Blind cricket: Lahore clinch trophy

Victors post three consecutive blind cricket tournament victories.

KARACHI: Lahore defeated Okara by eight wickets to lift the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) National Twenty20 Cup for a record consecutive third time.

Iftikhar Tiger’s century and Muhammad Ashraf’s 76 runs helped Okara pile a 220-run target after losing three wickets. In reply, Lahore successfully chased the target in just 18 overs with the loss of just two wickets. Arsalan Javed’s 91 and Abdul Shakoor’s 80 guided the host team to victory.

“It is a great feeling that Lahore has created a record with three straight wins in the 12-year history of this tournament,” captain of the Lahore team Abdul Razzaq told The Express Tribune.“The domestic tournaments are becoming increasingly competitive. With this level of competition I feel that Pakistan will cement their top ranking internationally for another four years.”

According to Razzaq, the tournament’s organisation has improved tremendously, but the biggest obstacle for blind cricketers was to find a ground to practice. They need a venue which is away from noise so that they can respond to the game, but since the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) does not provide any facilities, they do not find appropriate grounds to practice.

Tiger, who received the man of the match award, also voiced his concerns regarding the lack of support from authorities. “Despite being ranked number one in the world, authorities  don’t care about our achievements in the international arena,” said Tiger. “I belong to FATA and when I want to practice for matches there, I face difficulties. The PCB should start taking blind cricket seriously.”

The national squad is now preparing for the Australian tour that begins from February 22. The training camp will run from February 12 to 18 in Lahore.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2011.