As the city gears up for the 5th Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) International Twenty20 tournament, the organisers are working overtime to ensure that the entire event is a smashing success. With eight teams taking part in the latest edition, and former ace Sri Lankan spinner and world record holder Muttiah Muralitharan set to take part, the weekend tournament is set to take the city by storm.
The matches will be played on the weekend of August 11-13 at the SCC Padang Grounds and Singapore Indian Association (SIA) ground. There are a host of supplementary events planned on the weekend as well.
Cricket was played on the Padang as early as 1837, only 18 years after Sir Stamford Raffles founded the settlement of Singapore in 1819. The Padang also hosted international matches in the 1980s and 90s, most notably for the Singer Cup match where Sanath Jayasuria scored a 100 in 48 balls.
Established in 1852, the Singapore Cricket Club is a premier sports and social club in Asia. The club is located in a prime spot at the centre of the city that has witnessed many of Singapore's triumphs and defeats, upheavals, independence and the annual National Day Parades on August 9.
With the tournament less than 45 days away, we talk to the president of SCC Sher Baljit Singh, Convener of cricket Hugh Darwell and Push Sharma, Chairman of the SCC T20 tournament about the concept and planning around the event and the rich heritage of the SCC in a three-part interview.
Part I – Sher Baljit Singh, president of the SCC
Part 2 – Hugh Darwell, SCC convener of cricket
Part 3 – Push Sharma, Chairman of the SCC Twenty20 tournament