Walk-outs and no-shows: it must be cricket in Bahrain

Cricket in Bahrain is always a colourful affair. Guy Parker reports on the latest events:

"Bahrain Cricket Club (BCC) won the BCA Asgherali League in typically unedifying circumstances. Their opponents for the final match of the season, second placed Young Boys CC, preferred not to lose on the field, so just didn't turn up. Punjab CC did the same to Sri Lanka Club so the final table looks incomplete as it reveals a season of scandalous no-shows and petulant behaviour by several team managements.

BCC complained self-righteously that their opponents hadn't turned up then the following week walked out of the annual 7-a-side tournament with Young Boys and Punjab CC in a vain attempt to sabotage the BCA organised competition. Bassali CC won the 7-a-side Cup, their first major trophy since entering the top flight.

BCC owe their championship to their strength in depth. Their team contains 5 professionals paid for by The Management. Young Boys professional strength is also up to five but BCC seem to get more for their money. Two other teams have pros. Pakistan Club employ two as do Punjab CC. All the pro's are from Pakistan.

Being a pro in Bahrain is not at all glamorous. Have a bad match or two and you are likely to be repatriated by your disgruntled patron, who holds your passport and work permit. You only get one match a week a 25 over thrash in atrocious weather and pitch conditions. Bahrain Cricket abounds with stories of repatriations after one match, of players flown in for important games and for shenanigans of all sorts concerning the speedy obtaining of visas. Some patrons are better than others. Some demand performance from the boundary. "Hit a six or you're going back on the next plane! and the ilk. Non professional teams in the league delight in occasionally beating this vaunted opposition, knowing the loss of face it brings to the patrons who then get a better player, and the cycle continues.

The poor old BCA stands in the middle of all this trying to keep up a standard of fair play and organise ruly competitions. Any disruption, like the recent walkout and the no-shows, or last season's cup debacle when the teams in the final refused to play each other, is immediately blamed on the BCA. The incumbent committee seems to have had enough and called for fresh elections which were held on 25 April. Lobbying has been intense as control freaks vie for the positions of power in Bahrain cricket.

Against this background there is the recent revelation that Bahrain now has an "official" ICC representative. Known to this correspondent only as Hameed, he has been in Bahrain reportedly for about a year and has presented his credentials to the ICC and been appointed. He has no official position in the BCA but is known to be associated with BCC officials who, along with some businessmen have "grand plans" for the development of cricket in Bahrain. Good luck to them. Some of the interested parties are the above-mentioned "patrons" whose personal rivalry is locally legendary. If they can arrange some unholy alliance, I can't see it lasting.

On the field the best performances came from the pro's. BCC's skipper Asghar Bajwa, an accomplished all-rounder, led his team to victory in every match. Another all-rounder, Ashraf Baig, who scored 143 not out in a match against the Bahrain Select, was instrumental in many of BCC's wins, mainly because of his unplayable leg-spin. One no-pro, Ali Zulfikar, BCC's opening bowler has developed his style over the years, and now would not disgrace himself at a much higher level.

Two big hitters from Young Boys, Abdul Waheed and Mohammed Yaqub kept them in the hunt till the last disgraceful no-shows. The perennial Qamer Saeed, all-rounder and skipper provided the necessary backbone to a team whose tails very quickly go between their legs in times of trouble.

Sri Lanka Club, with no pro's, managed a creditable third with several nailbiting finishes. Ajith Kumarasiri deserves a mention for his spectacular finishes with the bat.

Pakistan Club's pro Mohammed Azeem is a match winner in his fielding alone. In one match he ran out three batsmen with direct throws. Pak could have managed a higher position if they could control their tempers, not with the opposition or the umpires, but with each other.

Punjab CC, having sent home most of last years pros, were left with only Rizwan Qazi who managed some single-handed victories, but couldn't deliver the goods every week. Punjab's habit of not turning up for matches they thought they might lose didn't endear them to many cricket supporters.

Indian Club sparkled and sputtered. The matches they won were quite delightful. The team is now balanced with several top flight spinners, notably Shailesh Kumar and Ashwini Sharma. The run machine, Ajay Kumar, missed 3 months through leave, but is always a threat to weaker bowling attacks.

The bottom four teams; Bassali, Awali, CCC and Godfathers may not have won much, but can still claim to have played more cricket than their more illustrious colleagues just by turning up and playing every match win or lose.

BCA Standings                       P     W    L    Points
BCC                                18    18    0      36
Young Boys CC                      18    15    3      30
Sri Lanka Club                     18    12    6      24
Pakistan Club                      18    11    7      22
Punjab CC                          17    10    7      20
Indian Club                        16     8    8      16
Bassali CC                         17     5   12      10
Awali                              18     4   14       8
Cosmopolitans CC                   16     3   13       6
Godfathers                         18     2   16       4"