Triumph for Beaconhouse School, Hira Foundation School, Behbud Secondary School in Omar Trophy Inter-School Cricket

Beaconhouse School, Hira Foundation School and Behbud Secondary School registered victories over their respective rivals in the latest matches of the Omar Trophy Inter-School Cricket Tournament 2016, being organized by the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA).

In the Group A fixture, defending champions Beaconhouse School whipped Fahim School System by 10 wickets at the Naya Nazimabad Lawai Stadium, Hira Foundation School overpowered B M Grammar School in the Group E encounter at the KCCA while Behbud Secondary School overcame Foundation Public School by five wickets in the Group G clash at the Hill Park Ground.

Beaconhouse School extended their brilliant form to outclass Fahim School System after having bowled them out for 114 in 28.3 overs despite Saadi Ahmed’s 67 off 79 balls.

The Beaconhouse School spinners turned the tables after Fahim School System appeared poised to post a competitive total. Off-spinner Shayan Haider ran through the lower-order by picking up three wickets for only four runs in a spell of 4.3 overs while the earlier damage was caused by leg-spinner Maaz Bin Salman (2-18) and left-arm spinner Abdullah Masood (2-38).

Beaconhouse School, who needed 115 for victory in 40 overs, got off to a whirlwind start and the openers raced to the target in a matter of just 7.3 overs. Ammar Iqbal, adjudged Man of the Match, remained undefeated on 83 off 32 balls with the help of two sixes and 13 fours while his partner Haris Ali struck four boundaries in his undefeated 23 off 14 balls.

Hira Foundation School and B M Grammar School were engaged in a dramatic match. Electing to bat, after calling correctly, B M Grammar School was skittled for 90 in 23.4 overs despite the contribution of 41 extras as three of their top five batsmen were run out and the lower-order was rocked by the spin duo of Malik Zain (3-20) and Ahmed Talal (2-10).

Chasing what looked like a modest target of 91 in 40 overs, Hira Foundation School appeared in a state of bother at 60 for five. They were taken over the line by Man of the Match Zain Anwar, who returned unconquered on 48 off 55 balls. He received support from Sohail Khan, who contributed 10 in the match winning 34-run unbroken sixth wicket stand as the victory was achieved with nearly 20 overs to spare.

Mohammad Arif’s fine all-round performance saw Behbud Secondary School home against Foundation Public School in the third match of the day.

Batting first, Foundation Public School was all out for 148 in 34.5 overs with Mr Extras making the biggest contribution of 54, inclusive of 49 wides. Arsham Najam (19 off 25 balls) was the topscorer as the innings was wrecked by leg-spinner Mohammad Shahzad (3-25) and medium-pacer Mohammad Arif (2-31).

Behbud Secondary School, in pursuit of a target of 149 in 40 overs, lost three quick wickets after opener Farhan Sadiq (26 off 19 balls) had kickstarted the chase. The 69-run fourth wicket stand Mohammad Arif and Haider Ali, however, took them to victory quite comfortably in the end with 12.3 overs in hand.

Haider Ali was dismissed after scoring 30 off 48 balls with the help of four boundaries but Mohammad Arif, declared Man of the Match, remained unbeaten on 55 off 66 balls, hitting six fours.

St Paul English School, Oasis Secondary School cruise in Omar Trophy Inter-School Cricket

St Paul English School and Oasis Secondary School overwhelmed their respective rivals in the latest matches of the Omar Trophy Inter-School Cricket Tournament 2016, being organized by the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA).

St Paul English School trounced Qamar-e-Bani Hashim School by 103 runs in their Group C encounter at the KCCA Stadium while Oasis Secondary School outgunned Al Fatima Academy by 97 runs in their Group D clash at the Naya Nazimabad Lawai Stadium.

Electing to bat, after winning the toss, St Paul English School reached a competitive total of 232 for eight in the allotted 40 overs, largely due to the hefty contribution of 65 extras, which included as many as 51 wides sent down by the Qamar-e-Bani Hashim School bowlers.

Openers Omar Abdullah (26 off 37 balls) and Wakeel Hussain (18 off 61 balls) added 78 for the first wicket and the momentum was sustained by Khizar Khalid (30 off 29 balls). A middle-order collapse derailed them momentarily and the late flourish was provided by Abdullah Tariq who smashed an unbeaten 26 off 17 balls.

Medium-pacer Ali Akbar (3-55) was the most successful of the Qamar-e-Bani Hashim School bowlers with off-spinner Faris Hussain (2-28) and leg-spinner Haider Ali (2-57) also getting vital wickets.

Chasing a target of 233 in 40 overs, Qamar-e-Bani Hashim School could not recover after losing the top half of their batting for only 64. They were eventually bowled out for 129 in 29.4 overs with only Kazim Hussain (23 off 47 balls) and Ali Akbar (20 off 34 balls) offering some resistance.

St Paul English School’s left-arm spinner Sohaib Sameer (4-28) wrecked the middle-order to be adjudged Man of the Match. The earlier damage was done with the new ball by medium-pacers Hamza Ali (2-23) and Omar Abdullah (2-28).



In the other game of the day, Oasis Secondary School overcame a shaky start to post a total of 189
which they were able to defend successfully against Al Fatima Academy to win the match by a comfortable margin of 97 runs.

Mohammad Adnan (48 off 38 balls), Mohammad Waqas (24 off 21 balls), Abdul Karim (22 off 47 balls) and Shah Faisal (20 off 43 balls) rescued Oasis Secondary School after they had slumped to 50 for five due to fine bowling by medium-pacers Syed Hunaid Nadeem (3-32) and Kafeel Khan (2-35). The latter wickets were shared between off-spinners Mohammad Ahad (2-18) and Fahad Ali (2-35).

Set a target of 190 in 40 overs, Al Fatima Academy lost the plot early to be routed for only 92 in 21.5 overs with leg-spinner Talha Ahsan returning the impressive figures of five for 16 to clinch Man of the Match award. He was assisted by left-arm spinner Abdul Mannan (3-20) and medium-pacer Abdul Karim (2-21).

Qadri Model School, The Educators School victorious in Omar Trophy Inter-School Cricket

The spinners played the decisive role as Qadri Model School and The Educators School prevailed over Zeeshan Secondary School and Khan Secondary School respectively in the latest league matches of the Omar Trophy Inter-School Cricket Tournament 2016, being organized by the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA).

Both the encounters proved to be low scoring affairs as Qadri Model School overcame Zeeshan Secondary School by five wickets in the Group C at the Eastern Star Ground while The Educators School defeated Khan Secondary School by 20 runs in the Group D at the KCCA Stadium.

Electing to bat, after winning the toss, Zeeshan Secondary School was spun out for 108 in 21.5 overs but they fought back to reduce their opponents to 76 for five at one stage.

Qadri Model School, however, settled the issue with the 33-run unbroken sixth wicket stand which allowed them to win with as many as 16.4 overs to spare.

All-rounder Abdul Basit, declared Man of the Match, played the key role in guiding Qadri Model School to victory. He followed a five-wicket haul with a crucial knock of 30.

Zeeshan Secondary School seemed heading towards a big total before being tormented by the spin duo of Abdul Basit (5-21) and Saad Bin Yousuf (3-23) as they lost their last nine wickets for only 61 runs to be bowled out for 108. Mohammad Bilal (36 off 59 balls) was their topscorer with the next highest contribution coming from Mr Extras (31).

 Chasing a modest target of 109 in 40 overs, Qadri Model School lost their first three wickets, all of them to medium-pacer Waleed Khan, rather cheaply. Opener Abdul Basit’s 30 off 44 balls revived them but the match became alive when his departure was followed by another quick wicket.


It was Auranhzeb Ahmed’s unbeaten 38 off 56 balls which sealed the fate of the match in Qadri

Model School’s favour. He was assisted by Mohammad Sami, who returned undefeated on 19 off 22 balls.

In the other game, The Educators School, who batted first after calling correctly, slumped to 138 all out in 33.5 overs against Khan Secondary School having lost their last nine wickets for only 40.

They managed to defend what looked like a below-par total successfully by bowling their opponents out for only 118 in 33.1 overs.

Fine knocks from number three Mohammad Moazzam (34 off 47 balls) and opener Aryan Ali (31 off 50 balls) had laid the platform for a big total for The Educators Schools who collapsed dramatically against the spin duo of Majid Aslam (4-40) and Sher Bahadur (3-27).

Khan Secondary School’s followed identical pattern as they also lost their last nine wickets for only 55, after 62-run second wicket partnership between number three Mohammad Farhan (36 off 76 balls) and opener Aman Khan (29 off 31 balls).

The Educators School’s left-arm spinner, Uzair Ali Khan, adjudged Man of the Match, produced a sensational spell of 6.1 overs during which he claimed four wickets for only eight runs. He was supported by leg-spinner Sameer Ahmed (3-20) and off-spinner Zaid Bin Haris (2-4).

Skipper K M Nafay’s awesome all-round effort leads New Standard Secondary School to massive victory in Omar Trophy Inter-School Cricket

Skipper K M Nafay’s awesome all-round performance led New Standard Secondary School to a massive 193-run victory over The City School in their Group H fixture of the Omar Trophy Inter-School Cricket Tournament 2016, being organized by the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA), at the TMC Ground on October 4.

K M Nafay, adjudged Man of the Match, scored a brilliant century to help New Standard Secondary School compile an imposing total of 288 for seven in the allotted 40 overs.

He then claimed four wickets with his off-spin to send The City School crashing to 95 all out in 21.3 overs.

The captain led from the front as he himself kickstarted the New Standard Secondary School innings, having elected to bat after calling correctly. The opener smashed a couple of sixes and 14 sixes in his 83-ball 111 to flatten the bowlers.

The City School’s leg-spinner Talha Musavi caused a mini-collapse by taking three wickets in rapid succession and useful little contributions from Saqib Khan (35 off 30 balls) and Maaz Khalid (33 off 29 balls) lifted the New Standard Secondary School total to 288.

The target of 289 in 40 proved too steep for The City School and their task became increasingly difficult after the loss of quick wickets upfront. Umar Saleem (17 off 20 balls) and Areeb Moin Khan (14 off 16 balls) were the only ones among the top-order batsmen to reach double figures while lastman Rayyaz Rameez made 15 off as many balls.

The City School’s innings was rocked by the spin duo of K M Nafay (4-30) and Tariq Khan (4-32) as they dismissed the last eight batsmen for the addition of only 43 runs.

Indo-Pak veteran cricket series called off

The Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA) has cancelled its upcoming tour to India amid escalating tensions between the South Asian neighbours.


Fawad Ijaz Khan, Chairman, PVCA, has announced that, in view of the prevailing tense conditions at the Indo-Pak border, the series which was due to be held in India during the months of December 2016 and January 2017 stood cancelled.

“The PVCA had planned to send its Over-50 veterans squad to play four in the Indian state of Kerala from December 26 to January 3. The proposed tour included a couple of 50-overs-a-side contests besides as many Twenty20 games. We were going there upon the invitation from the Board of Veterans in India (BVI),” he disclosed.

“All the four matches were scheduled to be staged in Kerala which is the busiest centre of veteran cricket activities in India as they also organize the veteran league tournaments regularly,” he added.

The PVCA Chairman disclosed that the decision of cancelling the tour of India has been conveyed to the BVI.

The decision of the PVCA has come just a day after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) to not place India and Pakistan in the same group during upcoming international events. The two teams are currently scheduled to play each other in the ICC Champions Trophy to be held next year in June in England.

Previously the BCCI had ruled out the possibility of an Indo-Pak bilateral series although as of late no proposal from either side was made for a bilateral series. There hasn’t been a complete bilateral series between the Asian cricketing giants since 2007-08. The BCCI statement seemed to have cemented the notion that they were unwilling to play a series with Pakistan in the foreseeable future.