RIYADH, 8 December 2006 — The draw was made for the third Arab News Interschool Cricket Tournament that attracted 16 teams. Organized by Riyadh Cricket Association (RCA), the tournament opens next Thursday at the RCA ground in Sulay here.

“ This year, there will be 16 teams tournament from 11 schools participating in the tournament,” RCA Advisor Razaur Rahman told Arab News soon after the draw held at a city restaurant Tuesday .

Representatives from the participating schools were present during the draw.

Rahman explained the rules and regulations of the tourney, emphasizing cooperation from all schools in maintaining discipline both on and off the grounds .

Rahman further insisted that the officials from schools should bring competitive teams for making the event exciting and challenging. Official from the schools should monitor the students and avoid any mishaps. He also mentioned that RCA will provide a number of committee members to help the schools in this regard.

Mansoor Ahmed, vice president welcomed the representatives from the school and thanked Khaled Almaeena, editor in chief of Arab News for sponsoring the tournament . He also mentioned that RCA is keen to promote cricket from the grassroots level. He further said that the theme of the tournament will be : ‘Sportsmanship, teamwork and discipline.’

Speaking on the importance of tourney, Fazalur Rahman, Senior Advisor RCA, said such programs will instill a sense of competitive spirit among the players.

The results of the draw are as follows:

Under 19 Groups

Group A — Manarat Al Riyadh school, Sri Lankan International School, Indian International School and Pakistan International School (English Section).

Group B — Al-Jawahar School, Pakistan International School (English Section), Middle East International School and Bangladesh International school.

Under 14 Groups

Group A —  Manarat Al Riyadh School, Pakistan International School (Urdu section), Sri Lankan International School and International Indian Public School.

Group B — Delhi Public School, Indian International School, Al Momin School and Al-Iqbal School.

Hanif Baber (Mobile #0505238266), grounds manager of RCA, has been appointed as Tournament Secretary for this event. He will be in charge of all activities on the ground. For all administrative tasks like scheduling, statistics and umpiring activities a three member committee is formed to supervise these activities, the members are Fayyaz Bakshi (Mobile # 0501205815), Afzal Pasha (0567263990) and Rehan Khan (0504192861).