Bugti Stadium to host first-class cricket matches after 11 years

KARACHI: Quetta’s Bugti Stadium will return as a first-class venue after 11 years as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday announced that nine centres will host 31 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2019-20 matches between September 14 and December 9.

“While scheduling Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2019-20 fixtures, the PCB has taken ground availability and readiness as well as expected weather conditions . . . into consideration,” the PCB said.

Balochistan will feature in all the four matches to be hosted by the Bugti Stadium: the second round fixture against Southern Punjab (September 21-24), third round fixture against Central Punjab (Sept 28 to Oct 1), fifth round fixture against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Oct 28-31) and sixth round fixture against Southern Punjab (November 4-7).

The picturesque Bugti Stadium staged its only One-day International in 1996. It hosted its 25th and last first-class match in October 2008 when the home side met the then North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in a 2008-09 Pentangular Cup match.

“The resumption of active first-class cricket in Quetta is aligned to the PCB’s strategic objective of reviving and taking cricket to every nook and corner of the country, attracting local players by giving them opportunities to get closer to the established cricketers,” the PCB Director Domestic Cricket Haroon Rasheed said. “Separately, the PCB is already exploring commercialisation opportunities around the Bugti Stadium,” he was quick to add.

Other venues are: Abbottabad Stadium (6 matches), Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, (3 matches), Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, (3 matches), Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot, (1 match), KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi, (3 matches), National Stadium, Karachi, (5 matches, including Dec 9-13 final), State Bank Stadium, Karachi, (1 match) and UBL Sports Complex, Karachi, (5 matches).

In the opening round, from September 14-17, Sindh and Balochistan will go head to head at the UBL Sports Complex, while Gaddafi Stadium will be the venue for the match between Central and Southern Punjab. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will lock horns with Northern at the Abbottabad Stadium.

“After the first four rounds the red ball cricket will come to a halt to make window for T20 cricket. This is being done to provide the selectors the opportunity to select in-form T20 players ahead of the crucial three-match T20I series against Australia,” the PCB said.

The First and Second XI T20 tournaments, running simultaneously, will also help the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises to spot players ahead of the player draft for the next year’s edition.

The PCB has decided to implement the no-toss rule which will provide the visiting teams an option of bowling first. This would prevent the home sides from doctoring the pitches in their favour and compel them to prepare pitches that provide the right balance between bat and ball for four days, the PCB said.

The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Second XI tournament will run simultaneously with the First XI tournament. The 30 group matches will be of three days. The final will be a four-day fixture that will be played at State Bank Stadium from November 26-29.

The city of Mirpur in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) will host four Second XI matches, starting from the second round contest between Northern and Central Punjab.

“The decision to broaden the venues for top quality perfectly aligns with the PCB’s vision of the promotion of the game as it will attract more and more people towards the game, with the country’s leading cricketers playing in front of them,” the PCB said.