LAHORE: Sindh will start their title defence when the opening round of the Cricket Associations Championship (three-day event) begins across three Punjab cities on Wednesday (today). Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium and Saeed Ajmal Academy, Rana Naveed Academy in Sheikhupura and LCCA Ground in Lahore will host matches from September 29 to November 14. Sindh who recently won the Cricket Associations T20 tournament in Quetta will take on Central Punjab at the LCCA Ground in the opening round of the tournament. Balochistan will take on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, while Southern Punjab will face Northern at the Rana Naveed Academy in Sheikhupura.
The Cricket Associations Championship will be played on a double-league basis with each team playing the other twice. The final round of the tournament will be held from November 12 to 14. The team accumulating the most points will be declared winners. The points breakdown is give below: Like the rest of the ongoing domestic season, the players, support staff and match officials will stay in a covid-19 secure environment throughout the event. The SOPs are being adopted to ensure the health and safety of all participants.
The captains of the six teams expressed their hope of winning the event in what promises to be a competitive cricket season. Balochistan Second XI captain Azeem Ghumman said: “Our preparations for the three-day tournament are good. We had some practice sessions recently and we are hopeful of doing well. We have a good combination of young and experienced players in the squad. We have good all-round players available in our team and with three to four experienced batters in our squad we look to do well in batting department.” Central Punjab Second XI captain Ali Shan said: “We are fully prepared to do well in the red-ball tournament. We had couple of good sessions before the start of the tournament and we are eager to perform on the ground. Our fast bowling department is very strong and with seasonal batters in the squad, we are looking to produce some good performances in the tournament.”
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Second XI captain Waqar Ahmed said: “We had a good one week preparations camp to get ourselves ready for the tournament. We have a young and energetic squad who are excited to perform in all three departments of the game.” Northern Second XI captain Umar Waheed said: “The preparations for the tournament are well on track as we have worked hard to rectify mistakes made in the last season. The combination of the team is well balanced with good spinners, the players know each other well which will help us to do well on the ground.” Sindh Second XI captain Saifullah Bangash said: “We have prepared well from the last season and are looking forward to doing well this season to become champions again. The players are relaxed; they have no pressure on them after winning the opening tournament (Cricket Associations T20) of the season. The players are ready to play quality cricket in the tournament. We have good young players in the batting and bowling line-ups who are all set to showcase their talent on the field.”
Southern Punjab Second XI captain Moinuddin said: “We have adjusted well to the conditions before the start of the tournament. We worked tirelessly on our skill level and we are aiming to produce good results when we go on the field. “We have almost the same players that played in the recently concluded T20 tournament and we are looking to dominate in the red-ball tournament.”
First-round fixtures:
Balochistan vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
Central Punjab vs Sindh at LCCA Ground, Lahore
Southern Punjab vs Northern at Rana Naveed Academy, Sheikhupura