KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and domestic cricket debutants Port Qasim Authority (PQA) clash in the final of the 2007-08 PCB Patron’s Trophy Grade-II Cricket Championship, at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, which will be played over the next four days starting today (Friday).

The two finalists have emerged from a 21-team roster as two of the most outstanding sides. Port Qasim Authority, playing in their first season at the Pakistan national level, won four of their five matches in the Pool B league and made it to the semifinals with a total of 36 points.

Only their first group match, against Pakistan Army at the Army (Pindi Club) Cricket Ground in Rawalpindi, produced no result due to bad weather. Port Qasim were dominating at the time the rain intervened.

Port Qasim then went on to defeat all their other four opponents outright. In the semifinal that ended on Tuesday, they beat Fauji Fertilizer, newcomers to the domestic scene like them, by a convincing margin of eight wickets and charged into the final.

State Bank used to be active on Pakistan’s first-class circuit from 1983 to 1987. Then, they were banished to the Grade-II circuit, Later, they decided to disband their cricketing outfit.

They have made a comeback only as recently as 2006-07, when the State Bank’s new Governor, Ms Shahmshad Akhtar, ordered for a revival of cricket activity within the organisation.

State Bank won every one of their four matches in Pool C in this season’s Patron’s Grade-II competition, in the process bagging the full 36 points. In the semifinal against United Bank Limited (UBL), they gained a big first innings lead which proved decisive in the end, taking them into the final.

The Patron’s Trophy Grade-II Championship now thus awaits a brand new champion within the next four days. The umpires nominated for the final in Faisalabad are Javed Ashraf and Aftab Gillani with Nadeem Arshad to serve as match referee. Tahir Suhaib is the official scorer.

Fauji Fertilizer, who eventually didn’t make it to the final, have been the real surprise package of the tournament. Also playing in their maiden season at the domestic level, they were being tipped to be left behind by Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and Pakistan Railways in the end. They won two of their four matches, took 24 points as compared to KPT’s 21, and entered the semifinals.

Port Qasim, coached by former Pakistan captain and wicket-keeper Rashid Latif, actually had Khalid Latif as its captain when the original team was announced. But Khalid was made skipper of the Pakistan Academy side that’s recently toured Bangladesh and has now landed in Nepal for a series of limited overs matches.

Former Pakistan left-handed opener Shadab Kabir has led Port Qasim in Khalid’s absence. Already, he is the most successful batsman of the tournament, having scored 631 runs at an average of 78.87 with a highest of 207 among his three hundreds and two half-centuries.

Karachi’s Wasim Naeem has been State Bank’s leading batsman so far. He has totalled 448 runs at an average of 74.66, with the help of two hundreds and as many fifties. His highest knock has been a magnificent 189.

United Bank’s slow left-arm bowler Nauman Ali finished with 33 wickets at 18.39 apiece to become the tournament’s top bowler. Port Qasim’s own left-armer Azam Hussain is not far behind with a tally of 27 wickets at 22.37 each.



SIX NEW TEAMS IN THE 2007-08 EVENT

Six newly-formed departmental teams made their domestic cricket debut in this season’s championship. The competition serves as the qualifying round of the subsequent first-class Patron’s Trophy Championship, which from the current season has been halted as the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Championship now encompasses both the regional association and major departmental cricket teams in a single first-class tournament.

For at least this season, no teams will be promoted to the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy event from the Patron’s Trophy Grade-II Championship. The PCB will formalise a new strategy from the next season onwards.

The six new teams were Medicam Group (of Companies), PQA, Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL), Pak Saudi International, Warid Telecom and Fauji Fertilizer.

Pakistan Steel (Mills Limited) have signalled a comeback to national cricket after having made their last appearance — at the first-class level — back in 1986-87. Higher Education Commission (HEC) played in the Patron’s Grade-II tournament in 2005-06 before missing the following season.

Of the teams that were featured in the 2006-07 championship, Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) have been promoted to the first-class circuit. But missing from last season’s Patron’s Grade-II event were the Public Works Department (PWD), Pakistan Military Accounts (PMA) and Defence Housing Authority (DHA) teams.

As opposed to 18 teams participating in the 2006-07 Patron’s Trophy Grade-II, a total of 22 teams were to be seen in action this season. But the withdrawal of the Pakistan Education Board (PEB) from Pool D reduced the size of the tournament.



LINE-UP OF THE TWO TEAMS IN THE FINAL

Port Qasim Authority (from): Shadab Kabir (captain), Aariz Kamal, Abdul Rauf, Asim Kamal, Atif Ali Zaidi, Azam Hussain, Kamran Younis, Mohammad Salman, Mohammad Talha, Shahzaib Hasan, Tabish Nawab, Tanvir Ahmed and Usman Tariq.

State Bank of Pakistan (from): Faisal Athar (captain), Aamer Hayat, Afsar Nawaz, Ahmed Raza, Ansar Javed, Ibrahim Qureshi, Jalat Khan, Rizwan Saeed, Saif Ashraf, Shahbaz Butt, Shoaib Khan, Wajid Ali, Wasim Naeem and Zeeshan Aziz.