The Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) is set to hold the 5th International SCC T20 tournament from August 11 to 13 2017. For the first time ever, the tournament has been officially sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and also approved by the Singapore Cricket Association (SCA).
“Other firsts during the tournament include using drones and GO PRO cameras (on Umpire hats) for filming, professional cheerleaders performing at the T20 and special Zing flashing cricket bails to ensure high standards and a great experience,” said Pushpendra Sharma, Chairman, SCC T20 2017.
The eight teams participating in the tournament have been divided into two groups. The matches will be played on Singapore’s famous Padang Cricket Ground and the Singapore Indian Association (SIA) ground. The tournament will kick off on the morning of August 11. Group B will be in action at the Padang while Group A will play their matches on the ground on the next day.
Group A: Madras Cricket Club, India (Defending Champions); SCG XI, Australia; Rowlin National Cricket Academy, South Africa; Singapore Cricket Club, Singapore (Host Team)
Group B: Melbourne Cricket Club, Australia; Kowloon Cricket Club, Hong Kong; Sinhalese Sports Club, Sri Lanka (2009 and 2011 Champions); Singapore Emerging Stars XI, Singapore
On August 11, spectators will get a chance to watch Hong Kong's seven national T20 players in action at the Padang for the inaugural match between the Kowloon Cricket Club (KCC) and Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC). Kinchit Shah, Nizakat Khan, Waqas Barkat, Ehsan Khan, Scott McKechnie, Anshuman Rath and Matthew Stiller from KCC are set to be showcase players.
Defending Champions Madras Cricket Club will be playing their first game at the IA Ground vs Rowlin NCA, where spectators will get a chance to watch international marquee players from both teams in action. Andrea Agathangelou, who plays for Lancashire and has played for Leicestershire, UK, will be in action in the tournament.
The next round of matches in the afternoon has Singapore Emerging Stars (SES) XI facing Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) at the Padang. SES has recruited various IPL players such as Shadab Jakati, Balachandra Akhil, players from Nepal's national team such as Paras Khadka, Mehboob Alam and a few members from the local Singapore team such as Chetan Suryawanshi, Dharmichand Mulewa in their squad. SSC has Sri Lankan star Sachitra Senanayake on their roster. At the same time, SCG XI faces off against hosts SCC at the IA ground. The players to watch will be Sri Lankan superstar Muttiah Muralitharan, Aussie opener Ed Cowan and Sri Lankan pacer Ferveez Maharoof, besides SCC's local talent, which includes Abhiraj Singh and Parag Dahiwal who play for Singapore national cricket team.
In the afternoon, the Sinhalese team plays Kowloon at the Padang, while SCG XI takes on Rowlin at the same time.
On Saturday, in the morning matches, SCC takes on Rowlin at the Padang while the SSC and Melbourne teams face off at the IA Ground. This will be followed by Madras vs SCG and Melbourne vs SES respectively, with Madras taking on SCC and Kowloon squaring off against SES in the afternoon matches to round off the group stage. The semis and final will be played on Sunday with the top two teams in each group facing off.
Additionally, the SCC has planned a series of ancillary events during the tournament, some of which are listed below:
Events at SCC
- Howzat U10 Tournament for kids at 8:00 am on August 10
- Murali's Master class at 9:30 am on August 10
- By Invitation Only Press Conference at 11:45 am on August 10
- SCC T20 Gala Dinner from 7:30 pm onwards on August 12
- The SCC and MYRAS will co-host the Meet and Greet Dinner with Murali at Yantra (by Hemant Oberoi), in the Tanglin Mall on August 10.
