RIYADH: Pakistan International School (Sulaimaniya) and Pakistan International School (Nasseriya) lifted the Arab News Inter-school Cricket Cup for under-19 and under-15 age group, respectively.
Arab News Editor in Chief Khaled A. Almaeena, chief guest on the concluding day of the tournament, handed the trophies to the two winning teams in a glittering prize distribution ceremony at Sulay Grounds on the outskirts of Riyadh yesterday.
In his address to the students, players and officials of the Riyadh Cricket Association (RCA), Almaeena praised the efforts of the RCA in promoting cricket, and in unifying efforts to promote this game throughout the Kingdom. He said: “I would always extend all possible support to the games.” “We are proud to sponsor the tournament with a mission to promote the game of cricket in Saudi Arabia,” he added.
He said: “We’d like to thank RCA for making this year’s tournament possible and sought the support of all regional cricket associations to unify their efforts and make a common platform free from all bias.” “This will go a long way in helping young cricketers, especially from the subcontinent as well as from Saudi Arabia, to acquire cricket as a career or to play this international game in true spirit.”
He said that he was happy to learn that Arab News-RCA tournament brought hundreds of students from different schools on the cricket ground in Riyadh this season. Arab News, a major publication of Saudi Research & Publishing Company (SRPC), was the title sponsor for the event.
RCA President Abdul Qadeer Mirza briefed Almaeena about the successful event and thanked him for his continuous support, both in terms of sponsorship and press coverage.
Mirza said that “RCA always strived for the development of youth and children by organizing cricket tournaments.” “RCA has a training academy, where young players are taught cricket skills and fitness lessons,” he added.
Mansoor Ahmed, RCA vice-president, welcomed the representatives from the schools and thanked the Arab News management for sponsoring the tournament. He said that a total of 51 matches were played during the tournament. Ahmed further said that “the RCA was keen to promote the cricketing activities from the grassroots levels”. He said the tournament has the theme “Compete Hard and Play Fair”.
The prize distribution event was attended by Khaled Imran, military attache at Pakistan Embassy and principals of the schools besides a large number of supporters.
In yesterday’s match, PISN won the toss, but invited PISE to bat in the under-19 age group. The move paid off as PISE lost two early wickets, but Hamza Imran coming at No. 3 batted sensibly and he made a gallant 42 runs. After his fall, Zirgham Abbas hit a brilliant 62 runs including 5 hits to the fence and his innings gave respectability to the PISE innings. Once he got out, the other batsmen were unable to force the pace and PISE could only make 165 runs in their allotted 20 overs, losing 9 wickets in the process.
PISN captain Abdul Qader bowled intelligently to pick up 4 wickets. Chasing a moderate total PISN got into trouble as their opener Mohammad Ramazan got run out. PISE bowlers applied pressure and took wickets regularly.
Only Abdul Aziz of PISN batted extremely well to make 48 runs. The PISN innings folded up for only 122 runs. For PISE, M. Khurram bowled with lot of fire to pick up 4 wickets while Hamza Imran took two. PISE won the match by 45 runs to claim the trophy.
M. Khurram of PISE was declared Man of the Match for his splendid bowling of 4 for 24.
In the under-15 age group finals, PISN won the toss and asked Middle East International School (MEIS) to bat. The MEIS openers Hisham Ahmed and M. Adnan gave them a flying start by adding 60 runs for the first wicket. Adnan made a fine 35 runs and Hisham 20 runs. After their fall the PISN bowlers took charge and bowled out MEIS for only 119 runs.
For PISN, Abdul Waheed, Shiraz Shafiq and Anas Ahmed each took 3 wickets. Wicket keeper Wajid Rahman performed well by taking 3 catches. Chasing a moderate total, PISN lost two wickets early but Abdul Wahed and Abdul Qadeer batted with responsibility to take their team to a convincing win by 8 wickets. Abdul Waheed’s magnificient innings of 75 runs contained 12 fours and one six, while Abdul Qadeer remained not out on 22 runs. Abdul Waheed of PISN was declared Man of the Match for his all-round performance.
The committee members who went the extra mile to ensure success of the tournment include cricket veterans like Hanif Babar, Tarek Butt, Rehan Khan and Asif Sheikh.
The schools that entered the tournament were Pakistan International School (Nasseriya), Sri Lankan International School, Bangladesh International School (English section), International Indian School, Manarat Al-Riyadh School, Middle East International School, Pakistan International School (Sulemania), Delhi Public School, International Indian Public School and American International School.
The matches were played on league-cum-knockout basis. Hanif Baber, grounds manager of RCA, Khurshid Malik, maintenance manager, and Javaid Munawar, senior adviser, prepared the grounds for the event.
The tournament awards are as follows:
Under-19 group:
Best Batsman: Abdul Qader of PISN
Best Bowler: Omair Khan of Manarath al Riyadh school
Best All-rounder: Omair Khan of Manarath al Riyadh
Best Wicketkeeper: Waqas of PISE
Under-15 group:
Best Batsman: Abdul Waheed of PISN
Best Bowler: Martin of Indian International school
Best All-rounder: Shiraz Shafiq of PISN
Best Wicketkeeper: Wajid Rehman of PISE
— With input from Mansour Ahmed
