Morocco hosts its first quadrangular series (21 Jun 1999)

21 June 1999

Morocco hosts its first quadrangular series

In what is probably the high point of cricket's 10 year existence in Morocco, a four nation quadrangular tournament will be played in the capital city of Rabat this weekend (June 19 & 20).

The Moroccan Cricket Club, a Gibraltar club team plus the British and Pakistani Embassy XIs will compete on a football field next to the Rabat Hilton Hotel.

It will be the latest test of the development of Morocco's indigenous cricketing talent, which has shown promising signs since Moroccans began taking up the game after watching games played alongside the Rabat Hilton

In 1997, an indigenous Moroccan team skittled a combined diplomatic corp XI for 42 before winning by six wickets.

Cricket has been played in Rabat for about 10 years after it was introduced by British embassy staff and expatriates.

There are now four teams playing regularly - a Moroccan team comprising the first batch of players to toake up the game, another Moroccan team and British and Pakistani Embassy Xis.

Officials of the Moroccan Cricket Club are looking for an appropriate ground but in the meantime are looking at installing an artificial pitch on the rugby pitch to eliminate uneven bounce. Presently the ground can only be used on Saturdays.

The weather in Morocco allows cricket to be played year-round except for the holiday months of July and August.

Moroccan cricket is not confined to Rabat, with a match between the Moroccan Cricket Club and a Pakistan Embassy XI a part of the annual Asian Cultural Festival in Khemisset (100kms east of Rabat) for the past three years.

The matches have been watched by the Governor of Khemisset and Moroccan government officials.

The Moroccan Cricket Club would like to see the game established in Khemisset, Casablanca and Sale, the twin town of Rabat.

The better Moroccan players are club captain, Amine Mejjati (who has been played for several years and is a useful all-rounder), Younes Abbasi (the vice-captain and experienced batsman) and Taoufik (a prolific batsman and six hitter).

Cricket has also taken off among Moroccan women, with the club's vice-president being Fatima Boujoual.