JEDDAH, 29 April 2005 — In the best traditions of the genteel sport of amateur cricket, the new Jeddah Cricket League (JCL) cricket complex was inaugurated yesterday with two invitation teams playing a festival match. The 1395 XI invitation team played a select Pak-Saudi XI team on one of the three pitches.
They almost achieved a historic first for Saudi Arabia when at one point the announcement Match Canceled, Rained Off was a real prospect after the dawn downpour on Thursday morning put the pitch under several inches of water. However, intermittent sunshine, 34 degree temperatures and a brisk breeze brought the well drained sandy outfield to playable condition with only a few of the more persistent puddles slowing would be boundary shots to a soggy crawl.
Achieving another first, the JCL persuaded Carma Elliot, the British Consul General in Jeddah, to join the game. Keen to support the sport in the community and a quiet enthusiast herself, Elliot took to the field for the 1395 Team against the PakSaudis in the opening match.
“It is a real pleasure to see the enthusiasm the game inspires,” said Elliot. “The mix of people from all sorts of professions, countries and backgrounds meet on the level playing field of enjoyment and the love of cricket. Certainly none of us are about to let a thunderstorm dampen our enthusiasm.”
Despite the occasional cloud looming over the mountain skyline near Makkah, the players enthusiasm remained undamped.
The new complex is still in its early stages of construction. However, sufficient is built to allow the continuous production of neatly cut cucumber sandwiches and tea and modest but well maintained facilities for spectators in the grounds, located some 40 kilometers north of Jeddah.
Shahid Amin, the Founder and President of the JCL since he brought it into existence in 1976, explained that the move from their old ground to new complex was brought about by Jeddah’s urban expansion. “We had to leave, but this new ground will allow us to expand and develop decent cricket facilities for some years to come,”he said.
The complex, though in its early stages, has room for 20 separate cricket grounds. Nine are already planned and three will be in full playing condition within a month.
The teams that competed at the new complex have long associations with Saudi cricket. The Pak-Saudi team’s pedigree stretches back to 1966, when it was started by two Pakistani schoolboys, Zain and Rizwan Khan. Membership turnover through the years brought new faces, but the team is proud of its long connections with Jeddah and the Kingdom.
The team 1395 was named after the Hijra year of its foundation. The founders included the Australian ambassador of the time Sir Ian Haig, who in his time played for Western Australia, and Sheikh Zainal Alireza.
During the 1990s, the 1395 team suffered a downturn in numbers and competitive matches but is now revitalized with new members and a league to compete in.
“This inaugural match is a new and significant step in the development of cricket in the Kingdom,” said Amin. “As well as inaugurating the new complex, it brings together the two oldest teams in the Kingdom and marks their rejuvenation as viable teams.
We can look forward to a bright future for the sport in Jeddah and Saudi Arabia, as now we have the room and the facilities to encourage new members and extend competition.”
Amin’s Pak-Saudi team won by 23 runs. Batting first, Pak-Saudi scored 142 for 5 wickets in 18 overs. Rizwan topscored with 33 runs, Javid Ahmed added 28 n.o., Imran 23 and Arif 16.
In reply, 1395 XI tallied 119 for 8 thanks mainly to the 41 runs from Cooper and 38 from Russ Law. Pak-Saudi bowlers Amin took 4 for 16 and Rizwan 2 for 25. Usman Shahid Amin clean bowled Law on a very beautiful delivery, and got Law’s autograph on the ball he delivered.
