Masters World Cup

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Tiny Singapore put themselves on the Indoor Cricket map after a superb showing in their maiden appearance at the Masters World Cup appearance in South Africa. Sending 3 teams to the tournament (over 30s, over 35s and over 40s), the Republic held little hope in the face of opponents and stalwarts such as South Africa, England, Australia, New Zealand, India and Sri Lanka. Add in the fact that Singapore don't even have a proper indoor cricket facility and had to make the arduous journey to neighbouring Malaysia to train every other week and the odds were certainly against them.

Things did not start well with all 3 teams getting thrashed in their warm-up matches against club sides and it appeared the writing was already on the wall. There was not much improvement when the opening matches of the tournament went to script with big wins for all of Singapore's opponents.

But in the second game, Singapore may just have created one of the biggest sporting shocks in history by beating England in the Mens over-35s category on Sunday. In only their 2nd ever international match, having lost heavily to Australia earlier in the day, Singapore defeated the English by 11 runs in a nail-biting finish. It was all the more remarkable given that most of the players had never stepped into an actual indoor cricket court until 2 days prior to the game. It marked the first time Singapore has beaten a test-playing nation in any form of cricket.

"It's a great credit to the boys. They've worked hard for this and deserve it. The other countries had little expectation for Singapore so it's fantastic for us to beat an established cricketing nation. But we need to build on this momentum and not rest on our laurels," said Head Coach, Paul Botterill.

England, 2001 finalists in this category, got off to a solid start with their opening pair putting on a steady 34-run partnership in the allotted 4 overs per pair (or skin). But Singapore hit back with a good combination of bowling and fielding with Shoaib Razzak and Adam Bradley taking 3 wickets apiece to restrict England to 112 in 16 overs.

"The England total was about 20 runs more than we wanted but the guys showed great application in the field and then later on with the bat," said skipper Anthony Chisolm.

Singapore started the chase well with Ritesh Moudgil and Razzak winning the first skin after they put on 36 runs. Steady batting continued and it left final pair, Rashid Khan andSeasoned Pro's very own Shehzad Haque with 28 runs to win in 4 overs. After Haque hit 3 runs in the middle of the 3rd over Singapore were ahead but with each wicket worth -5 runs, the pair took a safety first approach. Haque played out the entire last over to see Singapore through to their historic win.

"It was a nerve-wracking time out there. The entire Indoor Centre was going beserk and rooting for us. I was trying hard to focus not only on the bowling but also the scoreboard. When i saw off that final ball, it was a massively emotional moment for all of us. We celebrated like we'd won the World Cup. For Singapore to beat England in cricket is a massive achievement and a huge testament our entire squad," said Haque

The over 30s team soon matched this with a thrashing of India and Singapore was off to a flying start. The over 30s continued their good record vs India by beating them twice more in the round-robin stage and taking some useful skins in other matches too. Unfortunately, when it mattered most, it appeared nerves got the better of them in the final and therefore most crucial match of the tournament. Facing India again to avoid the wooden spoon, the over 30s failed to click and were edged out to end the tournament in 6th place.

The over 40s were alwas going to find it hard given that they were put together later than the other 2 teams and had a smaller pool of players to choose from. They didn't manage to win any games but gave a good fight against Sri Lanka, even managing to take a couple of skins. Most importantly, they approached the tournament with an infectious spirit, not only enjoying each and every game but also giving raucous support to the other teams.

The last word lies with the over-35s who were the best-performing Singapore team out of the 3. They went on to beat Sri Lanka twice (the team that got to the World Cup final in 2007) and England one more time to find themselves playing off for an unbelievable 3rd place against South Africa Invitational. By then, the team were walking wounded and the exhaustion of 12 games in 8 games finally took its toll. The over-35s were comprehensively beaten but had exceeded all expectations and can take great satisfaction in being the number 3 ranked country in their age group.

Singapore's overall performance was lauded by the Indoor Cricket community which was superbly summed up by the standing ovation they got at the official Closing Ceremony. But the hard work has just begun with the Asia Cup, Australian Masters and of course the World Cup all happening this year.

As a sponsor of Team Singapore, Seasoned Pro is immensely proud that 80% of the players came from its leagues and congratulates all of those involved in this memorable tour.

Special mention to Seasoned Pro's Shehzad Haque who emerged as top wicket-taker amongst the 3 Singapore teams with 18 dismissals in 11 matches to his name including a hat-trick and a 5-wicket haul. Full stats can be found at http://actionsport.spawtz.com/External/Fixtures/Standings.aspx?VenueId=0&LeagueId=917&SeasonId=2771&DivisionId=20376