The Malaysia national cricket team represents Malaysia in international cricket matches. The team is organised by the Malaysian Cricket Association which has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1967.
During the British colonial period, the Federated Malay States, Straits Settlements and Malaya cricket teams played regularly in Interport matches and against other visiting teams. Following Malaysian independence, the team's most frequent opponent has been Singapore in the Saudara Cup and Stan Nagaiah Trophy. Malaysia made its debut in ICC tournaments in the inaugural 1979 ICC Trophy, making regular appearances until ICC pathways were altered in the 2000s and hosting the 1997 ICC Trophy. Malaysia has regularly hosted Asian Cricket Council (ACC) tournaments and finished runner-up in the 1998 ACC Trophy. In the World Cricket League the team reached as high as Division Three, subsequently being placed in the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League.
History Early days Cricket has been played in what is now Malaysia since the 1880s. Various teams represented Malaya, the Federated Malay States and the Straits Settlements, formed in 1884 by the British. Royal Selangor Club (RSC) is the first cricket club founded in present Malaysia (locally called a padang also in Singapore e.g. Padang, Singapore). The Singapore Cricket Club, a former affiliate of the Malayan Cricket Association, is the oldest cricket club in the region (founded in 1852).
The first recorded match was between Selangor and Malacca in 1887. The Selangor-Singapore series was played in 1891. Cricket in Johor was played in the early 20th century, but the first recorded cricketing event is the visit of the Australian team led by C. G. Macartney in 1927. Penang is another historical cricket venue in Malaysia where cricket has been played from British times. The Penang Sports Club was established in the early 1900s. On 6 June 1927 Malaya beat Australia by 39 runs to make history. Lall Singh became the first Malaysia-born Test player (played for India in their debut Test at Lord's against England in 1932).
After World War II, cricket grew in popularity, leading to the founding of the Malayan Cricket Association (MCA) in 1948. Regional cricket associations like Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined and in 1963, the MCA was renamed the Malaysian Cricket Association. In 1965, the independence of Singapore led its association to leave the MCA. In 1967, Malaysia became an associate member of the ICC.Malaysia at CricketArchive
The first team to represent Malaysia was in 1970, three years after the MCA became an ICC associate member, when it played an MCC side captained by Tony Lewis in a two-day match, losing by 230 runs.Scorecard of Malaysia v MCC, 7 March 1970 at CricketArchive The same year, Malaysia played the first Saudara Cup match against Singapore, drawing the three-day match.Scorecard of Malaysia v Singapore, 4 September 1970 at CricketArchive
The Saudara Cup match continued annually, and in 1979 Malaysia participated in the first ICC Trophy, failing to progress beyond the first round, a performance they repeated in 19821982 ICC Trophy at Cricinfo and 1986.1986 ICC Trophy at Cricinfo They reached the plate competition in 19901990 ICC Trophy at Cricinfo and 1994.1994 ICC Trophy at Cricinfo
1990s The first Stan Nagaiah Trophy was played in Singapore in February 1995 with Singapore beating Malaysia 2–1 in the three-match one-day series.1995 Stan Nagaiah Trophy at CricketArchive After winning the Stan Nagaiah Trophy1996 Stan Nagaiah Trophy at CricketArchive and drawing the Saudara Cup match in 1996Scorecard of Singapore v Malaysia, 16 August 1996 at CricketArchive Malaysia hosted the first ACC Trophy tournament, finishing third in their first round group.1996 ACC Trophy at CricketEurope
Malaysia began to host major international tournaments in 1997, starting with the 1997 ICC Trophy in which Malaysia finished 16th after losing a play-off to Namibia.Scorecard of Malaysia v Namibia, 4 April 1997 at CricketArchive They played one season in Pakistani domestic cricket in 1998, losing all four of their preliminary round matches.1997/98 Wills Cup Points Table at CricketArchive Cricket made its first and, to date, only appearance in the Commonwealth Games later that year, with Malaysia hosting that year's games. The cricket tournament saw Malaysia participate as hosts though they lost all three of their first round matches.1998 Commonwealth Games cricket tournament at CricketEurope They reached the final of the ACC Trophy that same year, losing to Bangladesh.1998 ACC Trophy at CricketEurope
21st century 2000–2017 In 2000, Malaysia reached the semi-final of the ACC Trophy before losing to hosts the UAE.2000 ACC Trophy at CricketEurope They failed to progress beyond the first round of the 2001 ICC Trophy2001 ICC Trophy at Cricinfo and lost to Nepal in the semi-finals of the 2002 ACC Trophy.2002 ACC Trophy at CricketEurope
Malaysia played their first first-class matches in 2004 as part of that year's ICC Intercontinental Cup. They lost to both Nepal and the UAE and failed to reach the semi-final stage of the tournament.2004 ICC Intercontinental Cup at CricketEurope Malaysia hosted the ACC Trophy in 2004, which was the first stage of qualification for the 2005 ICC Trophy and the 2007 World Cup, finishing joint seventh with Bhutan.Asian qualifying at the official website of the 2005 ICC Trophy They finished last in the ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament in 2004, thus failing to qualify for the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup.2004 ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament points table at Asian Cricket Council website They played in the tournament again in 2005, this time finishing third.2005 ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament points table at Asian Cricket Council website]
In 2006, Malaysia competed in the ACC Premier League, finishing fourth.2006 ACC Premier League points table at Asian Cricket Council website They again hosted the ACC Trophy that year, again finishing seventh after beating Qatar in a play-off.2006 ACC Trophy at CricketEurope
Malaysia have played in the ACC Twenty20 Cup thrice. They did not win a match in 2007CricketEurope, Accessed 14 May 2011 but finished seventh in 2009 after winning 3 Group B matches and a positional playoff against Saudi Arabia.CricketEurope, Accessed 14 May 2011
In 2011, they finished sixth after winning 4 Group A matches and losing a positional playoff against the UAE.
In August 2017, Malaysia won two medals in cricket at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games. They won the gold medal in the 50-over tournament and the silver medal in the 20-over tournament.
2018-Present In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 matches played between Malaysia and other ICC members after 1 January 2019 have the full T20I status.
Malaysia played their first T20I on 24 June against Thailand during the 2019 Malaysia Tri-Nation Series. They recorded a comfortable win.
After April 2019, Malaysia will play in the 2019–21 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League.
Grounds
Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur (Former) Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur Selangor Turf Club, Selangor Royal Selangor Club, Selangor UKM-YSD Cricket Oval, Bangi Kolej Tunku Abdul Jaafar Cricket Oval,Mantin,Negeri Sembilan Club Aman Cricket Ground,Ampang,Kuala Lumpur
Tournament history ICC Twenty20 World Cup Regional Final ICC Twenty20 World Cup Regional Final recordsYearRoundPositionGPWLTNR 2018–19DNQ5/541300 2021The tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic 2023DNQ–31200Total2/20 Title 72500
ICC Twenty20 World Cup Asia–EAP Regional Final ICC Twenty20 World Cup Asia–EAP Regional Final recordsHost/YearRoundPositionGPWLTNR 2025DNQ–20200Total1/10 Title 20200
World Cricket League 2009 Division Six: Fourth place 2011 Division Six: Second place – promoted 2012 Division Five: Second place – promoted 2012 Division Four: Fifth place – relegated 2014 Division Five: Second place – promoted 2014 Division Four: Champions – promoted 2014 Division Three: Third place 2017 Division Three: Sixth place – relegated 2018 Division Four: Third place
Commonwealth Games 1998: First round
ICC Intercontinental Cup 2004: First round 2005: Did not qualify 2006/07: Did not participate2006/07 ICC Intercontinental Cup at CricketEurope
ICC Trophy 1979: First round 1982: First round 1986: First round 1990: Plate competition 1994: Plate competition 1997: 16th place 2001: First round 2005: Did not qualify
ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament 2004: 5th place 2005: 3rd place 2006: 4th place
ACC Trophy 1996: First round 1998: Runners up 2000: Semi-finals 2002: Semi-finals 2004: 7th place 2006: 7th place 2008 Elite: 6th place 2010 Elite: 4th place 2012 Elite: 4th place 2014 Premier League Elite: 6th place
Asia Cup Qualifier ACC Asia Cup Qualifier recordYear/HostRoundPositionGPWLTNR 2016Did not participate 2018Round robin5/651400 2022Did not participateTotal1/30 Titles51400
ACC Eastern Region T20 ACC Eastern Region T20 recordHost/YearRoundPositionGPWLTNR 2018Did not participateTotal0/10 Titles00000
ACC Twenty20 Cup ACC Twenty20 Cup recordHost/YearRoundPositionGPWLTNR 2007Group stages10/1040400 2009Group stages7/1264200 2011Group stages6/1042200 2013Group stages6/1042200 2015Round robin5/652300Total2/30 Titles23101300
Asian Games Asian Games recordHost/YearRoundPositionGPWLTNR 2010Quarter-finals5/921100 2014Quarter-finals5/932100 2022Quarter-finals6/1432100Total3/30 Titles85300
Arafura Games Arafura Games recordHost/YearRoundPositionGPWLTNR 2007Runners up—54100Total1/10 Titles42200
Southeast Asian Games Southeast Asian Games recordHost/YearRoundPositionGPWLTNR 2023Runners up—31200Total1/10 Titles31200
Records and statistics International Match Summary — Malaysia
Last updated 24 September 2026 Playing Record Format M W L T NR Inaugural Match Twenty20 Internationals 133 78 50 1 4 24 June 2019
Twenty20 International Highest team total: 268/4 v. Thailand on 2 October 2023 at Zhejiang University of Technology Cricket Field, Hangzhou. Highest individual score: 126, Syed Aziz v. Thailand on 2 October 2023 at Zhejiang University of Technology Cricket Field, Hangzhou. Best individual bowling figures: 7/8, Syazrul Idrus v. China on 26 July 2023 at Bayuemas Oval, Pandamaran.
Most T20I runs for Malaysia PlayerRunsAverageCareer spanVirandeep Singh 3,370 36.23 2019–2026Syed Aziz 3,027 30.37 2019–2026Ahmed Faiz 1,952 24.40 2019–2026Zubaidi Zulkifle 1,269 18.94 2019–2026Sharvin Muniandy 1,188 16.97 2019–2026
Most T20I wickets for Malaysia PlayerWicketsAverageCareer spanVirandeep Singh 125 13.48 2019–2026Pavandeep Singh 111 18.15 2019–2026Vijay Unni 88 17.96 2022–2026Syed Aziz 76 22.59 2019–2026Sharvin Muniandy 55 23.07 2019–2026
T20I record versus other nations
Records complete to T20I #4141. Last updated 24 September 2026. Opponent M W L T NR First match First win vs Full Members 1 0 1 0 0 4 October 2023 vs Associate Members 13 6 7 0 0 15 December 2022 15 December 2022 4 4 0 0 0 2 July 2022 2 July 2022 1 0 1 0 0 11 May 2023 2 2 0 0 0 26 July 2023 26 July 2023 21 12 9 0 0 20 February 2020 20 February 2020 6 6 0 0 0 2 May 2023 2 May 2023 6 4 2 0 0 22 July 2019 22 July 2019 5 4 0 0 1 25 June 2019 25 June 2019 1 1 0 0 0 9 September 2024 9 September 2024 2 2 0 0 0 30 July 2023 30 July 2023 2 0 1 1 0 18 April 2021 11 1 10 0 0 13 July 2019 29 February 2020 2 1 1 0 0 30 October 2023 7 June 2026 6 2 4 0 0 29 March 2022 29 March 2022 1 1 0 0 0 9 December 2025 9 December 2025 5 1 3 0 1 27 July 2019 16 December 2022 2 2 0 0 0 20 July 2025 20 July 2025 4 3 1 0 0 13 April 2024 13 April 2024 15 11 3 0 1 26 July 2019 29 June 2022 1 1 0 0 0 10 March 2024 10 March 2024 12 11 0 0 1 24 June 2019 24 June 2019 4 0 4 0 0 10 October 2025 6 3 3 0 0 29 September 2019 2 October 2019
Other records