AS a final hurrah before being evicted from the ground they have occupied for 19 years, the Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA) will host two international tournaments at the Kinrara Oval this month.
June 30 marks the end of an era for Malaysian cricket before work begins to find a new home for the sport, starting from scratch as MCA look to build a ground rivalling Kinrara Oval's international standard.
From a barren piece of land overgrown with lalang, MCA turned the Kinrara Oval into a venue graced by top Test-playing nations and became the envy of International Cricket Council (ICC) associate member countries.
MCA president Iqbal Ali Kassim Ali said the challenge facing the association is finding the right location to call home and the funding that will be required to turn it into a respectable venue.
"It will be a sad day when we leave after building one of the best cricket grounds in Southeast Asia on what was once a field of lalang. We built it from scratch once, we can do it again," said a defiant Iqbal.
Kinrara Oval is being returned to the landowner, Perumahan Kinrara Bhd, following the expiry of a 15-year lease in 2018 and a subsequent two-year extension. This follows a dispute over the non-payment of assessment fees of more than RM1.8 million by MCA.
In the meantime, MCA will utilise the UKM Oval in Bangi, the Selangor Turf Club ground and the Kolej Tuanku Ja'afar ground in Mantin to hold their activities.
Vacating Kinrara Oval leaves the Bayuemas Oval in Klang as the country's only one-day international status ground although it has been three years since a match of any description was played there.
Iqbal hopes MCA's track record in governance - it ranked third on the ICC's corporate governance scorecard - will persuade the government to lend a helping hand.
"We've come this far with very little help and funding and yet we have managed to build a ground of international standard," said Iqbal.
"We've done a lot of good for the game with very little support.
"This would be a good time to help us. We have shown what we can do after putting in our blood, sweat and tears to make Malaysian cricket known to the world."
As MCA prepare to bid farewell to Kinrara Oval, a month-long festival of cricket will begin tomorrow with the Asia Qualifier for the Under-19 Women's World Cup, where Bhutan, Nepal, Qatar, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates join Malaysia in battling for one qualifying spot.
This will be followed by a tournament for cricket enthusiasts on June 10-12 to experience playing at the ground for one last time before the curtain comes down with the ACC Women's T20 Championship on June 16-30 when 10 teams compete for two berths at the women's Asia Cup in Bangladesh in October.