China's timetable for World Cup glory

The Olympic flame works its way down the Great Wall. The 2008 Games have kick-started interest in a variety of sports © Getty Images

The news that China was one of three countries granted affiliate membership of the ICC - the Isle of Man and Mexico were the others - will hardly grab the headlines in the cricket world. But with a population of 1.26 billion, China has the potential to be a massive force in any sport it cares to adopt, even if only a small percentage of the people are involved.

The decision of the ICC's to welcome China has not come out of the blue. In recent months the Chinese authorities have begun a drive to promote the game, with schools in several cities - including Beijing and Shanghai - have been ordered to start teaching cricket. And in the last couple of weeks sources close to the government have said that a site in Beijing has been identified and set aside as a potential venue for an international cricket stadium.

The authorities face a daunting job to explain the game to the people, let alone to persuade them to take it up. There is no history of playing cricket in China, and a level of bewilderment at what it involves that would make the average American come across as a keen enthusiast.

But when the Chinese authorities decide to take a course of action, they don't do so in a half-hearted manner. In recent decades they have invested their energies into promoting a number of sports - including swimming, athletics and football - and they have quickly built up strong power-bases in them. China's aims are bold. They hope to be involved in the World Cup by 2019, and to have made a significant impression within 20 years. They have the people, the money and the will.

While Malcolm Speed, the ICC's chief executive, welcomed China into the fold, he might want to exercise some caution. In recent months the ICC has been dragged into the political arena - notably over Zimbabwe - and China is another potential hot potato. Its human-rights record has been widely condemned, and there was a certain irony in the timing of the announcement. No sooner had Speed sat down, than the next speaker was outlining the hardening ICC stance on drug abuse, an area in which China has been roundly and consistently condemned over the years.

But those issues are for another day, and with luck by the time China arrives as a serious cricketing nation those concerns will have long since been resolved. The 2023 World Cup in China? It might not be as unlikely as it seems.