Cricket Australia must showcase its multicultural ambassador program to Chinese Australians

You would have thought that with 54 multicultural ambassadors, the organization could have found at least a 55th who had Chinese descent, if only to say: we see you.

Perhaps no one had the contact details of Richard Chee Quee, a hard hitter for NSW who was the first player of Chinese descent to play at first-class level in Australia since Hunter Poon in 1923. More than 25 years since he last played at state level Chee Quee has a cult status in sports.

Chee Quee confirmed to this masthead that he had not been approached by CA to be part of the program.

Cricket is not isolated when it comes to Australia's major sports that have failed to penetrate the Chinese community.

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The AFL staged its first China-themed match in Sydney last year. Only 32 of the more than 13,000 footballers who have played in the VFL/AFL have ancestors from China and East Asia.

The reasons vary, although the prioritization of education over sport is a hallmark of many Asian (and migrant) families in Australia. But the stereotype that Chinese Australians don't play cricket or have no interest is not true. As children, my brother and I played many no-compromise games in the backyard (and indoors). We had family friends of Chinese descent who also played while our parents shuffled the mahjong tiles.

A friend wished West Indies great Curtly Ambrose the best of luck in 1993 after seeing him in Chinatown or Town as I jokingly call it, only for him to destroy Australia the next day.

David Talalla, one of CA's 54 multicultural ambassadors, recognizes the growth potential among Chinese Australians. Talalla, who has played for Malaysia, was impressed by what he saw when he coached Mongolia in the 2023 Asian Games.

I was pleasantly surprised to see so many Chinese playing the game, Talalla said.

He rated their umpires as being at the level of first-class cricket in Australia, the rung below state cricket, which is high praise considering Talalla is a former CA match referee whose job included assessing and selecting umpires for first-class matches.

Former Fosters boss Trevor OHoy served on the Cricket Australia board for three years, but in my 20 years of playing the sport I have come across few others of Chinese descent, whether in players, administration, media or cricket executives.

In my lifetime, most references to Chinese in cricket are largely due to the discontinued racist term chinaman, the style of bowling now commonly (and fortunately) referred to as left-arm wrist spin.

But it's understandable why CA targets Australians of South Asian descent. People from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh already have a special affinity with the sport, so the challenge lies not in learning a foreign game, but in encouraging participation in official programs and competitions.

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Additionally, India's men's and women's national teams are touring next summer, and the Pakistani men are also back.

But focusing on one large group should not mean that we overlook another group. CA disagrees that Chinese has ignored Australia, and the organization says it will broaden its focus in coming years, but is now concentrating on South Asia.

What will be another year or two before the Chinese first arrived in large numbers over 170 years ago?

The initiatives outlined in Australian Crickets' Multicultural Action Plan are for the benefit of all culturally diverse communities and the initiatives will help promote the inclusion of all such groups, a CA spokesperson told this masthead.

As the fastest growing demographic group in Australia, people of South Asian descent are considered crucial to the game's growth in all areas, including decision-making and volunteering, and the plan placed special emphasis on this group.

The Ambassador Program has been introduced to promote and help activate the plan and will be continually reviewed to ensure it fully reflects our aim of ensuring the inclusion of all culturally diverse communities.

Australia's first major sport to enter the Chinese market will be richly rewarded. I look forward to the day when a Singh and Sing, or a Chandrasinghe and Chan, open the batting wearing the baggy green cap (metaphorically, of course, as they should wear a helmet). But that won't happen until California's decision-makers make a long-term effort to put cricket on the sporting map of more Chinese Australians.

At this point they haven't even been filled yet.

Andrew Wu is a sports reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He was born in Australia and is proud of his Chinese heritage.

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