SEA Games 2023: Singapore men’s cricket team win gold ‘against the odds’

PHNOM PENH – The Singapore men’s cricket team defeated hosts Cambodia on Monday to claim the Sixes gold medal but their second ever SEA Games title sparked more concern than joy among the players.

Speaking to The Straits Times shortly after the win, Singapore cricket captain Rezza Gaznavi and fellow player Amjad Mahboob lamented the preparations in the run-up to the Games, calling on the authorities to help stem the sport’s decline. The main issue, they said, is the lack of a proper training pitch.

In the Sixes tournament, Singapore started with a loss to the Philippines by four wickets on Sunday. On the same day, they recovered to post a victory over Indonesia by 14 runs. Against the hosts, Singapore won by 26 runs to finish level with Cambodia on two wins and six points each, but a superior net run rate gave the Republic the gold.

Contested at the Games for the first time, Sixes is the fastest format of cricket and it is played with six players per side, compared with the usual 11. Another difference is that it takes just 45 minutes to complete.

Rezza, who was not part of the eight-man squad for the Sixes format, said: “It was not easy at all. These guys won gold against all odds.”

Pakistani-born Mahboob has been in Singapore for over 20 years and received his citizenship only in February. While he was proud to win gold for his country, he added: “I hope the win highlights our issues. We have a big problem. Currently we train twice to thrice a week on a poor pitch at a shared facility. If you want me to rate our preparation, I would give it a one out of 10.”

Rezza shared that the cricket youth teams had even travelled by bus recently across the Causeway to train in Malaysia. The senior side train up to thrice a week at a shared facility at the Singapore Indian Association but he noted that the ground there is poorly maintained and too small for the team.

He added: “It’s a run-down corner shed with two or three nets. The way I can describe where we train is to imagine Michael Jackson being asked to moonwalk on a rubber stage. He won’t be able to glide.

“We really hope and pray things change, otherwise it’s a sinking ship.”

Singapore Cricket Association (SCA) president Mahmood Gaznavi said in a statement that the gold is “especially significant given the challenges faced by local cricket”.

He pointed to the team’s dip in the world rankings from 19th to 36th, adding that the national team had been hampered because they did not have a training ground for seven months since last August and only had limited training facilities from mid-March, about a month before the Games.

The SCA had to vacate its training venue at Kallang Cricket Field in January 2016 as their yearly lease was not renewed by Sport Singapore (SportSG) – it has since been redeveloped into one of ActiveSG’s football academies.

Gaznavi added: “Our competitors have caught up and surpassed Singapore. Our world ranking has declined, and we expect challenging years ahead as we have limited facilities. This gold came with minimal preparation and intense challenges.”

Calling on SportSG and other government agencies for support, Gaznavi said: “We appreciate all the help received thus far. But we need a dedicated cricket facility badly, and it has to come soon, where we can also aspire to accommodate foreign teams and offer top-quality cricket for spectators.”

This is only the second time that cricket has featured at the Games.

The sport made its debut in Malaysia in 2017 when Singapore won the Twenty20 competition for their first SEA Games cricket gold. They also won a silver in the 50-over tournament.

In Cambodia, the Singapore team had to settle for bronze in the T20 series last Thursday with Cambodia taking the gold, ahead of Malaysia.

Singapore will have another chance to win a medal when they face Philippines in a bronze play-off in the T10 format on Tuesday.