Malaysian Cricket On The Path For Development

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) -- Cricket, the gentlemen's game, has a huge following in the Indian subcontinent, Australia, West Indies and many other former British colonies.

Despite being the second most popular spectator sport after football, Cricket has yet to see strong interest among Malaysians both on the field and on the spectator bench.

Malaysia still participates in the game and is ranked 26th in the International Cricket Council (ICC) ranking for One-Day International (ODI) among 104 nations, but not yet ranked in the shorter version of Twenty20 (T20).

Nonetheless, the Malaysian team at best can be considered a novice in the game. The team has yet to see any major victory or commendable achievements from its many outings except for the recent SEA Games where it clinched the men's 50-Overs gold and T20 silver as well as women's T20 bronze from the three events contested.

In the recent Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Under-19 Youth Asia Cup, host Malaysia finished in the bottom of Group A. Surprisingly in the event, even war-torn Afghanistan staged an upset against favourites Pakistan, defending champions India and Bangladesh, for its maiden cricket title