KARACHI: A day after the completion of the qualifying round matches of the inter-department event, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) unveiled on Wednesday the schedule of the yet again revamped Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship.

The country’s premier first-class competition starts on Monday (Oct 26) with 16 teams — eight departments and as many regions participating — entering the fray for top honours. A total of 56 matches will played in the group stage of the tournament with eight teams pooled together in one group and the rest in the other pool.

The top four teams at the conclusion of the preliminary phase will progress to the Super Eight stage where two groups of four have been devised with each outfit playing three matches.

The teams topping the groups will clash in the five-day final to be played at the National Stadium in Karachi.

Fata will be making their first-class debut this season after making to the top from the regional qualifying event. Lahore Blues also progressed through the qualifiers to ensure Lahore have two teams representing the Punjab metropolis.

But Karachi will have their Whites outfit to represent the country’s largest and most populated cricketing nursery this time after the Blues side were upstaged by Fata in the qualifying event.

The remaining four regions who will play first-class cricket are Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad and Peshawar.

Among the departmental teams, last season’s Gold League winners Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), runners-up National Bank, Port Qasim Authority, Wapda, United Bank and Silver league champions Habib Bank gained automatic entry into the forthcoming championship.

The remaining two places have gone to Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), who strolled through the qualifiers with five straight victories, and Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), while the likes of Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), PIA, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Karachi Port Trust (KPT) failed to qualify.

If the previous was retained then KPT would have returned to first-class cricket after 11 seasons, having clinched the Patron’s Trophy Grade-II with a first-innings lead after the final against Omar Associates petered out in a tame draw here last April.

But following Pakistan’s dismal World Cup campaign earlier this year, PCB chairman Shaharyar M. Khan has also publicly voiced his concern with the existing domestic cricket structure and stressed the board’s cricket committee to find a formula to improve the quality of cricket rather keep increasing the number of teams.

Last season, no less than 24 departments and regions competed in the Gold and Silver leagues of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy.

The new format also means several members of the current Pakistan Test, ODI and T20 teams — stars such as Sarfraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik won’t be playing first-class cricket at the domestic level, at least for this season.

Schedule:

Pool ‘A’: Islamabad, United Bank, Hyderabad, Port Qasim Authority, Peshawar, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), Lahore Blues.

Pool ‘B’: Karachi Whites, Lahore Whites, National Bank, Wapda, Habib Bank, Rawalpindi, Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Fata.

Oct 26-29: Islamabad vs United Bank (Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad); Hyderabad vs Port Qasim Authority (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad); Peshawar vs SNGPL (Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar); Lahore Blues vs SSGC (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore); Karachi Whites vs Wapda (National Stadium, Karachi); Lahore Whites vs National Bank (LCCA Ground, Lahore); Habib Bank vs Fata (Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot); Rawalpindi vs KRL (Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi).

Nov 2-5: Islamabad vs SNGPL (Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad); Peshawar vs United Bank (Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar); Lahore Blues vs Port Qasim Authority (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore); Hyderabad vs SSGC (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad); Karachi Whites vs Habib Bank (National Stadium, Karachi); Lahore Whites vs KRL (LCCA Ground, Lahore); National Bank vs Fata (Jinnah Sialkot, Sialkot); Rawalpindi vs Wapda (Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi).

Nov 9-12: Islamabad vs Port Qasim Authority (Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad); Peshawar vs SSGC (Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar); Hyderabad vs SNGPL (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad); Lahore Blues vs United Bank (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore); Karachi Whites vs National Bank (National Stadium, Karachi); Lahore Whites vs Wapda (LCCA Ground, Lahore); Rawalpindi vs Habib Bank (Pindi); KRL vs Fata (Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot).

Nov 16-19: Islamabad vs SSGC (Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad); Peshawar vs Port Qasim Authority (Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar); Hyderabad vs United Bank (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad); Lahore Blues vs SNGPL (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore); Karachi Whites vs KRL (National Stadium, Karachi); Lahore Whites vs Habib Bank (LCCA Ground, Lahore); Rawalpindi vs National Bank (Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi); Wapda vs Fata (Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot).

Nov 23-26: Islamabad vs Hyderabad (Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad); Peshawar vs Lahore Blues (Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar); Port Qasim Authority vs SNGPL (Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad); United Bank vs SSGC (Marghazar Cricket Ground, Islamabad); Rawalpindi vs Karachi Whites (Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi); Lahore Whites vs Fata (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore); National Bank vs Wapda (Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot); Habib Bank vs KRL (National Cricket Ground, Islamabad).

Nov 30-Dec 3: Islamabad vs Lahore Blues (Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad); Peshawar vs Hyderabad (Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar); SNGPL vs SSGC (Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad); Port Qasim Authority vs United Bank (Marghazar Cricket Ground, Islamabad); Lahore Whites vs Karachi Whites (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore); Rawalpindi vs Fata (Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi); National Bank vs Habib Bank (Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot); Wapda vs KRL (National Cricket Ground, Islamabad).

Dec 7-10: Peshawar vs Islamabad (Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar); Hyderabad vs Lahore Blues (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad); SNGPL vs United Bank (Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi); Port Qasim Authority vs SSGC (Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad); Karachi Whites vs Fata (National Stadium, Karachi); Lahore Whites vs Rawalpindi (LCCA Ground, Lahore); National Bank vs KRL (Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot); Wapda vs Habib Bank (Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad).

Super Eight round:

Group I:

Dec 14-17: No 1 of Group ‘A’ vs No.2 of Group ‘B’ (National Stadium, Karachi); No 3 of Group ‘A’ vs No.4 of Group ‘B’ (NBP Sports Complex, Karachi).

Dec 21-24: No 1 of Group ‘A’ vs No.4 of Group ‘B’ (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi); No.2 of Group ‘A’ vs No.3 of Group ‘B’ (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad).

Dec 28-31: No 1 of Group ‘A’ vs No.3 of Group ‘A’ (National Stadium, Karachi); No.2 of Group ‘B’ vs No.4 of Group ‘B’ (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi).

Group II:

Dec 14-17: No 1 of Group ‘B’ vs No.2 of Group ‘A’ (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi); No.3 of Group ‘B’ vs No.4 of Group ‘A’ (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad).

Dec 21-24: No 1 of Group ‘B’ vs No.4 of Group ‘A’ (National Stadium, Karachi); No.2 of Group ‘B’ vs No.3 of Group ‘A’ (NBP Sports Complex, Karachi).

Dec 28-31: No 1 of Group ‘B’ vs No.3 of Group ‘B’ (NBP Sports Complex, Karachi); No 2 of Group ‘A’ vs No.4 of Group ‘A’ (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad).

Final:

Jan 3-7: Winners of Group ‘A’ vs Winners of Group ‘B’ (National Stadium, Karachi).

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2015

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