Training pitch woes continue for Singapore cricket ahead of Asian Games

SINGAPORE – The hope was that a gold medal at the Cambodia SEA Games would be a catalyst for change, but the Singapore men’s cricket team will have to accept status quo for now as they gear up for the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Shortly after

winning the Sixes title in May,

the national players had lamented the preparations in the run-up to the SEA Games, pointing to a lack of a proper training venue.

The senior side then trained up to thrice a week at a shared facility at the Singapore Indian Association (IA), which they said is poorly maintained and too small.

Apart from the SEA Games gold, Singapore have seen their Twenty20 (T20) International world ranking dip from 19th in 2019 to 36th.

However, there is no solution to their facility woes, at least until 2026, said the Singapore Cricket Association (SCA).

Its players have been training up to five times a week at the IA’s premises at Balestier Road since 2016, after it had to vacate the Kallang Cricket Field in January that year as their yearly lease was not renewed by Sport Singapore (SportSG).

Ahead of major competitions, the team had to travel across the Causeway on several occasions to train in Johor Bahru because of the absence of a dedicated cricket facility here.

Players have described the current IA space as “a rundown corner shed with two or three nets”, and noted that the pitch is poorly maintained.

Currently, SCA has to share the field with others and is able to use it for training only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, while cricket league matches are played on the weekends.

But SCA president Mahmood Gaznavi is optimistic that the association will get its own training field by 2026. Noting that there have been challenges working with IA, he said he was grateful to SportSG for “assisting us in the best possible way”.

He added: “In the interim, we are working as best as we can given the constraints that come with having to share a ground with a private members’ club. SCA is always looking to solve issues when these occur by preserving and advancing cricket’s interests.

“We are assured by the authorities that cricket will be given a dedicated facility within three years and we pray that this occurs sooner rather than later.”

SportSG said it works closely with the SCA to develop cricket in Singapore and support its cricketers. A spokesman added: “MCCY (Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth) and SportSG helped SCA to negotiate a facility-sharing agreement between SCA, IA and Ceylon Sports Club.

“After numerous discussions over several months, all three parties agreed on a sharing arrangement which allowed SCA to resume training in March 2023 at Balestier Plain for five evenings every week.

“All three parties have also committed to maintaining the quality of the cricket pitches necessary for our national team’s training.

“SportSG will continue to monitor the effectiveness of this facility-sharing arrangement, and work with SCA and other relevant authorities to help ensure that our national team have the necessary training facilities.”

The national agency also provided subsidies to SCA to install new floodlights, cricket nets and a gym at the Balestier Plain cricket fields in August 2017, added the spokesman.

With the Sept 23-Oct 8 Asian Games on the horizon – the men’s and women’s team will compete in the T20 format – Gaznavi acknowledged that there is a need to “calibrate our expectations”.

Aside from its facility woes, the SCA leadership could be in for change.

All seven positions in the committee will be contested at its annual general meeting on Friday, with serial entrepreneur Anton Ravindran challenging Gaznavi, in charge since 2015, for the top post.