Singapore

The first recorded mention of cricket in Singapore was in 1837 when a "Mr Z" complained, in a letter to the Singapore Free Press, of cricket being played near a church on a Sunday in violation of the Christian Sabbath. This resulted in cricket being banned on Sundays, a prohibition that remained in place until the 1930s. Cricket was an important recreational activity, with matches often played against the officers of visiting ships. The Singapore Cricket Club was formed in 1852 and played their first match amongst themselves the same year. The quality of cricket in these early years was quite poor, and it wasn't until 1865 before a team total of more than 100 was scored. Louis Glass became the first person in Singapore to record a century two years later. The Singapore Cricket Club eventually began to play against teams from other parts of British Malaya such as Penang, Perak and Kuala Lumpur and this eventually led to an invitation from Hong Kong to send a team there, which saw the beginning of the long-running series of "Interport matches".

The 1890 invitation from Hong Kong led to the formation of the Straits Settlements cricket team, and they played Hong Kong in two two-day matches, both of which were lost. The series was the beginning of the "Interport Matches", which continued until 1987. Hong Kong and Ceylon came to Singapore the following year, and the Straits Settlements won both matches, also drawing against a combined Ceylon/Hong Kong team. The Straits Settlements team beat Ceylon in Colombo in 1893, and played a match in Jakarta in 1895. Matches against the Federated Malay States began in 1896, and against Shanghai in 1897. They played Burma in 1906, and their involvement in the Interport Matches ceased in 1909, when they were replaced by an All Malaya team. The Straits Settlements visited Bangkok in 1910, though from them their only matches came annually against the Federated Malay States until 1940. These fixtures continue in the modern era as the Saudara Cup matches between Singapore and Malaysia.