Malaysia's Carlsberg National League recent details
Tony Munro - 21 April 1999

Malaysia's Carlsberg National League got underway the weekend before last with Malaysia Malays defeating Penang in the opening match of the First Division. The competition comprises of two divisions, with the First Division containing seven teams and eight teams contesting the Second Division.

The six States who join the Malaysian Malay invitational team in the First Division are: Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Perak, Negri Sembilan and Johor.

The First Division teams play two-innings matches over two days in a single round-robin. The top four teams from the League then qualify for the Carlsberg Cup, where four teams contest the semi-finals with the winners the playing-off for the Cup.

Selangor clinched the 1998 title, played under a 50 over format, while Malaysian Malays took out the Cup. Both are favourites in this year's events.

Selangor contains at last five national players, including national captain Suresh Navaratnam, while Venu Ramadas, Rakesh Mahadevan, Melvinder Singh and Dinesh Ramadas are key players. Venu Ramadas shares the new ball at national team level, while Mahadevan is a left-handed opening batsman, who has already struck a hundred in the season's opening international series, the Stan Nagiah Trophy in Singapore. Singh is another new ball bowler who also made his international debut in Singapore and Dinesh Ramadas is an aggressive right hand batsman and off-spinner.

Malaysian Malays, alternatively, rely more on team effort, although their two Sri Lankans, Thushara Kodikara and Sanath Jayawardhana, are clearly their better players. The pair, both all-rounders who bowl medium-fast and bat up the order, were chiefly responsible for Malays winning the Cup last year. Their best local player is Tan Kim Heng's Mohamed Firadanz.

Ramesh Menon, a key part of the Selangor team for the past five years has bolstered Johor, which has enough past and present national players in K.Ramadas and Chew Pok Cheong to upset the main contenders.

One of the teams to follow is Kuala Lumpur, which is embarking on a youth policy and has set 2001 as a more realistic target. KL will be led by national team vice-captain, Rohan Selvaratnam, who should receive good support from fellow national players, Vishau Suppiah (18) and Suresh Singh, and possibly Arul Vivasun.

Vivasun's inclusion is uncertain as he is currently studying in England where he played for England under 15s last year and will probably progress to England under 15s this year. If he is free of cricket commitments, he may return for the Malaysian season.

The Second Division comprises two groups of four, who contest 50-over matches. The preliminary league is confined to States and teams in peninsular Malaysia only. The States, Kedah, Terengannu and Malacca are joined by five invited teams - Armed Forces, Manza, Selangor 'B', Johor 'B' and Tenaga Nasional Berhad. The winners of each group plays the runner-up in the other in the competition semi-finals with the semi-finals winners progressing to the final.

The top four in the preliminary league then play in the final rounds of the Second Division, where they meet the two East Malaysian states, Sabah and Sarawak. ICC Affiliate member, Brunei, has also been invited to compete, but it has not signalled its intention.

TNB, the league newcomer, looks to be the main contenders as it will have several players with First Division experience, while the defending champion, Terangannu, may find the TNB challenge too formidable as it is relying on older players who have been discarded from the First Division.

The Malaysian season began in late January/early February with inter-club league matches played in the West Coast states only. These included centres such as Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, Ipoh, Negri Sembilan and Johor.

Royal Selangor Club (Group A) and Silver State (Group B) lead their groups in what is arguably Malaysia's strongest club competition, the Dato Bandar (Mayor) Trophy, a 50-over league in the Klang Valley.

The trophy features 10 sides and is extremely competitive as most of the top clubs and players in the country come from the Klang Valley, which geographically forms an area with a 40 kilometre radius around Kuala Lumpur.

The league boasts around 10 national players including Navaratnam (Kajang Indo Ceylonese), Rohan Selvaratnam (Royal Selangor Club) and the national opening bowler, M.Muniandy (Silver State).

Royal Selangor 'B' (Group A), Kilat Club (Group B) and Kajang Indo Ceylonese (Group C) lead their respective groups in the second league in the Klang Valley, a 25-over competition played on Saturday afternoons, the Tunku Imran Trophy. The 15 teams are divided into three groups, with the top two in each group progressing to the Second Round. The format then changes to a knockout basis.