Beaconhouse School start powerfully after Moin Khan inaugurates Omar Trophy

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Defending champions Beaconhouse School whipped Ladybird Grammar School by 10 wickets in the inaugural match of the eighth edition of the PVCA Inter-School Cricket Tournament 2016 for the Omar Trophy which got underway at the Karachi Gymkhana Cricket Ground on September 1. 

Electing to bat, after winning the toss, Ladybird Grammar School was bowled out for 93 in 22.5 overs. Chasing a modest target of 94 in 40 overs, Beaconhouse raced to the target in a matter of 13 overs without losing any wicket. 

Ladybird Grammar School could not recover losing early wickets. The middle-order batsmen also failed to click against the potent spin-cum-pace attack of the opponents. Mr Extras turned out to be the leading scorer with 17 while only Anas Ali (16), Amanullah (14) and Abdul Rafay (14) could reach double figures. 

The innings was rocked by the Beaconhouse School left-arm spinner Waleed Hasan Shahid (3-14) and he was adjudged Man of the Match. He was ably supported by leg-spinner Muaz Bin Sulaiman (2-13) and medium-pacer Hamza Tahir (2-16). 

The Beaconhouse School opening pair of Ahmed Kabir and Haris Bin Tahir completed the job in style, adding 96 for their unbroken opening partnership in only 13 overs. Ahmed Kabir was the more aggressive of the two, smashing one six and eight fours in his unbeaten 59 off 52 balls while Haris Bin Tahir struck two boundaries in his undefeated 25 off 26 balls. 

Before the start of the match, a colourful ceremony was held in which Moin Khan, a former Pakistan captain and the head coach of Quetta Gladiators, declared the tournament open. All the 32 participating teams were present on the occasion with the placards of their respective institutions. 

Moin Khan, while appreciating the efforts of the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA) for holding the Inter-School event one more, advised the participating students to avail the opportunity of stealing the limelight by performing consistently in the high-profile tournament. 

Fawad Ijaz Khan, Chairman, PVCA, in his welcome remarks, expressed the hope that the level of the competition will be on higher side as the best school cricket teams of the metropolis will be in action during the next two and half months to determine the champions at the National Stadium, Karachi, on November 15. 

The PVCA is organizing the Inter-Schools tournament in Karachi for the eighth time, having launched it with great fanfare in 1999. The event is being sponsored by Omar Associates (Pvt) Ltd with Bank Alfalah Ltd being the co-sponsors. 

The participating teams have been divided equally in eight groups. It includes 31 schools of the metropolis while a team of Karachi Gymkhana Schoolboys has also entered the tournament in which 55 matches are to be played at seven different venues.

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Omar Trophy to be inaugurated at Karachi Gymkhana

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

A grand ceremony will be held at the Karachi Gymkhana Cricket Ground on September 1 to mark the opening of the eighth edition of the PVCA Inter-Schools Cricket Tournament 2016 for the Omar Trophy, being contested by 32 outfits. 

Nadeem Omar, Managing Director, Omar Associates, will be the chief guest in the inauguration ceremony, to be presided over by Fawad Ijaz Khan, Chairman, Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA). 

According to an announcement of the PVCA, the opening ceremony, to be attended by all the participating 32 teams, will be taking place from 9 am to 10 am and it will be followed by the inaugural match between Beaconhouse School and Ladybird Grammar School. 

The PVCA is organizing the Inter-Schools tournament in Karachi for the eighth time, having launched it with great fanfare in 1999. The event is being sponsored by Omar Associates (Pvt) Ltd with Bank Alfalah Ltd being the co-sponsors. 

The participating teams have been divided equally in eight groups. It includes 31 schools of the metropolis while a team of Karachi Gymkhana Schoolboys has also entered the tournament in which 55 matches are scheduled to be played over a period of two and a half months. 

Besides the Karachi Gymkhana Cricket Ground, the other venues to be used for the tournament will be National Stadium, NBP Sports Complex, KCCA Stadium, TMC Ground, Hussain Lawai Naya Nazimabad Stadium and SKBZ Ground. 

The PVCA will be spending over Rupees two million in holding the holding whose semifinals and finals, to be telecast live, will be staged at the National Stadium. 

The Man of the Match of every league outing will be entitled for a cash award of Rs 1,000 while the Man of the Final will be rewarded with a purse of Rs 5,000. The best batsman, the best bowler, the best wicketkeeper and the best player of the tournament will also be getting Rs 5,000 each. 

Besides arranging for meals and refreshments during matches, the organizers will also be providing shirts and caps to the participants and it will be mandatory for them to wear the sponsored shirts and caps during their matches. 

The PVCA has constituted an organizing committee for the tournament which will be headed by Nadeem Omar with Alamgir Ahmed having been appointed as the coordinator. Amjad Islam, Visal Ansari and Nasrullah Khan will be the other members of the committee. 

The students born on or after September 1, 1999, are eligible to participate in the tournament while each school has been allowed to field one guest player who should not be a student of 31 participating schools. All the matches will be limited to 40 overs per innings. 

The morning session games will be played from 10 am to 12.45 pm while the afternoon session fixtures will be held from 1.30 pm to 4.15 pm. 

No bowler will be permitted to bowl more than eight overs in a match whereas in order to encourage fast bowlers, the teams will not be allowed to use spinners during the first six overs.

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PVCA Inter-Schools Cricket Tournament for Omar Trophy starts on September 1

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services) 

A total of 32 outfits will be participating in the PVCA Inter-Schools Cricket Tournament 2016 for the Omar Trophy, being organized by the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA) and sponsored by Omar Associates. 

The details about the tournament, to be spread over two and half months during which a total 55 matches are scheduled to be held, were unveiled in a media briefing by Fawad Ijaz Khan, Chairman, PVCA, and Nadeem Omar, Managing Director, Omar Associates, at the Karachi Gymkhana on August 30. Aly Mustansir, Chief Marketing Officer, Bank Alfalah, one of the co-sponsors of the event, also shared his views on the occasion. 

Salahuddin Ahmed, Sadiq Mohammad and Iqbal Qasim were the Test cricketers present in the gathering, along with former chief of the HBL Sports Division, Abdul Raquib, the President of the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA), Prof Ejaz Ahmed Farooqui, and the President of Karachi Gymkhana, Fawad Salim Malik. Besides the media corps, the representatives of the participating schools also attended the briefing. 

It was announced that the tournament will be getting underway with a colourful opening ceremony at the Karachi Gymkhana Cricket Ground on September 1 and it will be followed by the opening match between Beaconhouse School and Ladybird School the same day. 

Fawad Ijaz Khan, in his speech, highlighted the role of the PVCA in the promotion of cricket at the grassroots level, as the association is now holding eighth edition of the Inter-School Tournament in Karachi, having launched it in 1999. 

“We had envisioned the Inter-Schools cricket on the pattern of the Ruby Shield, which used to be the premier tournament of its kind and it’s still talked about with great awe. We have launched something similar and we need supporters like Omar Associates and Bank Alfalah to join hands with us in making it an annual event,” he observed. 

“Both the semifinals as well as the final, to be staged at the National Stadium, Karachi, will be telecast live nationally and internationally as was done in the last edition of the tournament,” Fawad Ijaz Khan disclosed. 

Nadeem Omar, Managing Director, Omar Associates, paid glowing tribute to the functionaries of the PVCA on organizing the Inter-Schools Tournament in Karachi for the eighth time in 17 years. 

“It’s quite an uphill task doing it as there are numerous challenges involved. Hats off to Fawad Ijaz Khan and his PVCA team for having done it quite professionally and nicely. Omar Associates is always a willing sponsor for the sports activities in the country and we are delighted to be supporting the PVCA Inter-Schools Tournament,” he observed. 

“It’s indeed a pity that just a few athletes of our country participated in the recently concluded Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. We need to build a proper infrastructure for sports as we do have the talents which are not being utilized,” he reckoned. 

Aly Mustansir, Chief Marketing Officer, Bank Alfalah, welcoming the initiative of the PVCA of continuously holding Inter-Schools Tournament in Karachi, expressed the hoped that it will also be taken to other cities. 

“Extending support in developing indigenous talent and taking innovation in to the next level are part of our institutional strategy as well. Inter-Schools Tournament provide solid platform to the rising talent and it’s extremely beneficial for the cause of the game,” he noted. 

Meanwhile the participating teams of the PVCA Inter-Schools Cricket Tournament 2016 for the Omar Trophy have been divided equally in eight groups. 

The Group A comprises of Ladybird Grammar School, Beaconhouse School, CAA School and Fahim School System while the Group B contains Fahad Academy, Happy Palace School, Fatimiyah Boys School and Zaheer Public School. 

The Group C features St Paul English School, Qadri Model English School, Zeeshan Secondary School and Qamar Bani Hashim School while the Group D is composed of Khan Secondary School, Al Fatima Academy, Oasis English Secondary School and The Educators. 

The quartet of BM Grammar School, Aga Khan Higher Secondary School, Springfield School and Hira Foundation Boys School constitute the Group E while the Group F has the presence of Ebrahim Ali Bhai School, Karachi Public School, Government Boys Secondary School No 2 and Al Hameed Secondary School. 

The Group G includes Karachi Gymkhana Schoolboys, Foundation Public School, St Patrick’s High School and Behbud Boys Secondary School while the four teams in the Group H are Kamran Public School, New Standard Secondary School, Falcon House Grammar School and The City School. 

At the end of the league matches, the leaders of all the eight groups will be advancing to the knockout stage of the competition, starting with the quarter-finals on October 31. The semifinals on November 10 and 11 will be followed by the final on November 15.

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Quetta Gladiators to hold Under-23 Talent Hunt Programme in Balochistan

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Quetta Gladiators, one of the five founding entities of the Pakistan Super League, has set off to promote cricket in a big way in the province of Balochistan, by launching a talent hunt programme titled ‘Your Gateway to Stardom’ in the first week of September. 

The salient of the Under-23 Talent Hunt Programme for Balochistan, to be conducted under the supervision of the spinning great, Iqbal Qasim, were unveiled by the owner of Quetta Gladiators, Nadeem Omar, in a media briefing at Hotel Movenpick, Karachi, on August 29. 

Moin Khan, a former Pakistan captain and coach of Quetta Gladiators, was also present on the occasion alongwith Salahuddin Ahmed, ex-Chairman of the national selection committee, and quite a few other cricketers. 

“Iqbal Qasim, one of the greatest left-arm spinners, has been roped in as the Director of the talent hunt programme and he will be assisted by the trio of Saleem Jaffer, Ghulam Ali and Zafar Ahmed. All of them have volunteered to work on honorary basis which is truly commendable,” Nadeem Omar recognized. 

“The initial phase of the trials will be taking place at the Bugti Stadium in Quetta from September 1 to 4 and at the Jam Mir Ghulam Qadir Stadium in Hub on September 7 and 8. The final phase of the trials will be carried out in the third week of September in Quetta. At the end of the final selection process, around 20 players will be selected and they will be awarded one-year contracts during which period they will be trained by qualified coaches,” the Managing Director of Omar Associates revealed. 

“As many as 15 players will be selected from the talent hunt while the top five performers of Balochistan in the PCB Regional Under-19 Tournament will be automatically drafted in the final list,” he added. 

The players from all cities and districts of Balochistan, falling in the Under-23 age group, have been invited to take part in the trials. 

“Our initiative is aimed at providing a solid platform to the deprived cricketers of Balochistan for showcasing their true potential. Here is an opportunity for them to get noticed and give a head start to their career. They can prove their mettle and make it big,” Nadeem Omar remarked. 

“It’s our mission to support the cause of cricket from the grassroots level in the entire province of Balochistan. Talent hunt was a missing link there and we are plugging the gap. Our programme will go a long way in boosting the sport in the truest sense of the word,” he reckoned. 

Iqbal Qasim shared having worked in the province of Balochistan for seven to eight years during his long stint as a cricket administrator. 

“Trust me we were overwhelmed by the talent of the youngsters over there. They were incredibly powerful young lads whose cricketing abilities were beyond our imagination. This initiative of Quetta Gladiators is a masterstroke and it should work wonders in future. This will be greatly helpful in facilitating the cricketers of the province who get little exposure otherwise,” he remarked in his speech on the occasion. 

Moin Khan was equally optimistic about discovering quality talent from Balochistan which could prove to be assets for Quetta Gladiators as well as Pakistan. 

“The Balochistan youngsters thoroughly deserved such an initiative. They have enormous talent and enthusiasm. We are providing them the platform and we are confident that it will yield the desired results,” he hoped. 

Murad Ismail, President of the Quetta Regional Cricket Association, offered his wholehearted support to Quetta Gladiators in this venture, promising total cooperation in achieving the mutual objective of putting Balochistan on the cricket map. 

Shariq Hasib Khan, a senior bureaucrat having headed the cricket bodies in Balochistan, announced holding an Inter-Schools Cricket Tournament in Quetta during the month of October in which a total of 24 outfits will be taking part.

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SCA Independence Day Chess Championship aims to bolster mind sport

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Prizes worth millions of Rupees will be distributed among the participants and the spectators during the Independence Day Chess Championship 2016, being organized by the Sindh Chess Association (SCA) at the Customs Services Club in Federal-B-Area, Karachi, over the weekend.

The details of the two-day event were unveiled by Ayaz Memon Motiwala, President SCA, and Chairman, Karachi Tajir Alliance Association (KTAA), while the technical aspects were shared by Sadia Qureshi, Secretary General, SCA, in a media briefing here at the Karachi Press Club on August 23. 

“The objective of holding the Independence Day Chess Championship, having participation from all over the country, with great fanfare on August 26 and 27 is to attract the youth in particular towards this mind sport. The school kids besides the college and university students are being encouraged to take part in it through various promotions. The fabulous prizes are going to serve as incentives,” Ayaz Motiwala, having been elected the SCA President recently, remarked. 

“Indeed it’s a pity that such a wonderful game like chess has suffered in the past due to politicking and other reasons. We cannot change the past but surely we can contribute our bit in turning it around for the future. We desire to engage the youth in a big way and the positive results would be visible sooner than later,” he declared. 

“Having accepted the leadership of the SCA as a challenge, a comprehensive youth development programmed is being worked out and it will soon be launched all over the province, which is our domain. The research has shown the students are particularly for playing chess and we wish to facilitate them in every possible manner, be it online or otherwise,” Ayaz Motiwala, eager to set the ball rolling instead of waiting for things to happen, stated. 

He also gave details of the major prizes to be presented during the upcoming two-day event. Besides the cash prizes, there will be gold ear tops, crystal stone jewellary, gift hampers, dress suits, branded eye lenses and imported sun glasses to be won. As many as 100 exclusive memberships of the Franklinz Consumer Club will also be offered to the winners by lucky draws. 

Sadia Qureshi, Secretary SCA, disclosed that competitions will be held in the youth as well as the open categories and their outstanding performers will be getting their share in the kitty of Rs 100,000. 

She revealed that more than 50 entries for each of the two categories had already been received and greater number of entries was being anticipated by the deadline of August 24. 

The SCA Secretary was critical of the Sindh Olympic Association (SOA) for meddling into the provincial chess affairs although it was not an Olympic sport. 

Sadia Qureshi regretted that the country was unlikely to be represented in the upcoming Chess Olympiad due to the non-presence of an elected set-up of the Chess Federation of Pakistan (CFP). 

“We would urge the chess organizers to work for the promotion of the game rather than spending time in counter-productive activities. Otherwise Pakistan may not produce even International Masters, let alone Grand Masters, in future,” she concluded.

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Asif retains NBP snooker trophy

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Seventh seed Mohammad Asif successfully defended his title by outsmarting fourth seeded Mohammad Bilal in the final of the eighth edition of NBP Ranking Snooker Championship 2016 at the NBP Sports Complex in Karachi on August 22.

The 34-year-old Asif, a former world champion hailing from Faisalabad, overpowered Bilal, the 30-year-old reigning national champion from Mandi Bahauddin, 8-3 in the all-Punjab best of 15-frame final with the scores of 64-56, 5-88, 44-69, 72-34, 62-49, 60-18, 130-1, 69-36, 83-5, 29-72, 107-32. 

The enigmatic Asif succeeded in extending his winning record against the mercurial Bilal, who had looked impeccable in the earlier matches including the semifinals the other day. 

Asif opened his account by pocketing the closely fought first frame. Bilal responded strongly by taking the next couple of frames, firing a break of 61 in the third frame. It was Asif all the way after that as he won the next five frames on a trot to shoot into 7-2 lead. It included a break of 62 in the fifth frame and one of 130 in the seventh frame. 

Fighting a lost cause, Bilal secured the 10th frame rather handsomely but it could not change the course of the proceedings as Asif wrapped up the issue in the 11th frame. 

Cash awards of Rs 150,000 were disbursed in the prize distribution ceremony, held soon after the conclusion of the final, in which Mudassir H Khan, SEVP & Group Chief, Commercial, Retail Banking Group, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), was the chief guest.

He presented a cash award of Rs 60,000, alongwith the winner trophy, to Asif while Bilal received a purse of Rs 35,000 with the runner-up trophy. 

The losing semifinalists, Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir and Mohammad Sajjad, had to be content with Rs 15,000 each while the losing quarter-finalists, Babar Masih, Shahram Changezi, Sharjeel Mahmood and Mohammad Ijaz, were compensated with Rs 5,000 each. 

Sharjeel of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, also claimed the cash award of Rs 5,000 for the highest break of the championship (140) which he had chalked up during the course of his 4-1 victory over the eventual champion, Asif, in the preliminary rounds. 

Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, President, Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA), in his welcome speech, acknowledged the contribution of all the stake-holders in making the eight-day event another success story. 

Ovais Asad Khan, heading the Strategic Marketing and CSR divisions of NBP, appreciated the improvement in the standard of snooker in Pakistan over the years and hoped that the cueists will bring more glories for the country in future. 

Talking briefly to the media, after retaining the NBP trophy, Asif admitted that he has had to endure additional pressure because of the high expectations whenever he has gone to the table after the World Championship triumph in 2012. 

“Obviously it’s not always possible to meet the expectations. After all the opponents of mine also come to the table for glories and they give their shot to it. I try my level best to keep delivering,” he remarked. 

“Yes I do enjoy a kind of psychological advantage over Bilal, having beaten him a few times. That helped today as well. He is an outstanding cueist in his own right but somehow he’s unable to do it when playing against me,” Asif reckoned. 

The former world champion was full of praise, however, for Zulfiqar and Sharjeel for having fared superbly against him. 

Bilal, a man of few words, conceded that the rub of the green didn’t go his way in the final unlike in the semifinal against Sajjad the other day. 

“Hard work holds the key to success. Today was not my day but I will continue working hard to come up with better results in future,” he added. 

A total of 27 top cueists of the country had entered the championship whose preliminary round matches witnessed innumerable upsets which continued in the knockout phase too.

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SSUET organize Inter-University Cricket Tournament

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Inter-University Jashn-e-Azadi Cricket Tournament was inaugurated by the Vice-Chancellor of the Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET), Prof. Dr Jawaid H Rizvi, at the Naya Nazimabad Lawai Stadium in Karachi on August 17. Hosts SSUET and the Pakistan Marine Academy were set to lock horns in the opening fixture. 

Earlier in a media briefing, the SSUET Director Sports, Mubashir Mukhtar, observed that the T20 tournament will provide a boost to sports in educational institutions. 

He pointed out that SSUET had celebrated the Independence Day with an unprecedented zeal and fervor and this tournament was being organized in the same context as part of the independence celebrations. 

Mubbashir Mukhtar informed that Karachi’s best universities were participating in this tournament, having been divided into two groups. 

He stated that there will be two matches daily, to be played in accordance with the laws of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), will be supervised by qualified umpires,  adding that the semifinals will be held on September 2 while the final will be played on September 3. 

The SSUET official  thanked the management of Naya Nnazimabad for providing ground and facilities for the tournament. 

The Director Sports of Naya Nazimabad, Mohammed Iqbal, said that cricket tournaments were being held at their ground for the last four years and the facilities had been appreciated at the national level. 

He informed that soon hockey and football grounds will also be developed in near future and they will always be made available for the sports activities of educational institutions. The CEO of Naya Nazimabad, Samad Habib, and the Financial Controller, Imran Haq, were also present on the occasion

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‘Little Master’ Hanif Mohammad to live in hearts of cricket fraternity

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The legendary Pakistani batsman and former captain, Hanif Mohammad, who was famed for emerging triumphant against the heaviest of odds, having played the longest innings in Test cricket, performed a miraculous recovery before succumbing one last time in his life on August 11. 

He lived to the reputation of going down fighting. Having withstood the fury of the most dangerous fast bowlers of the world his last battle was against the deadly disease of cancer. He came perilously close to defeating it. 

Miraculously was revived back to life after being declared clinically dead for six minutes at the Aga Khan Hospital in Karachi. But he expired later in the day at the age of 81. 

Hailed as the original 'Little Master', Hanif was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2013. He had recovered after the surgery and treatment in London three years ago but his condition deteriorated a few weeks ago and had been having treatment for respiratory complications which proved fatal. 

Hanif's son, Shoaib Mohammad had first announced from the hospital on various television channels that his father had died after losing a protracted battle with various ailments due to which doctors had put the former legend on a ventilator. But only a few minutes later it was announced that Hanif had not passed away and was alive. 

"His heartbeat had stopped for six minutes but the doctors managed to revive his heartbeat back. God has given him a second chance and I just feel this is due to the prayers of his millions of fans and supporters," Shoaib was quoted as saying. 

"Hanif Mohammad is alive and he is being provided the best possible treatment after he was admitted to hospital for complicated respiratory problems two weeks back, He is now on a ventilator and in intensive care unit getting treatment for complications due to his lung cancer," the hospital spokesman followed up much to the relief of the cricket community which was heartbroken earlier. 

The joy of getting a new lease of life from the jaws of death was shortlived, however, as the greatest-ever opening batsman of the country lost the battle against cancer later in the day. 

Hanif, one of the original inductees into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, was only one of the three surviving members of Pakistan’s first-ever Test team that played against India in 1952-53. With his demise, Waqar Hasan and Imtiaz Ahmed now remain the only two survivors now. 

Born on December 21, 1934 in Junagadh in the Indian state of Gujarat, Hanif and his four brothers, Raees, Wazir, Mushtaq and Sadiq, formed one of the most famous cricket dynasties of all time. Four of the five brothers played Tests while Raees, a 12th man once, was the only one to miss out. 

At least one of the Mohammad brothers played in Pakistan's first 101 Tests. Hanif's son Shoaib played 45 Tests while his grandson Shehzar 30 first-class matches. 

Three of his brothers, Raees, Mushtaq and Sadiq, attended the funeral while the fourth one, Wazir, who’s reportedly ill, was unable to reach from London. 

In a distinguished international career spanning 17 seasons, he amassed 3915 runs at an average of 43.98 with the help of 12 centuries in 55 Test matches which was a Pakistan record at that time for both runs as well as centuries. His highest score was that monumental 337 which allowed Pakistan to save the Barbados Test in 1958 after following on. 

He had occupied the crease for no less than 970 minutes which still remains the longest Test innings are more than 58 years. 

The following season he surpassed Don Bradman's record for the highest individual first-class innings by making 499 before being run out attempting his 500th run. The record stood for more than 35 years before being broken by Brian Lara in 1994.

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