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National cricket captain Rezza Gaznavi recalls the time he and his teammates had to travel weekly to Johor for training just after the South-east Asian (SEA) Games in 2017.
“We had to wake up at 4am on a Saturday, get on the bus at 5am and reach the training ground at 7am,” he said.
“We’d play a match, spend the night in Johor, then play another match on Sunday before getting stuck in traffic on the way home on Sunday night. And then head to work on Monday morning. Obviously, it wasn’t easy.”
Singapore’s cricket players will not have to endure such arduous trips any longer, since it was announced last month that a dedicated training facility for cricket will be built in West Coast by mid-2024.
The 4.7ha site at West Coast Road will have a pitch, nets, gym and sheltered training area.
The men’s and women’s national teams will begin training there by the third quarter of this year, said Rezza, 31, who spoke to tabla! on the sidelines of a Team Singapore reception at the Istana on Feb 29.
More than 700 Team Singapore athletes, coaches and officials were present at the reception, hosted by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. It was organised to celebrate the contributions and achievements of the athletes in 2023.
The lack of a proper training pitch for the cricketers came to the fore during the Cambodia SEA Games in May last year. After winning the men’s Sixes title, the players raised concerns about the preparations for the Games, pointing to the lack of a proper training venue.
At the time, the senior side trained up to three times a week at the Singapore Indian Association ground in Balestier Road, which they said was poorly maintained and small.
Training has been held there since 2016, after the Singapore Cricket Association had to vacate the Kallang Cricket Field as the lease was not renewed.
In the lead-up to the Asian Games last year, the team also trained in Johor.
Rezza, who captained the SEA Games team to one gold and two bronze medals in Cambodia last year, described the new facility as a much-needed boost for Singapore cricket.
He also hopes the venue will be ready in time to possibly host the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League, which serves as a qualifier for the World Cup.
Singapore will face Qatar, Kuwait, Denmark and Italy in their group.
“It’s not been decided who will host the matches, and so I hope that the new facility will be ready in time to do so,” Rezza said.
“We’re all excited about it. The turf and the wicket will be good, and the (facility) is really something to look forward to.”
