The Kelawar Cricket Club is the cricket section of MANZA and was officially launched in 1993. The history books show that Kelawar was conceived in the early part of the 1993 and underwent a metamorphosis from being the Petaling Hash Cricket Team, via ‘The Rats’, ‘The KL Harlequins, ‘The KL Rojaks’ and finally to evolve as the Kelawar Cricket Club. It’s like having a child – choosing a name can be
a traumatic experience and, from what has been documented, choosing a name for a cricket club can be just as traumatic. The majority of the original members were from the Petaling Hash House Harriers and they were like minded people who loved cricket and beer and wanted to form a team. The first thing that they needed to do was to get a few more people to play and this was pretty easy to achieve as the word soon got around mainly due to pub talk at Ronnie Q’s in Bangsar which was the local watering hole for expatriates in the area. Back then, there were not many bars in Bangsar. Maybe 3 - Ronnie Q’s, Dinty’s and the Taverna? After playing a couple of games they realised that they need a name so that their opponents knew who they were playing. By default, they were labelled the Petaling Hash House Harriers but they soon realised that this would not do as a name for a cricket team so the hunt for a name began in earnest. It was suggested that in keeping with rugby and cricket club traditions that they should adopt the name of an animal. This was when ‘The KL Rats’ was suggested and this stuck for a fortnight until somebody queried if we were setting wicket in Bangsar. ‘The KL Harlequins’ was then tried for a couple of games and was actually reported in the Singapore Straits Times. When it looked like the team was taking root, a committee was formed to organise matters and decide on a name as there were already a few sports clubs in KL called “Harlequins” and that a more Malaysian name should be adopted. The committee went into brainstorming mode and ‘The KL Rojaks’ was shortlisted to reflect the differing background of the team in nationalities and culture but this name lost its early enthusiasm. After the regulation 20 beers, someone suggested that they adopt a Malaysian animal and so out came the English-Malay dictionary and presto, there it was, Kelawar – a fruit bat. As the number of members began to increase, the committee realised that they needed to be part of an association as it was not possible to formerly register a cricket club due to red tape. So as many of the members were MANZA members, the committee decided to approach MANZA and ask if they wanted a cricket section and that, as they say, is history. Kelawar’s achievements since their establishment have been remarkable as they were the first non-state side to play in the Malaysian Cricket Association’s National League. Kelawar still play in leagues as well as many social games each year. Kelawar are known throughout the Malaysian cricket scene as a pretty good team who have been known to enjoy a few beers. In the past 24 years, Kelawar has seen many cricketers come and go as the majority of our members have been expatriates. Today, Kelawar is a small club of around 40 players of all different standards plus around 12 social members who just participate in our off field events organised by our EMT. Kelawar is proudly sponsored by Out of Africa Restaurant in PJ and so the majority of socialising is done there – either poolside in the beer garden or in the Kudu Bar watching sport. Kelawar is always looking for more players and we welcome players, scorers, umpires and spectators from any nationality.
