KOREA

Korea Cricket Association

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Japan confirms East Asia Cup cancellation

The Japan Cricket Association has released a statement confirming the cancellation of the 2020 edition of the East Asia Cup. The tournament was set...

1988

FIRST RECORD
OF CRICKET

2001

KCA Established
& Joined ICC

16

NUMBER OF CLUBS
AS AT AUG 2020

CRICKET IN KOREA

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.

Men's

First men’s international match: vs Japan, February 2002 (in Perth)

Major international victories:
Korea v China, KOR won by 6 wickets, Asian Games, Incheon 2014
Korea v Japan, KOR won by 4 wickets, East Asia Cup final, Kanto 2018

Highest Profile match: Korea v Sri Lanka, SRI won by 117 runs, Asian Games quarter-final, Incheon 2014.

Leading men’s international players: Park Taekwan (2012-2018), Jun Hyunwoo (2016-Present), Muhammad Nadeem, (2017-Present)

World Cup appearances: 0

Asian Games: 2014

Women's

First women's international match: vs. Korea v China, CHI won by 8 wickets, Asian Games, Incheon 2014

Leading women's players: Seungmin Song, (2014-Present), Mina Baek (2015-Present), Sinae Kim, 2018-Present

World Cup appearances: 0

Asian Games: 2014

Principal Grounds

Yeonhui Cricket Ground, Incheon

KCA Links

Originally compiled by

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