Timor-Leste’s opening week in men’s T20Is produced an unusual first. On 6 November in Bali, 50-year-old Suhail Sattar and his 17-year-old son Yahya Suhail walked out together, becoming the first father-and-son pair to play – and bat – side by side in an international match.
The pair came together in the middle during Timor-Leste’s inaugural fixture against hosts Indonesia. The moment lasted only a handful of deliveries, yet it still nudged the sport’s record books. As Sattar admitted afterwards, “I never thought I’d still be fit enough to stand next to my boy in a full international – it was pretty special.”
While unprecedented in the men’s game, parent-child combinations have appeared elsewhere. Earlier this year Switzerland’s women fielded Metty Fernandes and daughter Naina Metty Saju in six T20Is. Domestic cricket offers more examples: Shivnarine and Tagenarine Chanderpaul played 11 first-class matches together for Guyana, and in last season’s Shpageeza League final Mohammad Nabi bowled to his son Hassan Eisakhil.
Results, it has to be said, have been tough for the South-East Asian newcomers. Three matches, three defeats, all by ten wickets. Head coach José Guterres sounded realistic rather than downbeat: “We’re learning on the job. The margin looks brutal, but every ball faced gives us something to take home.”
Timor-Leste only gained ICC Associate status in 2019, and opportunities have been limited. Infrastructure is basic, funding tighter still. Yet regional administrators insist the potential is genuine. An ICC development officer present in Bali noted that age-group participation has doubled since the pandemic, adding, “Give them five years of regular fixtures and you’ll see the gap close.”
For the moment, though, the headline belongs to a father and his teenage son. Shared caps, shared memories, and – they hope – the start of a longer story for Timor-Leste cricket.
