Singapore’s veteran cricketers turned up at Ceylon Sports Club on Sept 18 expecting the usual SloMo ingredients – lunch, old friends, plenty of banter and a leisurely game of cricket.
What almost none of them expected was President Tharman Shanmugaratnam walking through the entrance.
Only about five people among the roughly 50 attending the annual SloMo gathering knew beforehand that the President might join them.
His surprise appearance immediately became the highlight of an event built around former cricketers reliving their playing days and renewing decades-old friendships.
President Tharman stayed for nearly two hours, joining the players for lunch, shaking hands and chatting with those present, posing for photographs and signing autographs.
There was little formality surrounding the visit, and his relaxed interaction with the former players left a strong impression.
While President Tharman is better known for playing hockey, cricket also has deep roots in his family.
Senior Counsel Chelva Rajah, patron and former cricket captain of Ceylon Sports Club, said President Tharman’s father had captained the club, while his grand-uncle N.K. Muthu Kumaru captained the first Ceylon Sports Club side to win the Singapore Cricket Association Senior League in 1953.
His elder brother also opened the bowling for Anglo-Chinese School, while President Tharman himself played cricket during his school days.
“Cricket is in his blood. He can’t escape it,” Mr Chelva joked.
Former Singapore international and SloMo 2026 chief organiser Wang Hoe Sang also has vivid childhood memories of watching members of the President’s family play.
Hoe Sang’s father operated a canteen at the medical college, near a ground used for university and club cricket.
On weekends, the young Hoe Sang would help his father serve the cricketers while watching President Tharman’s father and uncles in action.
Their cricket inspired him, he said, and he subsequently played the game through school and eventually represented Singapore.
The President’s appearance therefore brought back “a lot of fond memories”.
SloMo – short for “slow motion” cricket – brings together veteran players, former internationals and old rivals for an annual social match.
The cricket is deliberately relaxed, but the larger purpose is reconnecting people who sometimes competed fiercely against one another decades ago.
“The magic of SloMo is not the result of who won or who lost,” Mr Rajah said. “Whoever plays, we are all winners.”
The gathering allows former players to relive their younger days alongside many of the same people with whom they once shared Singapore’s cricket grounds.
Co-organiser M. Neethinathan, a former Singapore cricket and hockey international, said the President’s decision to attend made this year’s gathering particularly meaningful.
Many SloMo members are now over 65 and spend the occasion reminiscing about their playing days.
“Cricket is just a facet. It is a point for us to come together,” he said.
“We have enjoyed ourselves today. We look forward to tomorrow and hope there are more tomorrows for us to be together.”
Former Singapore Cricket Club president Zoher Motiwalla said participants appreciated the opportunity to meet the President in such an informal setting.
“He chatted with everybody,” Zoher said, adding that many enjoyed simply being able to speak with and shake hands with Singapore’s Head of State.
Long-time SCC member Suresh Prabhu described the visit as “completely out of the ordinary”, saying President Tharman added “that little extra presidential class” to the occasion.
Former Ceylon Sports Club player Ravichandran was similarly struck by how naturally the President moved among the gathering.
He said President Tharman interacted warmly with everyone and also encouraged some of the younger SloMo participants.
For the veterans, however, SloMo remains less about runs and wickets than preserving friendships created through cricket.
This year, those memories acquired an unexpected addition.
An afternoon that was supposed to begin simply with lunch and cricket instead began with the President of Singapore dropping in to spend time with some of the men who helped shape the country’s cricketing history.
And for many of those present, that will probably be the SloMo story they recount for years to come.
