MADINAH, 16 November — Airport Bin Ladin won their first MCA Saudi Airlines trophy by beating Samsung in a thrilling final played at Al-Aqool cricket ground No. 4. This tournament was sponsored by Saudi Airlines and organized by Madinah Cricket Association.
Airport captain Zafar Abassi after winning the toss opted to bat first. Airport managed modest score of 275 runs for the loss of seven wickets.
Dr. Tanveer scored 62, Himmad 44 Zahid Butt 32 and Shahid Butt also scored 32 valuable runs. Khalid Butt of Samsung claimed three wickets. Chasing the target of 275 runs, Samsung tried hard but fell short of six runs to win the match. Bad luck haunted Ateeq as he fell short of 8 runs to complete his century. He scored brilliant 92 runs. Ramzan Nakyana and Ihsan Butt brothers scored 45 and 35 runs respectively. The three Butt brothers claimed 8 wickets with Shahid Butt three Tahir Butt three and Zahid Butt two wickets apiece. Asim Shah and Akram from Jeddah Cricket League supervised the final and declared Tahir Butt man-of-the-match.
Later, the prize distribution ceremony was held at ground and trophies were given away to winning team captain, down to the fourth position. Hameed Kurdi, district sales manager of Saudi Airlines, was the chief guest. He was accompanied by other Saudi Airlines officials including Abdul Aziz Abu Laban. Mamdooh and Adil Sharbijee (from Saudi Oger) were also among the other dignitaries.
MCA president Zahid Ali welcomed the guest and briefed the audience about the tournament. He also thanked to the umpires from Jeddah Cricket League and huge number of spectators at ground.
Abdul Hameed Kurdi, in his speech, assured MCA of continuing support of Saudi Airlines. He also announced attractive prizes for the next tournament including air tickets for different destinations. He also praised the MCA officials for their work to bring this tournament a success.
