Malaysia national cricket team

Malaysia national cricket team
The Malaysia national cricket team represents the country of Malaysia in international cricket matches. The team is organised by the Malaysian Cricket Association which has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1967.
During the British colonial period the Federated Malay States, Straits Settlements and Malaya cricket teams played regularly in Interport matches and against other visiting teams. Following Malaysian independence, the team's most frequent opponent has been Singapore in series for the Saudara Cup and Stan Nagaiah Trophy. Malaysia made its debut in ICC tournaments in the inaugural 1979 ICC Trophy, making regular appearances until ICC pathways were altered in the 2000s and hosting the 1997 ICC Trophy. Malaysia has regularly hosted Asian Cricket Council (ACC) tournaments and finished runner-up in the 1998 ACC Trophy. In the World Cricket League the team reached as high as Division Three, subsequently being placed in the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League.
History
Early days
Cricket has been played in what is now Malaysia since the 1880s. Various teams represented Malaya, the Federated Malay States and the Straits Settlements, formed in 1884 by the British, Royal Selangor Club (RSC) is the first cricket club founded in present Malaysia (locally called a padang also in Singapore e.g. Padang, Singapore).
The Singapore Cricket Club, a former affiliate of the Malayan Cricket Association, is the oldest cricket club in the region (founded in 1852).
The first recorded match was between Selangor and Malacca in 1887. The Selangor-Singapore series was played in 1891.
Cricket in Johor was played in the early 20th century, but the first recorded cricketing event is the visit of the Australian team led by C. G. Macartney in 1927. Penang is another historical cricket venue in Malaysia where cricket has been played from British times. The Penang Sports Club was established in the early 1900s.
On 6 June 1927 Malaya beat Australia by 39 runs to make history.
Lall Singh became the first Malaysia born test player (played for India in their debut Test at Lord's against England in 1932).
After World War II, cricket grew in popularity, leading to the founding of the Malayan Cricket Association (MCA) in 1948. Regional cricket associations like Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined and in 1963, the MCA was renamed the Malaysian Cricket Association. In 1965, the independence of Singapore led its association to leave the MCA.
The first team to represent Malaysia was in 1970, three years after the MCA became an ICC associate member, when it played an MCC side captained by Tony Lewis in a two-day match, losing by 230 runs. The same year, Malaysia played the first Saudara Cup match against Singapore, drawing the three-day match.
The Saudara Cup match continued annually, and in 1979 Malaysia participated in the first ICC Trophy, failing to progress beyond the first round, a performance they repeated in 1982 and 1986. They reached the plate competition in 1990 and 1994.
1990s
The first Stan Nagaiah Trophy was played in Singapore in February 1995 with Singapore beating Malaysia 2–1 in the three match one-day series. After winning the Stan Nagaiah Trophy and drawing the Saudara Cup match in 1996 Malaysia hosted the first ACC Trophy tournament, finishing third in their first round group.
Malaysia began to host major international tournaments in 1997, starting with the 1997 ICC Trophy in which Malaysia finished 16th after losing a play-off to Namibia. They played one season in Pakistani domestic cricket in 1998, losing all four of their preliminary round matches. Cricket made its first and, to date, only appearance in the Commonwealth Games later that year, with Malaysia hosting that year's games. The cricket tournament saw Malaysia participate as hosts though they lost all three of their first round matches. They reached the final of the ACC Trophy that same year, losing to Bangladesh.
21st century
2000–2017
In 2000, Malaysia reached the semi-final of the ACC Trophy before losing to hosts the UAE. They failed to progress beyond the first round of the 2001 ICC Trophy and lost to Nepal in the semi-finals of the 2002 ACC Trophy.
Malaysia played their first first-class matches in 2004 as part of that year's ICC Intercontinental Cup. They lost to both Nepal and the UAE and failed to reach the semi-final stage of the tournament. Malaysia hosted the ACC Trophy in 2004, which was the first stage of qualification for the 2005 ICC Trophy and the 2007 World Cup, finishing joint seventh with Bhutan. They finished last in the ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament in 2004, thus failing to qualify for the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup. They played in the tournament again in 2005, this time finishing third.
In 2006, Malaysia competed in the ACC Premier League, finishing fourth. They again hosted the ACC Trophy that year, again finishing seventh after beating Qatar in a play-off.
Malaysia have played in the ACC Twenty20 Cup thrice. They did not win a match in 2007 but finished seventh in 2009 after winning 3 Group B matches and a positional playoff against Saudi Arabia.
In 2011, they finished sixth after winning 4 Group A matches and losing a positional playoff against UAE.
In August 2017, Malaysia won two medals in cricket at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games. They won the gold medal in the 50-over tournament and the silver medal in the 20-over tournament.
2018-Present
In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 matches played between Malaysia and other ICC members after 1 January 2019 will be a full T20I.
Malaysia played their first T20I on 24 June against Thailand during the 2019 Malaysia Tri-Nation Series.
After April 2019, Malaysia will play in the 2019–21 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League.
Grounds
Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur
Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur
Selangor Turf Club, Selangor
Royal Selangor Club, Selangor
UKM-YSD Cricket Oval, Bangi
Tournament history
World Cricket League
2009 Division Six: Fourth place
2011 Division Six: Second place – promoted
2012 Division Five: Second place – promoted
2012 Division Four: Fifth place – relegated
2014 Division Five: Second place – promoted
2014 Division Four: Champions – promoted
2014 Division Three: Third place
2017 Division Three: Sixth place – relegated
2018 Division Four: Third place
Commonwealth Games
1998: First round
ICC Intercontinental Cup
2004: First round
2005: Did not qualify
2006/07: Did not participate
ICC Trophy
1979: First round
1982: First round
1986: First round
1990: Plate competition
1994: Plate competition
1997: 16th place
2001: First round
2005: Did not qualify
ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament
2004: 5th place
2005: 3rd place
2006: 4th place
ACC Trophy
1996: First round
1998: Runners up
2000: Semi-finals
2002: Semi-finals
2004: 7th place
2006: 7th place
2008 Elite: 6th place
2010 Elite: 4th place
2012 Elite: 4th place
2014 Premier League Elite: 6th place
Asia Cup Qualifier
2018: 5th place
2020: Did not qualify
ACC Eastern Region T20
2018: Did not participate
2020: 3rd place
ACC Twenty20 Cup
2007: First round
2009: 7th place
2011: 6th place
2013: First round
2015: 5th place
Asian Games
2010: Quarter-finals
2014: Quarter-finals
Arafura Games
2007: Silver medal
ACC U/19 Cup
2014: 8th place
Southeast Asian Games
2023: Silver medal
Records and statistics
International Match Summary — Malaysia
Last updated 31 October 2023
Twenty20 International
Highest team total: 268/4 v. Thailand on 2 October 2023 at Zhejiang University of Technology Cricket Field, Hangzhou.
Highest individual score: 126, Syed Aziz v. Thailand on 2 October 2023 at Zhejiang University of Technology Cricket Field, Hangzhou.
Best individual bowling figures: 7/8 , Syazrul Idrus v. China on 26 July 2023 at Bayuemas Oval, Pandamaran.
Most T20I runs for Malaysia
Most T20I wickets for Malaysia
T20I record versus other nations
Records complete to T20I #2340. Last updated 31 October 2023.
Other records
Performances by Malaysian cricketers in World Cricket League matches and ACC Premier League matches, as of 29 June 2014
Centuries
Nasir Shafiq – 151* vs Cayman Islands at Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur on 7 March 2014
Rakesh Madhavan - 129 vs Hong Kong at KOCU Ground, Ahmadi City on 9 April 2010
Suresh Navaratnam - 115 vs Nepal at KOCH Ground, Ahmadi City on 7 April 2010
Rakesh Madhavan – 115* vs Botswana at Kallang Ground, Singapore on 3 September 2009
Suhan Alagaratnam - 107 vs Singapore at Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur on 1 August 2008
Ahmed Faiz – 103 vs Guernsey at Kinrara Academy Ground, Kuala Lumpur on 10 March 2014
Rakesh Madhavan – 102* vs Tanzania at Selangor Turf Club, Kuala Lumpur on 9 September 2012
Rakesh Madhavan - 101 vs Saudi Arabia at Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur on 30 July 2008
Suhan Alagaratnam - 100 vs Saudi Arabia at Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur on 30 July 2008
5 wicket hauls
Dinesh Sockalingham - 6/39 vs U.A.E at Selangor Turf Club, Kuala Lumpur on 29 July 2008
Nazril Rahman - 5/18 vs Oman at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on 6 October 2012
Anwar Rahman - 5/27 vs Maldives at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah on 7 October 2012
Eszrafiq Aziz – 5/36 vs Fiji at Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur on 20 September 2011
Hassan Mohammed – 5/49 vs Botswana at Kallang Ground, Singapore on 3 September 2009
Shahrulnizam Yusof - 5/49 vs Italy at Indian Association Ground, Singapore on 25 June 2014
Khizar Hayat – 5/62 vs Jersey at Kinrara Academy Ground, Kuala Lumpur on 13 March 2014
Scorer
Manogaran Manickam—Ex-Malaysian Cricket Player and Scorer
Current squad
This lists all the players who have played for Malaysia in the past 12 months or has been part of the latest One-day or T20I squad. Updated as of 23 December 2022.
Tournaments
Malaysia hosted the 2014 ICC World Cricket League Division Three in October.
See also
List of Malaysia Twenty20 International cricketers
Malaysia national women's cricket team
Malaya cricket team
Federated Malay States cricket team
Straits Settlements cricket team
List of Malaysian Junior Cricketers
References
External links
Official website
Cricket in Malaysia
National cricket teams
Cricket
Malaysia in international cricket