ACC 2006 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

The much-anticipated ACC schedule for its 2006 tournaments has been announced.

Along with the biennial ACC Trophy to be played in Malaysia in August, the ACC U-15 Cup will be played for the first time with Elite and Plate Divisions.

NUCLEUS TO POWER IRAN

The Iran senior team took part in selection trials in Chabahar in the eastern part of Iran (bordering Pakistan) in preparation for the upcoming ACC Middle East Cup.

The first pictures of any official Iranian cricket practice to be published globally, they show the reality of cricket in this part of the world.

ECB TEAM TO PLAY IN BANGLADESH

The Emirates Cricket Board, led by opener Arshad Ali, embark on an eight day tour of Bangladesh this week which will go a long way to establish their credentials as a top Associate nation.

The tour, part of a reciprocal arrangement between the Bangladesh Cricket Board and ECB, consists of four one-day matches, with the UAE taking on particularly strong opposition. The first two matches are against a Bangladesh Academy team and the last two are against Bangladesh A who will undoubtedly feature some full internationals.

2006 ACC TROPHY TO BE IN MALAYSIA

The ACC Development Committee under the Chairmanship of Mohammad Ali Asghar MP has proposed to the Executive Board that the next ACC Trophy be held in Kuala Lumpur in August. Malaysia also hosted the 2004 ACC Trophy. “Malaysia’s climate is well-suited to cricket at that time of the year. They have all the necessary facilities and the infrastructure is there to host a tournament involving 18 countries”, said Sultan Rana, ACC Development Manager.

Filed January 11 2006

INDIAN SCHOOLS TO TAKE ON PAKISTANI SCHOOLS

PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan announced in December that India’s and Pakistan’s boards have in principle, agreed to hold matches between their national school champions. Along with contests between the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy winners of Pakistan and the Ranji Trophy winners of India, these initiatives are set to develop competitiveness, playing standards and mutual appreciation between the two countries.

“The BCCI has accepted our proposal and the school champions of the two countries will be playing each other in the not too distant future. We believe that the match between the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy champions and the Ranji Trophy champions will help in bringing domestic cricket to life. Similarly the matches between the schools champions will help in the promotion of the game at the grassroots level,” said Mr. Khan.

Filed January 11 2006