‘King of Speed’ trials start from April 13

Aims to scout fastest bowler; offers Rs1 million prize money .

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Ufone announced the schedule for trials, called the ‘King of Speed’, that will kick off on April 13 from Garhi Khuda Baksh and Multan.

The trials that are aimed at scouting out pace bowlers will spread to 10 cities and will continue till April 21 under the supervision of several former Test cricketers.

Other cities, which will host trials include Faisalabad (April 14) Karachi, Islamabad (15), Peshawar (16), Quetta, Abbottabad (17), Mirpur (18) and Lahore (20).

After the completion, three players selected via a wildcard will join the country’s main stream pacers at the national bowling camp to be staged in Karachi under the supervision of legend Wasim Akram.

The cellular company, which is sponsoring the programme, has also announced a grand prize of Rs1 million to the bowler who achieves the fastest bowling speed over 145kmph. In case of multiple participants achieving the highest speed, the amount will be equally shared.

The PCB, as part of the agreement, will extend its support in the selection process in all cities and provide speed guns to select the fastest bowler.

Correction: An earlier version of the story carried the headline where it suggested that the trials start on April 12, this is incorrect. The error is regretted.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11^th, 2013.