RIYADH, 9 March 2007 — A cricket stadium will be constructed in Riyadh next year as part of an ambitious plan to promote the game at the national level in the Kingdom.
This was disclosed by Abdul Qadir Mirza, president of Riyadh Cricket Association (RCA) on the occasion of Arab News Cup finals for under-19 and under-14 played out on the RCA Grounds at Sulay yesterday. The tournament was organized by RCA and co-sponsored by Heinz Middle East, Hersheley Chocolates and Rabia Foods.
Hundreds of cricket fans, including a large gathering of women from the subcontinent, watched the thrilling matches that saw Pakistan International School Nasseriah scoop Man of the Match and Best All-Rounder prizes in under-14 and under-19 groups.
Paying tributes to Khaled Almaeena, Arab News editor in chief, for sponsoring the event, Mirza said Arab News has always been in the forefront in sponsoring cricket and other sports. He announced that a Saudi Cricket Council would be set up here in the near future with both Prince Abdul Aziz bin Nasser bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, chief patron of RCA, and Khaled Almaeena as co-patrons of the council. He said the prince wanted Almaeena to be on board. Of the planned stadium, the RCA chief said it would come up on Medina Road, north of Riyadh. Besides the expatriates, the goal was also to promote the game among young Saudis. Earlier, Mansoor Ahmed, vice-president, RCA, recalled America’s civil rights activist Martin Luther King when he said that “RCA has a dream. We want to have an infrastructure of international standard to promote cricket as the No. 2 game in the Kingdom after soccer. We would like our young players of today to blossom as international players of tomorrow.”
He said RCA has set up an academy for the youth of Riyadh region to hone their cricketing skills. The Association would send a cricket team to England this summer as part of its plan to let them play in different conditions in the home of cricket.
Raza ur Rahman, adviser, RCA, said the association was striving to groom budding talent into seasoned players by holding inter-school tournaments frequently. “We want to promote the game at the grassroots level irrespective of the nationality of the players.”
Speaking on behalf of Arab News, Almaeena assured the newspaper’s support to RCA in promoting cricket, volleyball and basketball among the youth. He said: “Sport creates a spirit of tolerance and discipline on the ground. I hope that they will carry that spirit off the ground in their conduct as a member of the society. Also, you should learn to believe in and have faith in yourself,” implying that self-confidence is the starting point on the road to success.
Almaeena said he was impressed by the large turnout of women at the finals. This shows the passion for cricket at all levels. He appreciated the support the families gave to the players.
Later, RCA presented a plaque of appreciation to Almaeena for his support to their tournament. They also honored the following members of the committee for their untiring efforts for the success of the event. They were: Raza ur Rahman, Fayaz Bakhshi, Haneef Baber, Afzal Pasha and Rehan Khan.
In yesterday’s fixtures, Pakistan International School (Naseriya) made a clean sweep of the Arab News Cup for under-14 and under-19 boys.
In the under-19 category, Pakistan International school (Nasseriya) bested Manarat Al Riyadh School by a huge margin of 120 runs. PIS, who won the toss and elected to bat, ran into rough weather as Manarat boys took two early wickets. However, they fought back as Rizwan Manzoor and Omar Iqbal put on a gallant show with their century partnership. Rizwan ,in particular, was in splendid form as he thrashed the Manarat bowlers at will. He remained unbeaten at 135, including 19 fours. Omar piled 44 runs that included six fours and a sixer. Amer Thrombo also contributed 29 runs for Manarat, while Abdul Mohsen took one for 31. There were a couple of doubtful umpiring decisions which did not help the Manarat boys.
In reply, the Manarat team went down tamely before the tight bowling of Pakistan school boys. Only Sameed Lodhi, their most consistent batsman, put up a gallant fight as he scored 49 runs with the support of Umair Rauf (28 runs) and Sultan (16). Manarat piled 139 runs off seven wickets in 20 overs. For PIS, Amer Thrombo and Hassan each took two wickets. Rizwan Manzoor was declared the Man of the Match for scoring 135 runs.
In the under-14 finals, Pakistan International School (Nasseriya) trounced the International Indian Public School (IIPS) by a huge margin of 92 runs.
From PIS side, Abdul Salam delivered a scintillating performance with a brilliant score of 80 runs. He tore apart IIPS bowlers and was particularly harsh on the spinners. His knock included nine fours, made possible with fine support from Shiraz Shafique , who remained unbeaten with 60 runs that included seven fours. The other notable scorers were A.Saleem (28 runs) and A.Qadeer (26 runs).The PIS boys reached 225 runs in their allotted 20 overs. For IIPS Shelvin bowled tirelessly to take 2 for 42.
In reply, IIPS could not cope with the guile of Sheraz as he proved deadly with a tally of 4 for 30 off four overs. Sharang was the only IIPS batsmen to defy PIS bowlers as he turned in an unbeaten 64, including five boundaries. His was a solo performance in its own class. The IIPS could only muster 133 runs in 20 overs losing eight wkts in the bargain.
Sheraz Shafique of Pakistan International School (Naseriya) was declared the Man of the Match for his all-round display.(More coverage next week.)
