Saudi Arabia: Cloud7, Enerco and Pan Gulf are winners of SCC T20 Youm Al Watni Cup
Eastern Province Cricket Association (EPCA) Dammam recently organized the 1st edition of the Youm Al Watni T20 Cricket Cup sponsored by Saudi Cricket Centre (SCC). SCC T20 Youm Al Watni Cricket Tournament began on October 9, 2020, with 40 teams participating divided into 3 divisions. Premier division consisted of 10 teams, Prime division consisted of 10 teams and First division consisted of 20 teams.
Quarter Finals of first division and semi-finals of all divisions participating in the SCC T20 Youm Al Watni Tournament were held at EPCA grounds on November 6, 2020. Results are as follows:
Quarter Final 1 – First Division: Khobar Rangers C.C. (KRCC) defeated Khobar Gymkhana C.C. (KGCC) by 7 wickets. KGCC set a target of 142/5 runs. KRCC easily chased the target with wonderful innings played by Waheed Ur Rehman scoring 63(44) hitting 11 boundaries.
Quarter Final 2 – First Division: Adpco Friends C.C. defeated Young Guns C.C. by 6 wickets. Batting first, Young Guns C.C. set a target of 147/7 in 20 overs with Tauseef Ali scoring 69(44). Adpco Friends convincingly chased the target in 14.1 overs with the help of blistering innings played by Hamid Ali scoring 61(35) hitting 10 boundaries and being awarded the man of the match.
Quarter Final 3 – First Division: Cloud 7 C.C. qualified for semi-finals after defeating Young Stars C.C. in a one-sided match by 8 wickets. Young Stars batted first scored 112/9 while Cloud 7 C.C. chased the target easily in 9.3 overs. Vindeed Mohanan was awarded man of the match for his performance of grabbing 3 wickets in 4 overs giving away only 11 runs.
Quarter Final 4 – First Division: Shayan 11 C.C. won by 7 wickets chasing 142 runs in 17.2 overs against Eastern Warriors C.C. Iqrar Ahmed was awarded the man of the match for his excellent performance of 69*(48) hitting 8 boundaries. He was well-supported by Muhammad Fahad who scored 43(34).
Semi-Final 1 – First Division: Adpco Friends C.C. beat Khobar Rangers C.C. by 7 wickets and qualified for the finals. Khobar Rangers C.C. scored 174/6 in the allotted 20 overs which was chased by Adpco Friends C.C. in 17.0 overs. Vasim Izhar played powerful innings of 51(23) hitting 7 boundaries and 3 sixes.
Semi-Final 2 – First Division: Cloud 7 C.C. won by 8 wickets chasing 119 against Shayan 11 C.C. Abdul Sattar Khader Aziz was awarded the man of the match for his magical spell of grabbing 4 wickets in 4 overs for 23 runs.
Semi-Final 1 – Prime Division: Enerco C.C. beat DHL Snas C.C. by 33 runs to qualify for the finals. Batting first, Enerco C.C. scored 221/3 in 20 overs. Man of the match was awarded to Kamran Shah for his powerful innings of 86(38) hitting 11 fours and 2 sixes. He was well-supported by Asad Abbas 54(32) and Shamas Cheema 46(31).
Semi-Final 2 – Prime Division: Intelligent Hawks C.C. defended 159 runs in a nail-biting semi-final beating Space Travels Falcon C.C. by 34 runs. Man of the match was awarded to Nisar Ahmed for his responsible 43(33) supported by Amir Goraya 36(35).
Semi-Final 1 – Premier Division: Pan Gulf C.C. easily defended 175 runs and won by 51 runs against Kanoo C.C. qualifying the final of the premier division. Kashif Riaz was awarded the man of the match for his outstanding performance of 70(41) hitting 11 fours and 1 six. Kashif Abbas took 3 wickets giving 20 runs in 4 overs.
Semi-Final 2 – Premier Division: Pak Saudi C.C. chased 173 runs in 19 overs set by Intelligent Qalandars C.C. Qayyum Meher scored 77(53) hitting 4 fours and 2 sixes but a man of the match was awarded to Nasir Khan for his all-round performance. He took 2 wickets and scored 59(31) hitting 5 fours and 1 six making sure his team qualified for the finals.
The final matches were played on 13 November 2020 and the results are as follows
First Division – Adpco Friends C.C. batted first and scored 140/6 in 20 overs Cloud 7 C.C chased it down in style by scoring 143/2 in 14.2 Overs and won the SCC T20 Youm Al Watni Cup (First Division). Muhammed Shafi scored a match-winning 59(39) and remained unbeaten for the fifth time in the tournament. Vineedh Mohanan’s 3/30 in 4 overs earned him the man of the match trophy.
Prime Division – Enerco C.C. beat Intelligent Hawks C.C. by 50 runs and bagged the SCC T20 Youm Al Watni Cup (Prime Division). Batting first, Enerco posted an impressive total of 192/5 in 20 overs thanks to scintillating unbeaten innings of 75(42) by the man of the match, Shamas Sajjad Cheema. In response, Hawks folded to 142 in 17.5 overs. Akhtar Ali was the pick of the bowlers with 2/17 off his 4 overs.
Premier Division – Pan Gulf C.C. beat Pak Saudi C.C. by 9 Wickets to be crowned the winners of SCC T20 Youm Al Watni (Premier Division). Sajid Khan’s 2/23 off 4 overs helped Pan Gulf restrict Pak Saudi to a small total of 116 (all-out) in 17.2 overs. Pan Gulf cruised home in just 10 overs thanks to its openers Kashif Abbas 52(22) and Kashif Riaz 50*(30) who both scored half-centuries. Kashif Abbas was declared the man of the match.
First Division’s wicketkeeper-batsman Shahil Ahammed (Cloud 7 CC) was the highest run-scorer of the tournament with 370 runs in 7 matches.
Top bowling honors for the tournament were shared by Nasir Mehmood (Pak Saudi CC) of Premier Division and Vineedh Mohanan (Cloud 7 CC) of First Division who bagged 13 wickets each at an average of 14.92 and 16.77 respectively.
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BCCI requests ECB to advance five-Test series by week to help in completing IPL: Report
London, May 20: The BCCI has requested England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to advance the five-Test series by a week from its current August 4 start to give them a better shot at completing the remaining 31 matches of the now-postponed Indian Premier League.
While no one from BCCI has officially confirmed the development, former England captain and renowned cricket writer Michael Atherton has reported about the development in 'The Times'.
"The Board of Control for Cricket in India has enquired about the possibility of moving the final Test of the English summer in order to make room to complete the postponed Indian Premier League," the report said.
"Informal discussions have been had between the respective boards as cricket continues to grapple with a schedule ravaged by Covid."
Indian team are looking at a potential gap of six weeks after the completion of World Test Championship final against New Zealand which is scheduled from June 18-22 in Southampton and start of the England series.
The five-Test series starts with first match at Nottingham (Aug-4-8), followed by Lord's (Aug 12-16), Leeds (Aug 25-29), Oval (Sep 2-6) and Manchester (Sep 10-14).
However, a potential start in the last week of July, with lesser gaps between the Tests would open the entire month of September in which BCCI can complete the IPL either in UK or more likely in the UAE.
Atherton further wrote that ECB's own calendar as well as those hosting counties, which have already sold tickets would be in a fix with this request from the BCCI.
"At this late stage it is hard to see the ECB acceding to any potential change and it is expected to hold its ground," he reported.
"The fifth Test of the India series is due to be held at Emirates Old Trafford between September 10-14. Lancashire have already pre-sold three full days, and with a fair wind between now and then, would expect to sell the match out completely.
"Moving the game at this late stage to earlier in the season would create logistical headaches for Lancashire, the ECB and the England team, not to say those spectators who have spent money and planned to attend," he reasoned in his article.
The move could also affect ECB's ambitious 'Hundred' format along with England's international commitments including white ball series against Pakistan before the India Tests.
"It is easy to understand why India would enquire to see if the schedule can be changed. They complete the World Test Championship final against New Zealand on June 22 and are not due to play the first Test against England until the first week of August, six weeks later," Atherton wrote.
"From India's perspective it would suit them to move the end of the Test series to an earlier date at the end of July, to allow more space for a completion of the IPL in September."
The IPL was suspended earlier this month after multiple cases of COVID-19 inside the bio-bubble.
