CRICKET PLAYS ITS PART AT 33RD SEA GAMES

CRICKET PLAYS ITS PART AT 33^RD SEA GAMES

It is another significant step in the development of cricket in the Land of Smiles as the sport, which will soon be an Olympic event again, plays a full part in the 33^rd edition of the South East Asian Games hosted by Thailand from 9^th to 20^th December 2025.

There are men’s and women’s competitions in T10 and T20 cricket with five teams playing in the men’s events and six teams playing in the women’s events. A total of 40 matches, 10 in each event, will be played at the Bangkok cricket grounds of TCG and AIT which are being revamped for the occasion.

Five men’s teams will compete in round robin leagues in T10 and T20 cricket as Thailand will be joined by Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore and it will be the final tables that will decide the medals.

The women’s competitions involve six teams so there is a group stage followed by semi-finals and finals. In the T10 competition Thailand are drawn in Group A with Indonesia and Singapore, while Malaysia, Myanmar and Philippines will contest Group B.  In the T20 competition Thailand will face Myanmar and Singapore in Group A while Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines will play in Group B.

The top two teams in each group will play semi-finals then there will be third-place play-off and final in the T10 competition will be decided on 12^th December while the T20 competition will come to a conclusion on 19^th December.

The Thailand women’s team are favourites for gold medals in both T10 and T20 cricket as they are the highest rated team in the T20 world rankings and they have won every cricket tournament ever held in the SEA Games. Thailand men’s team will face a harder task in the battle for medals but they will fight hard for medals and they will be further inspired with the benefit of home support.

Cricket has been played at the SEA Games on two previous occasions in 2017 in Malaysia and 2023 in Cambodia. In 2017 in Kuala Lumpur Thailand women won the gold medal in T20 cricket by beating Indonesia in the final by 23 runs and Malaysia beat Singapore to win bronze, while the men’s team finished fourth after losing to Indonesia in the battle for bronze, while Singapore beat Malaysia to claim the gold medal.

Cricket was back at the 2023 SEA Games hosted in Phnom Penh in Cambodia when there were no fewer than four competitions, 50 over, 20 over, 10 over and sixes cricket. Thailand women had a triumphant time in these games as they won a hat-trick of gold medals as they won the 50 over, 20 over and 10 over competitions. The men’s team won a bronze medal in 50 over cricket as they beat Indonesia in the third-place play-off but it was the Cambodia men’s team that won three gold medals.

Cricket is played for the third time in the SEA Games and it is the first time cricket has been part of a SEA Games hosted by Thailand so it should be an exciting 10 days of cricket as the two grounds have been transformed with new facilities for competitors and spectators alike. The cricket events get underway on Tuesday 9^th December with women’s T10 cricket at AIT and men’s T20 cricket at TCG.

 Cricket supporters from all over the world should follow the SEA Games cricket competitions now that the sport will make its return to the Olympics in Los Angeles next year.