South Korea has one bat and ball sport firmly embedded into its culture, that overlaps alcohol and fried chicken consumption as much as it does playgrounds and youth leagues: baseball. Cricket is slowly finding its footing in a country that didn’t ask for it, but has a growing curiosity for the peculiar “paddle and sticks” game.

Cricket was first introduced the 1988 Seoul Olympics, not by professional teams and coaches but by Southern Asian workers playing in parks with friends and family members.

Throughout the following decades, cricket remained largely a game played by the diaspora of homesick factory workers and commonwealth English teachers. The 2010s though saw a huge surge in interest, participation and talent. In the 2014 Asian Games, South Korea competed with other international sides in a knockout competition, and crucially, watched by a home audience at the purpose-built Yeonhui Cricket Ground on the outskirts of Seoul. Koreans, for the first time, watched live cricket as their men’s and women’s teams put on admirable displays with the men’s side reaching the quarter finals and putting in an excellent performance against an ultimately superior Sri Lankan side.

Since 2014 there has been a steady progression for both the men’s and women’s national sides as performances improve year on year. Meanwhile a variety of T20, T10 leagues have been organized since 2010, predominantly based in the Seoul area with an ever-increasing number of Koreans participating every year.