Singapore Cricket Club
Singapore Infopedia
by Tan, Bonny
Background
Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) is a sports club located at the heart of the city’s civic centre along Connaught Drive and overlooking the Padang.1 It was established in 1852 and has evolved over the years from being an elite colonial sports club to a multi-racial club catering to the sporting and social needs of the Singaporean community.2 It is the second oldest club in Singapore, a decade younger than the Singapore Turf Club, then known as the Singapore Sporting Club.3
Beginnings
The birth of the Cricket Club began with the game of cricket itself. The game was popular among the early European community in Singapore in the mid-19th century and was played at the Padang as early as 1837.4 In October 1852, the first meeting was held to discuss formally setting up a cricket club.5 Two historic matches were set on the same month between “The Club” and selected teams, but both teams failed to raise full strength.6 It was only in March 1853 that the club managed to play its first 11-a-side fixture, with players from the local British merchant community and officers from the military garrison.7
Description
The club built its first wooden-hut pavilion in the 1860s and completed its second pavilion, a single-storey bungalow, in 1877.8 Membership then numbered at 98, but increased to 378 by 1891.9 The third pavilion was built in 1884 on the current site and forms the core of the current structure.10 A fourth pavilion was added in 1907 as a result of the growing membership.11 In 1922, the northern and southern wings were added, making the clubhouse as it is today.12 The Cricket Club has undergone other changes in recent times, including major renovations to its clubhouse and the addition of facilities such as squash courts.13
Members
Although its early members were ordinary British merchants, the club soon grew in standing. Governors of the Straits Settlements were some of the club’s early presidents.14 During the Japanese Occupation of Singapore (1942‒45), the Japanese used the club facilities for several activities. The SCC pavilion was converted into a Japanese restaurant called the Yamoto that was frequented by personnel of the Military Administration Department. The clubhouse, renamed the Syonan-ko Tonan Club, served as a Japanese officers’ tearoom and meeting place.15
Sports
Besides cricket, the club also offers other sports such as rugby, squash, tennis and golf.16
Timeline
1837: Earliest mention of cricket played in Singapore at the Padang.17
1852: First meeting to formalise the setting up of a cricket club.18
1853: A total of 28 members from the British mercantile community signed on with the club.19
1860s: A wooden pavilion formed the early clubhouse.20
1870s: Lawn bowl was introduced with regular tournaments by 1898.21
1875: An annual tennis tournament was initiated.22
1877: A second version of the clubhouse was built.23
1884: A third structure formed the core of today’s clubhouse.24
1892: Hockey was introduced to Singapore not long since the game was established in England in 1849.25
1927: Charles Gordon Macartney and his Australian cricket XI visited the club.26
1937: Sir Julien Cahn's XI became the first English cricket team to visit the Singapore Cricket Club. They played a three-day match against Malaya.27
1964: A Commonwealth XI team’s visit brought in eminent players. It included cricketer E. W. Swanton, captain Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie and great players such as “Gary” Garfield Sobers, and Ramadhin of Lancashire and the West Indies.28
1980s: SCC Rugby Sevens expanded into an international game although it had been played competitively at the Padang since the 1940s.29
1992: Inaugural game of the SCC Hockey Sixes.30
Oct 1993: The SCC organised an International Cricket Sixes, which drew participation from 10 countries.31
Author
Bonny Tan
References
1. Edwards, N. & Keys, P. (1988). Singapore: A guide to buildings, streets, places. Singapore: Times Books International, pp. 377‒378. (Call no.: RSING 915.957 EDW-[TRA]); Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, pp. 6‒11. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
2. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, pp. 11, 20. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
3. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, p. 20. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
4. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, p. 19. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA); Buckley, C. B. (1984). An anecdotal history of old times in Singapore. Singapore: Oxford University Press, p. 314. (Call no.: RSING 959.57 BUC-[HIS])
5. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, p. 20. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
6. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, p. 20. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
7. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, p. 21. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
8. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, p. 25. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
9. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, pp. 25, 31. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
10. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, p. 31. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA); Edwards, N. & Keys, P. (1988). Singapore: A guide to buildings, streets, places. Singapore: Times Books International, pp. 377‒378. (Call no.: RSING 915.957 EDW-[TRA])
11. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, pp. 59‒60. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
12. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, p. 60. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA); Edwards, N. & Keys, P. (1988). Singapore: A guide to buildings, streets, places. Singapore: Times Books International, pp. 377‒378. (Call no.: RSING 915.957 EDW-[TRA])
13. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, pp. 93‒95, 119, 159‒162, 164‒165. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
14. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, pp. 33, 37, 64, 66. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA); Wan, M. H., & Lau, J. (2009). Heritage places of Singapore. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions, pp. 96-98. (Call no.: RSING 959.57 WAN-[HIS])
15. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, pp. 101‒102. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
16. Singapore Cricket Club. (2015). Sports. Retrieved from Singapore Cricket Club website: http://scc.org.sg/sports
17. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, p. 19. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA); Buckley, C. B. (1984). An anecdotal history of old times in Singapore. Singapore: Oxford University Press, p. 314. (Call no.: RSING 959.57 BUC-[HIS])
18. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, p. 20. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
19. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, p. 22. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
20. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, p. 25. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
21. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, p. 57. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
22. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, pp. 29, 54. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
23. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, pp. 22, 25. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
24. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, p. 31. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
25. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, p. 54. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
26. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, p. 75. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
27. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, pp. 86‒87. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
28. Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, p. 150. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
29. Singapore Cricket Club. (2015). Significant events. Retrieved from Singapore Cricket Club website: http://scc.org.sg/about/significant-events; Sharp, I. (1993). The Singapore Cricket Club, established 1852. Singapore: Singapore Cricket Club, p. 189. (Call no.: RSING 796.3580605957 SHA)
30. Singapore Cricket Club. (2015). Anniversaries and the future. Retrieved from Singapore Cricket Club website: http://scc.org.sg/about/anniversaries-and-the-future
31. Singapore Cricket Club. (2015). Anniversaries and the future. Retrieved from Singapore Cricket Club website: http://scc.org.sg/about/anniversaries-and-the-future
Further resources
Makepeace, W., Brooke, G. E., & Braddell, R. St. J. (Eds.). (1991). One hundred years of Singapore (Vol. 2). Singapore: Oxford University Press, pp. 325‒331.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 ONE-[HIS])
Tyers, R. (1976). Singapore, then & now (Vol. 1). Singapore: University Education Press, pp. 96‒103.
(Call no.: RCLOS 959.57 TYE-[HIS])
The information in this article is valid as at 2016 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history on the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
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The information on this page and any images that appear here may be used for private research and study purposes only. They may not be copied, altered or amended in any way without first gaining the permission of the copyright holder.
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