Tag: PCB rebrands grade-II four-day event as Hanif Mohammad Trophy

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today unveiled the schedule for five tournaments in the upcoming 2023-24 men’s domestic cricket season.

The schedule for the two U19 tournaments, along with department tournaments, will be announced in due course.

The 2023-24 domestic cricket season will commence with 29 matches of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy starting on September 10 and concluding on October 26.

The eight-team regional tournament will begin at Gaddafi Stadium, with Lahore Region Whites facing Lahore Region Blues on Sunday, September 10 while the other first-round matches include Peshawar Region vs Karachi Region Whites at Abbottabad Stadium, Faisalabad Region vs Multan Region at Shoaib Akhtar Stadium KRL Rawalpindi, and FATA Region vs Rawalpindi Region at Pindi Cricket Stadium.

The final will also be staged at the iconic Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium from October 22 to 26.

Schedule of the red-ball tournaments Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2023-24 and Hanif Mohammad Trophy 2023-24 👇

Read more ➡️ https://t.co/HvMmqM4fnP pic.twitter.com/29wvr0jxiw

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) September 6, 2023

The non-first-class tournament, Hanif Mohammad Trophy, will also start concurrently with the Quaid-e-Azam trophy on September 10, featuring 10 regions in two groups.

The top two sides from each group at the end of the group stage will qualify for the Super 4 stage, where each team in that stage will play three matches. At the end of the Super 4 stage, the top side will qualify for next year’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

The matches of the Hanif Mohammad Trophy will be played in Mirpur, Multan, Muzaffarabad, and Rahim Yar Khan.

The one-day tournaments, the Pakistan Cup and Hanif Mohammad Cup, will follow the conclusion of the red-ball tournaments, both starting on November 1.

Pakistan Cup will be hosted in Abbottabad, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi. The semi-finals will be played on November 16 and 17 at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, while the final will take place on November 19 at the same venue.

Meanwhile, the Hanif Mohammad Cup will begin on November 1 and will be hosted in AJK, Faisalabad, Multan, and Rahim Yar Khan.

Like the Hanif Mohammad Trophy, the winner of the Hanif Mohammad Cup will be the side topping the Super 4 stage.

The two-leg National T20 will be held in Karachi from November 24 to December 10. In the first leg, all 18 regional sides will compete to qualify for the Super 8, which will be played from December 1 to 8.

The semi-finals of the tournament will be played on December 9, while the final will take place the next day.

The venue for the three knockout matches will be Karachi’s National Bank Stadium.

PCB 2023-24 men’s domestic cricket calendar:

10 Sep-26 Oct – Quaid-e-Azam Trophy; Abbottabad, Lahore and Rawalpindi

10 Sep-25 Oct – Hanif Mohammad Trophy; AJK, Multan and Rahim Yar Khan

1 Nov-19 Nov – Pakistan Cup; Abbottabad, Islamabad and Rawalpindi

1 Nov-16 Nov – Hanif Mohammad Cup; AJK, Faisalabad, Multan and Rahim Yar Khan.

24 Nov-10 Dec – National T20; Karachi

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LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the 2023-24 domestic season which will feature eight regional sides and as many department teams competing in separate first-class tournaments.

This step will make sure that the regions and departments compete on a level playing field by utilising the best available talent.

The domestic structure is framed by the PCB Cricket Technical Committee headed by former captains Misbah ul Haq and Mohammad Hafeez. The committee had several meetings with all stakeholders to bring them on board, including regional presidents and representatives of departments.

The upcoming men’s domestic season will commence on 10 September with the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy pitting top regional teams against each other, following which, top eight departments will feature in the President’s Trophy, starting December 15.

The two tournaments will be played on a single-league basis and the table toppers will play the final.

The 18 regional sides have been slotted with eight teams playing the premier first-class tournament Quaid-e-Azam Trophy while 10 regions will be playing Hanif Mohammad Trophy, a non-first-class four-day tournament.

Teams have been listed according to their standings in the 2018-19 PCB domestic season from where the domestic structure resumes following the directives of PCB’s Patron-in-chief – also Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The PCB has revived the PCB 2014 Constitution, a move that brought back the department in the domestic circuit. Both tournaments begin simultaneously.

• Quaid-e-Azam Trophy:  10 September to 26 October
• Hanif Mohammad Trophy: 10 September to 13 October

Abbottabad, Lahore and Rawalpindi will be hosting as many as 29 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches while the Hanif Mohammad Trophy 10-team is divided into two groups with 23 matches will be hosted by Faisalabad, Islamabad and Multan.

Teams playing the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy are Peshawar, Karachi Whites, Lahore Blues, Rawalpindi, FATA, Multan, Lahore Whites and Faisalabad.

Ten teams featuring in the Hanif Mohammad Trophy are Abbottabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Bahawalpur, Dera Murad Jamali, Hyderabad, Karachi Blues, Larkana, Quetta, Sialkot and Islamabad. 

The historic departmental cricket model which was scrapped altogether in the 2019 PCB constitution, has made a remarkable comeback with over 40 teams registered to involve in the circuit. 

In the continuation of the 2018-19 PCB domestic season, eight departments will be playing President’s Trophy, a first-class tournament. SNGPL, SSGC, WAPDA, KRL, PTV, NBP, and State Bank are slotted from their standing in the last time they played in the 2018-19 season. Eighth team, is to be announced in due course.

In January and February of 2024, Patron’s Trophy grade-II with three-day games and grade-III (two-day games) will run concurrently all over the country.

Teams winning the Hanif Mohammad Trophy, Patron’s Trophy grade-II and grade-III will earn promotions. The teams who finish at the bottom of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, President’s Trophy and Patron’s Trophy grade-II will be relegated to the lower rung. 

Every regional team must have one player under the age of 21 in playing XI and at least two in the 30-player squad. These players must have come through PCB’s age-group programme.

Director Domestic Cricket Operations (A) Junaid Zia: “It gives me immense pleasure to announce that we have finalised the domestic structure for the upcoming season. I want to thank the Cricket Technical Committee, comprising Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez, for their outstanding support in finalising the process, and the presidents of the regions for their inputs. 

“This structure provides a level playing field to regions and departments as they will have the best cricket talent available to them. The separation of regions and departments in different tournaments also provides enhance earning opportunities for cricketers with separate contracts and more matches. 

“We have also introduced U13, U16 and U19 tournaments for the regions so we access the young talent right away and provide them the right platforms and facilities to grow. Nurturing their talent at the very young age will help us in turning them into assets and make sure that no potential cricketer goes to waste.”

Eight regional sides will play the Pakistan Cup – which will have List A status – and the bottom 10 teams will play Hanif Mohammad Cup. The National T20 will feature all 18 regional teams.

Departments will also play a white-ball tournament, the details of which will be announced later. 

The PCB will also provide a clear pathway to the age group cricketers where they harness their skills and evolve at each level with regional U13, U16 and U19 tournaments. The U13 and U16 teams will take part in one-day tournaments, and the U19 cricketers will play in one-day and three-day competitions.

All regional and department teams will name a 30-player squad before the season, which will be trimmed to 20 players before the start of every tournament.

Every region and department can have up to 30 per cent of guest players in the 20-player squad.

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In a tribute to one of the pioneers of the early era of Pakistan cricket, the Pakistan Cricket Board has named the grade-II four-day tournament as the Hanif Mohammad Trophy.

A total of 10 regional teams from the 2023-24 domestic season will compete in the recently-branded four-day event – Hanif Mohammad Trophy.

This is another step by the PCB to honour and recognise the services of the legends of the game and ensure that their efforts continue to be remembered.

PCB Management Committee Chairperson Zaka Ashraf: “This step is a homage to a true cricket legend whose grace, dedication, and timeless contributions to the sport have left an indelible mark on the hearts of cricket enthusiasts in Pakistan and around the world.

“It is of utmost importance that we remember our greats and take steps that keep their memories alive.”

Son of Hanif Mohammad and former Pakistan Test cricketer, Shoaib Mohammad: “My family and I are thankful to Zaka Ashraf and the Pakistan Cricket Board for honouring my father’s contributions to the game of cricket.

“It is an amazing feeling to know that the board continues to remember the sacrifices and hard work of cricketers of the early days who played a pivotal role to put Pakistan on the world map. I hope our young domestic cricketers get inspiration from his career and go on to serve Pakistan.”

Known as ‘Little Master’, Hanif Mohammad was one of the most outstanding batting talents in the early years of Pakistan cricket.

As a teenager, he opened the innings for Pakistan in the inaugural Test in 1952, played against India at Delhi and went on to score 3,915 runs, which includes 12 centuries and 15 half-centuries, at an average of 43.98 in 55 Tests.

He played the longest Test innings at Bridgetown in 1958 when he batted for 970 minutes for his 337 – still the highest score for a Pakistani in the format – against the West Indies.

Hanif Mohammad also captained Pakistan in 11 Tests from 1964 to 1967 before retiring in 1969.

His first-class score of 499 for Karachi against Bahawalpur in 1959 is still the highest for a Pakistani and the second-best overall behind Brian Lara’s 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994.

He amassed 17,059 runs at 52.32 in his first-class cricket and scored 55 centuries and 66 half-centuries in a 238-match career that spanned from 1951 to 1976.

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