Cricket Guide Singapore

The history of Singapore Cricket Team

Cricket sport in Singapore began as far back as in the 1800s. In 1852, Singapore Cricket Club was formed and players began playing with teams from the Malaya and Hong Kong.

Singapore joined the ICC (International Cricket Council) membership in the year of 1974 and played in several international tournaments. Throughout the 1980s & 1990s, the Singapore cricket team failed to go past the first rounds until in the year of 2006, when the team finally went past the first round and came in third in rank for the ACC Trophy.

Their breakthrough was in 2009 when Singapore won the Division Six of the World Cricket League, where Singapore played host to the match. Today, the Singapore national cricket team remains in Division Five after finishing fourth in rank in the 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Five.

In this cricket guide, you get to read on the basics of how the cricket game is played, what are the cricket game rules and what are the cricket gear such as cricket bats and cricket wear and shoes a beginner requires to equip him with for the game. You may also explore the list of cricket schools and clubs in Singapore, and understand which ones offer cricket coaching and training lessons. Cricket is no longer just for the men, there are also trainings for women and kids in Singapore. Check out where are the cricket shops or cricket stores available in Singapore for your shopping pleasure on cricket merchandise such as cricket shirts and jerseys.

Like the Hockey game, the cricket sport is a high energy and scoring bat and ball game that can only be initiated by two teams of eleven players on each team. These teams are supported by reserved players who will have to be on standby as substitutes as and when any of the playing members got injured or required to be called out usually when they run low on energy.

The cricket field is usually of oval shape, and measures typically at 150 metres in diameter. A rectangular shaped field is the key area located at the centre of the field known as the Pitch.

 A cricket match is played over a series of periods known as “innings”. The two opposing teams comprising 11 players each, played as the Defense, otherwise known as the Fielding team, and the opponents are called the Offense, or the Batting team.

 At the point of action in the pitch, only 2 players from the batting team, i.e. 2 batsmen, can be on the field at any one time, although all 11 team members of the opposition, the fielding team, are allowed to position themselves out of the pitch, but spread across the field. Before the match starts, the 2 batsmen faced across each other at opposite ends of the pitch. There will be one member from the fielding team that is appointed to be the bowler. The bowler began the game by throwing the ball towards the target known as the wicket, behind every batsman. The batsman has to try to prevent the ball from hitting the target by striking the ball with the bat.

One of the 5 scenarios will then take place:

• The batsman successfully strikes the ball; the fielding team has to try to catch the stroked ball before it touches the ground and if the team successfully catches the ball, or
• The batsman missed the ball and the bowler manages to hit the wicket with the ball;

 the batsman is dismissed.  Another batsman from the batting team will then replace him.

• The batsman successfully strikes the ball and the ball lands on the field without being caught by the fielding team,  this is when the batsmen can try to score points for the batting team by doing the runs.  One point gained is also known as one Run. The batsmen will run across the field and switch positions. One such switch will help the team to score one Run. If time permits and the situation is such that the fallen ball has yet to be retrieved by the fielding team, the batsmen can choose to do more than one run.

However under such circumstance, if the fielding team manages to retrieve the ball and hits the wicket with it before the batsmen reached their respective ends of the pitch, the batsmen will have to be dismissed.

• If the batsman strikes the ball over the field boundary and the landing position of the ball crosses the field boundary, the batting team scores a maximum of 6 runs.
• If the bowled ball is stroked, then touches the ground before it rolls over the field boundary, that is considered 4 runs.

The bowler has up to 6 times of bowling turns. Once this bowl limit is reached, another team member from the fielding team will have to take his position as the next bowler. The bowl limit is called an Over.

One innings is considered completed when:

• 10 out of the 11 players in the batting team have been dismissed or;
• A pre-set maximum number of Overs has been reached by the fielding team