ICC Trophy team to be named tomorrow

Lahore, Sept 18: Names of fourteen members of the Pakistan senior cricket team will be announced on Sept 20 (Wednesday). The team is being finalised for the ICC Trophy to be played at Nairobi (Kenya) from Oct 3.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) ad hoc committee chairman Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, who remained busy in deliberations at the Qadhafi Stadium on Monday, himself took the decision. He has decided to hold back the announcement of the team although the deadline for submitting names of the team-members with the organising committee in Kenya is Sept 20.

The PCB media advisor Dr Nauman Niaz told Dawn that Saqlain Mushtaq will be reaching Lahore on Oct 21 after completing his assignment with the English county Surrey. Bayazid Khan, who had also not attended the national cricket camp because he was in South Africa along with his family, would also be arriving on the same day.

A match between the two teams consisting of probables now attending the national cricket camp at Lahore is being organised on Wednesday and the team will be finalised at its conclusion.

The probables were seen busy in batting and bowling practice. A conspicuous absentee was Inzamama-ul-Haq, who has gone to Multan to attend a function being organised in his honour there. Muhammad Akram, who is in England these days, also did not attend the training.

Multan's Crescent Cricket Club, for whom Inzamam-ul-Haq had been playing, is honouring him on Tuesday for becoming Pakistan's highest run-getter in one-day internationals (he has overtaken Javed Miandad now by totalling 7417 runs). Lt Gen Tauqir Zia will be chief guest of the function and he also left Lahore for Multan on Monday.