An Investigation of Motivation for Playing Cricket in Hong Kong

INTRODUCTION

Cricket is a sport that is increasingly becoming popular globally, having originated in England in the 16^th century. It is currently the second most popular sport and the oldest noncontact ball and bat sport, with 11 players in each team (Stuelcken, Pyne & Sinclair, 2007). As a field-based sport, running, throwing, and catching during fielding, bowling, wicketkeeping, and batting are essential roles on the field. This paper is aimed at investigating the motivation for playing cricket in Hong Kong by sampling 101 cricket players in Hong Kong from different teams. The following research questions will guide the research: What are the motivations for playing cricket in Hong Kong? Why do you play league cricket in Hong Kong? And How will the cricket competition system help or support Hong Kong cricket players?

METHODOLOGY AND METHODS

Subjects / Participants

In this research, there would be around 100 participants currently playing in the Hong Kong cricket league, meaning that all are cricket players. To be specific, 101 participants agreed to take part in the study. All of them completed the study indicating a 100% response rate. There were 52.48% females and 47.52% males between 24 and 41 years old. Since the research involved human participants, ethical considerations were taken into account.

Instruments

Google questionnaire form will be used in this research. A participant consent form was first issued for ethical considerations during the data collection period. The participant consent form is a form of agreement between the researcher and the research subject. It entails a statement of what the research involves, the purpose of the investigation, what procedures are entailed in the study, what are the risks or discomforts in the survey, what are the benefits of the research, the cost of the study, assurance of confidentiality, voluntary participation consent, and the right to withdraw at any point in the study. After the consent form was issued, the participants were set to fill in the questionnaire.

The questionnaire was constructed with the first part having the demographic information, the second part on general information on the association of the research subject with cricket, the third part on motivations of cricket to a research participant, the fourth part on what criteria affect a participant’s motivation to participate in Hong Kong cricket and the fifth part was on what can improve the development of cricket in Hong Kong effectively.

Demographic information entailed questions on gender and age. General information on the association of the research subject with cricket entailed how long a participant has played cricket, how they started playing cricket, what is their favourite format in cricket, why the format is the favourite, if they have ever participated in cricket in other places, what is the most different element about playing cricket in Hong Kong to other places, how many hours they have played cricket per month, what is their primary role in the team if they have participated in any competitions in Hong Kong, what league they are playing in Hong Kong, why they didn’t play a match in Hong Kong, if they participate in other roles (s) when not playing and what the roles are.

Motivations of cricket to research participants are investigated by asking what are the motivations of cricket to them with no physical contact, little physical demands, having different kinds of roles & positions, needing more teamwork, Friendship, Can wear the equipment, Wear a uniform or jersey being smart, More challenging than other sports, Becoming a Bowler, Becoming a Batsman, and Becoming a Wicket-Keeper being the motivation of cricket options. They were investigated on a 5-point Likert scale(1= Strongly disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Neutral, 4= Agree, 5= Strongly agree).

What criteria affect a participant’s motivation to participate in Hong Kong cricket was investigated by asking the participants what criteria affect the motivation to participate in Hong Kong cricket mates. The options available were: date of the match, Time, Traffic to the field, Quality of the field, Facilities of the field, Weather, Audience support, Physical condition, Mental condition, and Judgement of umpires. They were also investigated on a 5-point Likert scale(1= Strongly disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Neutral, 4= Agree, 5= Strongly agree).

What can improve the development of cricket in Hong Kong effectively was investigated by asking the participants what can improve the development of cricket in HK effectively. The options were to enhance the competition system, improve the quality of fields, increase the no. of fields, improve the quality of the facilities of the fields, raise the quality of the umpire, and increase the no. of seats for the audience. They were also investigated on a 5-point Likert scale(1= Strongly disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Neutral, 4= Agree, 5= Strongly agree).

Data analysis

Data analysis entailed filtering invalid questionnaires and analyzing the data on Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS). After the research participants had completed the Google questionnaire form, the Google responses, which were in a CSV file, were downloaded and entered into excel for data cleaning and screening. Data cleaning and screening is the procedure of fixing or removing data that is not entered correctly, that is corrupted, that is not formatted correctly, eliminating data that is duplicated, and data that is incomplete or missing. When many observations from different people have been combined, i.e. responses from various research participants, the possibility of data being wrongly placed or duplicated is high. The first step in data cleaning and screening was to do away with duplicates and observations that were not relevant. The next step was to address structural errors, mainly when transferring data. Sometimes, the data have inconsistencies, such as typing errors. For instance, in the data, “IDK” and “I don’t know” could appear for the same variable. Fixing structural errors entails fixing such inconsistencies. The third step in cleaning is outliers. Outliers are extreme values in data that should be removed not to affect the results’ validity. Any outliers in the dataset were removed in this step. The next step was to handle missing data. In case of missing data, it was handled by dropping observations that had missing values. The last step was to validate the data. This is checking the final checking of the data before analysis by checking if it makes sense, if it follows the required rules, and what trends in the data help in answering the research questions.

When the data was validated, it was now ready for analysis. The data was exported to SPSS for analysis. Since the data in Excel was categorical, the data was changed to suit SPSS variable technique. SPSS should have pure numeric variables or numeric variables with different levels. Three research questions were required to be answered. Data analysis first entailed analysis of participant demographic information such as gender, age, how long a participant has played cricket, and hours a participant plays cricket in a month. These demographics were the most important in the analysis. Descriptive statistics with mean and standard deviation were used to test the responses on motivation to play cricket in Hong Kong, reasons people play league cricket in Hong Kong, and future improvement in Hong Kong. The responses on motivations to play cricket in Hong Kong were investigated by using questions 16 to 26 in the questionnaire. The responses on reasons people play league cricket in Hong Kong were analysed using questions 27 to 36. Finally, further improvement responses were investigated using questions 37 to 42.

Research Procedure

This research mainly uses questionnaires, and the target is Hong Kong people aged between 24 and 41 years who are currently playing in league cricket. Questionnaires will be collected in different clubs and teams. Twenty fellow researchers who acted as research enumerators were briefed on the requirements of the research before being allowed to perform data collection. Each enumerator was required to visit any cricket team in Hong Kong. It is estimated that each enumerator was required to collect 5 to 6 replies. The data collection duration would be six weeks long.

PRESENTATION OF RESULTS

Demographic Information

Figure 1: Pie chart of participant gender

Figure 2: Bar graph of participant age

Figure 3: Bar graph of how long a participant has played cricket

Figure 4: Pie chart of hours a participant plays cricket per month

The demographic information of the participants was first analyzed for the data. The results indicate that 52.48% of the participants were females, while 47.52% were males. See Figure 1.

On age, the majority of the participants were aged between 24-29 years(n=42), while the minority were aged over 41 years(n=1).29 research subjects were aged 18-23 years, 24 were aged 30-35 years, and five were aged 36-41 years. See Figure 2

Based on how long a participant has played cricket, 47 participants have played for over six years, 23 participants have played for 4 to 5 years, 21 participants have played for 2 to 3 years, and 10 participants have played for less than two years. See Figure 3. This indicates that many participants in the study are long-time cricket players.

The frequency of playing cricket per month in hours was also investigated. The results show that 42.57% played for more than 10 hours per month, 29.70% played for 7-9 hours, 24.75% played for 4-6 hours, and 2.97% played for less than 3 hours per month. See Figure 4. Many research participants have an interest in playing cricket.

Motivations to play cricket in Hong Kong

Table 1: Motivations to play cricket in Hong Kong

One of the objectives of the research was to find out what the motivations are for playing cricket in Hong Kong cricket. The cricket players(research participants) investigated the motivations on a 5-point Likert scale(1= Strongly disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Neutral, 4= Agree, 5= Strongly agree).On average, the 101 participants agreed that cricket does not involve physical contact motivates them (M=4.0198, SD=.99980). Also, on average, they agreed that cricket having little physical demands is a motivation (M=3.8713, SD=1.15467). Having different kinds of roles & amp; positions was also agreed to be a motivation of cricket on average(M=4.3267, SD=.66496). Also, the participants agreed that cricket needs more teamwork and has elements of friendship are enough motivation for them(M=4.3762, SD=.75962) and (M=3.7426, SD=.74369). They neither disagreed nor agreed on average that wearing the equipment, wearing a uniform or jersey brings smart and becoming a wicket-keeper is a motivation (M=3.4356, SD=.80518) and (M=3.4059, SD=.76391) respectively.

On average, the participants agreed that the fact that cricket is more challenging than other sports (M=4.2277, SD=.82318), becoming a bowler (M=3.8317, SD=.83749), and becoming a batsman (M=3.7228, SD=.72276) are their motivations of cricket. See Table 1.

Reasons people play league cricket in Hong Kong

Table 2: Reasons people play league cricket in Hong Kong

One of the research objectives was to find out why people play league cricket in Hong Kong. The reasons were investigated on a 5-point Likert scale(1= Strongly disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Neutral, 4= Agree, 5= Strongly agree). Table 2 results show that, on average, participants agree that the date of the match(M=3.7822, SD=.67237), time (M=3.7525, SD=.65431), and traffic to the field (M=3.6139, SD=.69239) are some of the reasons people play league cricket in Hong Kong. The participants also agreed on average that the quality of the field (M=3.7624, SD=.73687), facilities of the field (M=3.6634, SD=.73861), weather (M=3.5842, SD=.65219), audience support (M=3.5446, SD=.74195), and physical condition (M=3.6535, SD=.75413) are reasons people play league cricket in Hong Kong. Also, mental condition

(M=3.5743,SD=.72590) and judgment of umpires(M=3.7525, SD=.75374) are some of the reasons the participants play league cricket in Hong Kong, which are also the criteria affecting their motivation to participate.

Further improvement of cricket in Hong Kong

Table 3: Further improvement of cricket in Hong Kong

The last objective sought to find out how cricket in Hong Kong can be further improved in Hong Kong. It was also investigated on a 5-point Likert scale. On average, the 101 participants agreed that enhancing the competition system (M=3.7822, SD=.74302), improving the quality of fields(M=3.9010, SD=.68564), and also agreed that increasing the number of fields (M=4..3069, SD=.79678) is a way of improving the development of cricket in Hong Kong effectively. Also, they agreed that raising the quality of the umpire(M=3.8812, SD=.75216) and increasing the number of seats for the audience (M=3.8416, SD=.79665) will improve the development of cricket in Hong Kong.

DISCUSSION

The results show that cricket not involving physical contact, cricket having little physical demands, have different kinds of roles & amp positions, cricket needing more teamwork, has elements of friendship, cricket being more challenging than other sports; becoming a bowler and becoming a batsman are the motivations to play cricket in Hong Kong. [This is in line with the statement by CHK(2022) that players do not have physical contact or collisions. In line with the research by (Balk et al., 2018), the physical demands of a sport are associated with physically stressing the body. Since many players want their bodies relaxed, this motivates them about cricket. According to (Karthika, 2018), sports that boost friendships and teamwork motivate players. Cooperation and friendship are first enhanced by trust and understanding the teammate’s strengths and weaknesses. This then encourages a player to participate in cricket because they find a platform that is a home away from home. According to Rookie road (2017), the bowler position is an exciting position to play in cricket, tasked with pitching the ball to the batter. Also, the article acknowledges the importance of batting in cricket which is carried out by a batsman who chooses to either hit the ball from the bowler or leave it. This aligns with the findings that becoming a batsman and a bowler in cricket is a motivation.

The results also show that the date of the match, time, traffic to the field, quality of the field, facilities of the field, weather, audience support, physical condition, mental condition, and judgement of umpires were reasons people play league cricket in Hong Kong. Many current-generation players prefer to avoid inconveniences such as fixing a date and time of a match and then changing it to another date and time. Field quality and facilities are also essential aspects to consider when participating in a league. This is in line with Cricket Australia (2015) which states that it is critical to provide the best quality and standard pitches and playing fields, to the extent of checking compliance. Weather also plays a huge role in determining a sporting event. It is essential to predict the weather conditions to ensure the players are kept safe from delays and evacuations. According to (Troy,2016), extreme weather and the possibility of more significant dangers that could be posed by the weather always lead to inconsistencies and events suspension or cancellation. In this case, a player with poor health and physical and mental conditions would have difficulty participating in a league. In line with the research by (Mirabelli et al.,2015) emphasizes the need for preparticipation physical evaluation for players to ensure that the player is fit for participation. When a player has an injury or mental condition, they tend to be a threat to fellow players, and others can break down and have severe medical conditions.

The results show that cricket in Hong Kong can be further improved in Hong Kong by enhancing the competition system, improving the quality of fields, increasing the number of fields, raising the quality of the umpire, and increasing the number of seats for the audience. According to Passos et al.,2016), the behavioural dynamics of a player in any sport are constrained by competition which is also a determinant in the success of the player and the general team. This is in line with our finding that enhancing the competition system improves cricket in Hong Kong. Umpires play a significant role in the cricket game. According to Simon(2019), umpires play a substantial role in making decisions and should be encouraged to use good techniques. Therefore, raising the quality of umpires would mean better decisions hence the improvement of cricket. According to (Kuenzel et al.,2007), fan loyalty is essential, and only the joy of cricket spectators can increase the game quality. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure the number of seats in the audience is high, which will boost the quality of the game. Quality and the number of fields are essential to cricket, especially when there are many teams. This is in line with Cricket Australia (2015), which states that providing the best quality and standard pitches and playing fields to the extent of checking compliance is critical. This ensures that there is a better cricket experience.

CONCLUSION

In summary, there is evidence of different motivations for playing cricket in Hong Kong. Many cricket players consider cricket exciting because it involves teamwork and is relatively less demanding with interesting roles. Cricket players have many reasons why they play cricket, which is defined by how the league satisfies their convenience, i.e. how the league is organized in terms of quality, time, field space, and a player’s health condition. The cricket players proposed that increasing quality in all aspects of the sport, i.e. fields, umpires, and competition system, would further improve cricket in Hong Kong. This research would be necessary for the cricket community in Hong Kong to understand the preferences and motivations of the cricket players in playing cricket, which will be addressed for better player experiences. Also, the research would be essential to the Hong Kong league cricket management to better the league by understanding what would make a cricket player play a league.

Future work or research should investigate the roles played by cricket coaches, peers, parents, and the general community in the motivation of cricket players other than focusing only on the cricket sport. Researching a broader scope of what motivates cricket players to join the league and play cricket in Hong Kong and relating them to the success of a player gives the ability to determine which factors are the most impacting in motivating a player(Smith et al., 2007).

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