On long hot afternoons in the field I always liked playing at a ground where I could gaze out into the real world – often wishing I was somewhere else.

The Padang, the playing field of the Singapore Cricket Club, is made for daydreaming fielders. There’s the stately pavillion of the club, where cricket is only part of things these days, the National Art Gallery sits majestically beyond the pitch at one end while from the other end you can see the audcacious Marina Bay Sands Hotel. And you could also wonder what it would be like to live or work in one of the many skyscrapers in view.

I was pleased to find two manual scoreboards – a little countdown affair and a more traditional board sporting the club logo.

The Singapore Cricket Club was formed in 1852.