The biggest event in Chinese cricket, the "FPDSavills Shanghai International Cricket 6's" to be held on June 17-18, has attracted a 12 team field from three countries.

Teams from Japan, China, Hong Kong and Indonesia will compete in four pools of three teams before contesting cup, plate and bowl divisions for pool winners, runners-up and third place getters.

The draw will be 'stacked' to ensure the traditional highlight of the Sixes, the clash between all-Chinese and all-Japanese teams.

The 12 teams consist of three from Japan (two of which are indigenous), two Beijing sides (one indigenous), expatriate combinations from Nanjing and Guangzhou, an entry from the Hong Kong Cricket Club, two local expatriate Shanghai squads, and teams from Indonesia and South Korea.

In the past the Sixes has attracted some high profile entries, including last year's winner, the Melbourne Cricket Club, and a South African combination for whom former South African legend, Clive Rice, played.

The event provides Beijing's cricketers with the chance to bring their gear out of the closet, after the collapse of the Embassy-based competition there.

Enthusiasts remain hopeful the competition can be resurrected sometime this year.

Shanghai Cricket Club officials are realistic about what must happen in the long term for cricket in Shanghai and indeed, China to survive:

"Expatriates come and go so our numbers are always fluctuating," Shanghai CC President, Guy Fulton said.

"In the short term the aim of the SCC is to establish a format that enables regular cricket to take place for anyone who wishes to play," Fulton added. "At the moment these are largely expats from the cricket playing nations such as UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan and South Africa. We have not yet come across any West Indians!

"Our other plan is to get the international schools involved and establish a league between schools for children to participate in. The idea of this is twofold - to get kids playing but we also hope to attract some of the Chinese children in these schools to cricket," Fulton continued.

"Our long term goal of course is to get the Chinese involved at a higher level however this will only happen once the expat. league is up and running and that is our initial aim over the next one to two years."

The Shanghai season is in two stages - April to July is run on a Sixes basis, while September to mid-November sees the longer format of the game played.

So what is the usual reaction of local Chinese passers-by:

"The reaction usually is one of complete bafflement. If you tell them it is English baseball that sometimes helps however generally they struggle to understand what is giong on," Fulton explained.

"Only if they have lived abroad in a cricket playing country would they have a better idea. The other impression they have is that cricket is very English - I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing!"