JEDDAH, 26 December 2003 — The status of Jeddah Cricket League’s moves for affiliation with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and its regional Asian Cricket Council (ACC) was explained at a ‘cricket conference’ held here on Wednesday night.
The forum, convened by Zainal E. Alireza and Arab News Editor in Chief Khaled A. Al-Maeena, both JCL patrons, was attended by the Kingdom’s Cricket Control Board (CCB) members, Eastern Province Cricket Association (EPCA), Yanbu Cricket League (YCL), Madinah Cricket Association (MCA) and all clubs registered with the JCL. The EPCA and MCA presidents sent in letters of support to JCL as they could not attend the conference due to prior commitments. All 40 JCL club members were invited and there was 100 percent attendance, with club captains taking active interest in the proceedings.
Both Alireza and Al-Maeena said they had been assured of government support and expected a lot of developments in the field of cricket by next year.
Alireza said he knew Shahid Amin (JCL President) for a long time. “I’ve relations with him and his family, and it is so difficult to praise him and his work (toward promoting cricket). For the last 28 years, his dedication and devotion has taken cricket from Baghdadiya to the ICC. I don’t think you’ll find anybody like him here or anywhere in the Kingdom who commands respect from all organizations. What’s more, he delivers. He always refers all sensitive and important matters to me. We’re constantly in touch with him.”
Alireza, whose is the only Saudi family to be playing cricket, said: “Khaled is a well known person and well connected with the local hierarchy. This will help us a lot to take the game further. Shahid, whose father and grandfather belong to the cricketing world, has opened the doors for us with the ICC and ACC.”
Al-Maeena said Shahid has done a lot to promote the game and is its main architect. He has been associated with the game here for over 28 years. He is, in fact, the father of local cricket. He has been promoting the game through the Arabic and English media.
Referring to politics coming into the promotion of cricket, he said: “We had some problems two years ago, but we went to Riyadh and sorted it out. Hopefully, we’ll see major sponsors in local cricket and more involvement in the game in 2004. JCL’s policy is to set their own standards for others to follow. This has been practiced for 28 years.”
In fact, Alireza, Al-Maeena and Shahid have played cricket since 1976.
Al-Maeena said the JCL came into existence with two teams playing in the Old Graveyard in Baghdadiya district. “Today JCL clubs are proud to be playing at the world’s largest complex which houses nine grounds.”
“Our caravan is going to continue. The game will go on and continue to be promoted.”
Referring to Shahid’s involvement in cricket, Al-Maeena jocularly remarked: “My wife is jealous of one man and that is Shahid because he calls me every day.”
Al-Maeena said: “We’ve presented our case to the ICC and are following it up.”
Shahid attended a meeting with the ICC Committee. Everybody does not get invited to the ICC. “We get invited just because we serve the right cause and it’s our right to seek affiliation with the ICC,” Shahid said.
Shahid said that plans are in hand to develop six more grounds at the complex. In addition, JCL has six other grounds elsewhere in Jeddah, he added. “The Alireza family not only supports cricket but also plays cricket,” he said, adding that the meeting had been convened in the wake of rumors that he had no interaction with the two patrons. “The JCL or the CCB have a policy not to comment on rumors or others’ moves. We’re here to show our right to approach the ICC.”
The Kingdom comes under the ACC, which is currently headed by Iqbal Sikandar. “I’ve exchanged letters with both the ICC and the ACC,” Shahid said, and reiterated that the JCL had the largest cricket complex in the world. “With nine grounds in one complex, we’re the world’s largest,” said Shahid adding that the JCL’s application was duly proposed by a member country of the ICC as per the requirements before its acceptance.
The meeting was followed by a question-answer session, which reflected that all teams were happy with the way the JCL was handling all matters. The CCB was dealing with the ICC until 2001 when the London-based world cricket body started operating through its regional offices dedicated to Europe, Asia, Asia Pacific, Africa and Americas.
Replying to remarks from Mir Saifullah, captain of the KAIA Cricket Club, Al-Maeena said the game had a great future in this part of the world and he thanked KAIA for their ready support.
It was emphasized that discipline was the foremost criteria for the JCL and the CCB. “Indiscipline, rumor-mongering and undermining the strength of organizations would be dealt with appropriately. Anybody found violating the code stands to be expelled from the organization. At the same time, anybody not happy with the organization was free to leave,” Shahid said.
Jeddah being on the west coast has a good cricketing weather all year-round. That’s why cricket is played here throughout the year. There are three inter-school tournaments — Under-15, U-17 and U-19. The U-19 is sponsored by Arab News, the U-17 by the JCL and the U-15 by Saudi Gazette. At the request of Jabbar Hussain, Al-Maeena has agreed to sponsor a U-19 tournament in Yanbu under the auspices of the Yanbu Cricket League.
This year, Arab News is holding two U-19 tournaments. The first is for JCL registered colts, which starts from Jan. 1. Eight clubs are participating in it. The other is U-19 interschool. Because of the exam season, schools have requested that this tournament be postponed to March 4.
