Cambridge University to tour Pakistan (3 March 1999)

3 March 1999

Cambridge University to tour Pakistan

Press Release

Cambridge University Cricket Club (CUCC), in an unprecedented step, are to tour Pakistan later this month. Leaving on the 13th of March, the duration of the tour is 10 days, which shall begin in Lahore and end in Karachi.

It is the first time that the University cricket team, which plays first-class cricket in England, is undertaking such an ambitious pre-season venture. This is the University's first overseas tour. It has all been made possible by the generous offer of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the national carrier, to sponsor the University team for this tour with free flights to, from and within Pakistan. PIA is to be recognised as the official sponsor for the CUCC, not only for the tour but also for the season in England.

Embarking at Lahore, the team will play 2 games there against opposition which includes Lahore Gymkhana (at Bagh-e-Jinnah), and a Lahore City Cricket Association XI at the Qaddafi Stadium. They shall then depart for Karachi on the 18th, where they will play Dr. Shah's A. O. Clinic team in a floodlit match at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium. This will then be followed by games against the Pakistan Customs side at the National Stadium (over 2 days); the National Bank side at the newly built National Bank Stadium; and the Pakistan International Airlines side, who are also the sponsors (all 3 are first-class teams).

The Cambridge season, which starts early in the English summer due to the University timetable, is often severely hindered due to rain and wet wickets. The tour, therefore, provides the light Blues of Cambridge with a great opportunity to get around that problem. "It is one way of finding some dry pitches to practise on," said skipper Quentin Hughes who will lead the 14-man squad under the guidance of Coach, former England and Nottinghamshire batsman, Derek Randall. "Furthermore, it might just give us that edge over the English Counties and Oxford University, by playing against such quality opposition so early in the season."

The original idea was hatched during last year's festival week marking the 150th anniversary of the Cambridge cricket ground - 'Fenners', when former Cambridge Blue and Pakistani Captain, Majid Khan, invited the CUCC to his country. The idea gathered momentum with the efforts of Raja Khan, a Phd student at Cambridge, and former Pakistan and Gloucestershire opening batsmen, Sadiq Mohammed, whose son, Imraan Mohammed, is also a Cambridge Blue and a member of the touring party. The tour would not have been possible without the efforts of Arif Ali Khan Abbasi, the managing director of PIA.

Despite the historical links between Pakistani cricket and Cambridge (and Oxford) Univeristy - Majid Khan, Imraan Khan and Javed Burki all played for the University sides - this is the first time that Cambridge have toured Pakistan. It will do much, not only for the cricket of the Cambridge side, but also for the goodwill between the University and the Country.

Source :: Chris Mullin