‘Padang’ happy hunting ground for many stalwarts

Chris DHAMBARAGE in Malaysia

The ICC under 19 World Cup quarterfinal fixture between Sri Lanka and New Zealand to be played at the Royal Selangor Club in Kuala Lumpur today will be quite a significant one for Consultant Batting Coach Aravinda de Silva.

The former Sri Lanka captain has some happy memories at this venue having wielded his willow successfully along with some of the more illustrious cricketers in the recent past.

The other great players who have made their presence felt at this venue are Ray Lindwall, Freddie Trueman, Wesley Hall, Nawab Pataudi, Dennis Lille, Bruce Yardley, Gary Sobers, Curtley Ambrose, Rodney Marsh and many others.

The Royal Selangor Cub was first founded in 1884 and it was very possible that cricket may have been introduced into the then Federated Malay States (FMS). Ever since then cricket has been a permanent feature of this great sports Club besides being the home of Malaysian Cricket.

Earlier the playing field of the Royal Selangor Club was affectionately called the ‘Padang’ or playing field in the Malay language. Apart from cricket, this was also a popular venue for other sports like rugby, tennis, hockey and football.

At the old club ground cricket was then played on the Padang amidst the beautiful backdrop of the more than a century old state secretariat building which had on either side the Old Town Hall at the end of the post office at the other end thus making this venue a one of the most picturesque cricket grounds in the world.

However the cricket ground has since relocated to Bukit Kiara just ten minutes away from the centre of Kuala Lumpur..