‘This doesn’t make any sense ...’ Cricket figures warn new MTR sports kit rules will have negative impact on young players
Cricket teams and their large number of ethnic minority players are set to be stumped, if the MTR follows through with plans to regulate oversized sports equipment on the railway.
The game’s administrator and an international match official has warned the move would be detrimental, flying in the face of cricket being Hong Kong’s most successful team sport.
A review of sports was triggered last week following the Corporation enforcing a permanent registration scheme for musicians carrying large instruments following a four-month trial.
Data provided by the HKCA shows at least 40 per cent of registered players whom state a place of birth are of ethnic minority backgrounds, would be most affected.
“Cricket is our passion. We would love to play for Hong Kong so we have to play and we do practice a lot for this chance and we always train,” said Shahid Wasif, 18, playing for Diasqua Little Sai Wan Cricket Club. “We always use the MTR to travel to matches or training so this doesn’t make any sense.”
Mohammad Saad, also 18, playing for the Pakistan Association and Vagabonds Cricket Club, said: “We should cooperate with the MTR but they should cooperate with us as well,” he said.
Tim Cutler, the Cricket Association (HKCA) CEO, urged rail bosses to take a “common sense approach.”
“Our sport happens to require quite a lot of equipment and for people to be able to reach the few grounds we have available to us, the MTR is critical,” he said, warning it would have a negative impact on the growth of the sport.
Of the 1,099 players who state a place of birth, 415 cricketers come from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The game supported ethnic minorities, who face a lot of difficulties, including language barriers, cultural differences, education, poverty and discrimination, said former national cricket captain Tabarak Dar.
“The passion of playing the game of cricket is that strong among ethnic minority kids that they cannot live without it,” he said. “Kids will spend long hours at grounds playing the game, keeping them away from all other negative activities.”
Dar, who is now an international umpire match official, says a registration system would discourage people from participating in the game and penalise ethnic minorities financially.
The MTR, of which the government holds 75 per cent of shares, acknowledged “a number of sports groups” contacted the Corporation about restrictions on sporting equipment that exceeds the existing size restrictions.
A spokesman added it would keep an “open mind” on the review while balancing the needs of passengers, safety and operation of the railway. The MTR has not received a complaint about oversized sports items since the trial of restrictions on musical equipment started in November last year.
