Singapore to host Masters Asia Cup this year

Singapore is gearing up to host their first international tournament since 2019 with news that a Masters Asia Cup is to take place later this year.

The development comes as a surprise since Singapore have been without an indoor court facility since 2020, when their one-court indoor sports centre facility was closed down. In the last five years, teams have had to play tournaments and practice on futsal turf and outside courts, which has not allowed them to simulate the traditional indoor cricketing environment.

However, the Singapore Cricket Association have come into support the Indoor Cricket division, ensuring the development of a cricket facility which features three outdoor cricketing grounds and one indoor cricket court.

Subject to approvals, Singapore Cricket Association - Indoor Cricket (Singapore Indoor Cricket) expect to have the indoor facility developed and ready for the tournament later this year, with dates to be determined.

It is expected this will be five-day competition in the Men’s Over-35 division only, featuring the hosts, India, United Arab Emirates, and Sri Lanka. The tournament format has not yet been confirmed.

Rashid Khan, the World Indoor Cricket Federation’s Singapore delegate, identified the importance of building an indoor facility, both for the development of the sport in Singapore, as well as holding international tournaments.

“It has been a tough few years, and it is very important that we are able to build a court facility, as well as hold international tournaments here again” he said.

“We have been practicing on futsal courts since 2020, which has brought its own challenges. Football friendly pitches are different in length and width to indoor cricket courts, and we obviously don’t have the same tensioned nets. We are hoping with this change, the quality of play will start to increase, and other nations will be able to tour. Hosting a tournament here for the first time in six years with the Masters will be a good test for us.”

The country last held a tournament in April 2019 when they hosted Sri Lanka, India, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and New Zealand for the New Zealand-Asia Cup.

Since then, the Senior team has struggled, losing a number of players, and winning just one match across their last two tournaments.

The Masters group had Over-35 and Over-40 Mens’ sides compete in the Masters World Series last October, with the Over-35 Men finishing sixth in the round-robin. They eventually won through to the Plate final, which they lost to the UAE. The Sri Lankan Over-35 side had a terrific run in the tournament, ultimately falling to the champions Australia in the preliminary final.

Singapore currently runs one national indoor cricket league, featuring 16 teams, though the Men’s and Masters national playing pool is closer to 50. They are expecting to hold trials for both Men’s and Women’s teams for the World Cup next month before naming final squads.

Image: U-Pro Colombo / Sri Lanka Indoor Cricket