back a national squad player.
Tim Cutler will be the first full-time chief executive of the Hong Kong Cricket Association. We have had other paid professionals in charge, but this is the first time a chief executive has been appointed. The Bard might not have placed a lot of weight on a name - a rose called by any other name is still a rose after all - but it is important for the local game to have a chief executive in place.
It gives cachet and will allow Cutler, an Australian, the scope to move freely with the International Cricket Council and the Hong Kong government, two key stakeholders on which the game's future depends greatly.
This is not by any means denigrating the efforts of our volunteers who have run the ship, but in this modern day and age, sporting associations run by volunteers are as old-fashioned as bell-bottoms
The move is the first major step in a professional approach. This is not by any means denigrating the efforts of our volunteers who have run the ship, but in this modern day and age, sporting associations run by volunteers are as old-fashioned as bell-bottoms.
One of Cutler's main tasks will be to lobby the ICC and the government for more support. At home, he will need to be breaking down doors at the Home Affairs Bureau and other government departments trying to secure grounds and a home for cricket. In the past, this task had been done by elected officials like the president, chairman or other council members, who tried to balance their passion with their day jobs.
Getting grounds must be one of Cutler's main targets. Another is to get the corporate world more involved in the sport where Hong Kong is ranked 15th in the world in one-day cricket.
