Home Grown: Known as Louis Chan

FULL NAME:
Chan Hak King Known As: Louis Chan
POB:
Hong Kong
CLUBS:
Diocesan Boys' School, KCC Dragons, KCC Infidels, KCC Wasps

WHAT ARE YOUR SPECIALITIES:
Batting - Right-handed opening batsman
Bowling: Right arm slow medium (can also act as a keeper).

WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE YOU PLAYED CRICKET IN:
I have played cricket in Malaysia, China and, of course, Hong Kong.

WHAT IS YOUR ETHNIC BACKGROUND:
I am a Chinese by descent.

HOW DID YOU GET INTRODUCED TO CRICKET:
I study at Diocesan Boys' School in Hong Kong. It is the only Anglo-Chinese school that has a cricket team. I was first introduced to cricket by an Indian friend of mine when I was in Form 1. He was my classmate, sitting next to me in class. I found the sport very interesting although I knew nothing about it at that time. So I joined the cricket team.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT CRICKET THE MOST:
What I like most about cricket is batting. It is extremely exciting to watch the ball speeding through the air and then come on to your bat. The feeling after hitting big sixes is good. I think everybody who plays cricket would agree with me. Batting is very technical yet tactical especially when playing spinners. So it is very challenging for me.

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO MAKE CRICKET MORE APPEALING TO CHINESE:
I think the duration of the game should be shortened since most Hong Kong people are busy. My non-cricketing Chinese friends think the game is a bit too long. A short and exciting form of cricket would attract them to play it. Efforts should be made to get more cricket matches to be shown on TV. This would help promote the sport to the Chinese. I read an article recently on the Internet saying that the number of people playing cricket in the Netherlands is growing because there is live cricket shown by BBC on TV.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST DIFFICULTY IN GETTING CHINESE INVOLVED IN CRICKET:
There are not yet enough Cantonese speaking coaches and cricket grounds in Hong Kong. Cricket is getting more popular in Hong Kong with younger children. But when teenagers who don't know much about cricket choose a sport to play, they will not choose cricket. They are likely to choose football or basketball instead. If they want to play cricket, there are not enough cricket grounds available here.

WHAT DO YOUR NON-CRICKETING CHINESE FRIENDS THINK OF YOU PLAYING CRICKET?:
My friends are not surprised since I play all kinds of sports. e.g. football, tennis, ten pin bowling, basketball, etc.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE TO SPREAD CRICKET GLOBALLY?:
More tests and one day internationals should be played in neutral countries so that people in those countries can enjoy good cricket. This can stimulate the growth of cricket in those countries. We should train more coaches, especially those who can speak local languages. The most important things are financial support and publicity. More money should be spent on promoting the sport and it will in return attract more sponsors to sponsor cricket. Publicity is crucial since it is the way to attract people to play cricket. The targets should be teenagers.