March 16, 2008	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 7, 1429

KARACHI, March 15: A total of 22 teams will compete in the National One-day Cricket Championship, which begins from Thursday (March 20) at various venues across the country.

Unlike last season, when the domestic limited-overs champions were decided in three separate tournaments, including two for the regions and one for the departments, there will be just one championship this time.

As was the case in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship, the 13 regional outfits will compete for honours along with nine departments.

The teams have been divided into four groups with two of the pools having six sides and the remaining two five each.

The six-team pools are Group ‘A’ (Lahore Shalimar, Peshawar, Islamabad, Quetta, Habib Bank, KRL) and Group ‘D’ (Karachi Blues, Rawalpindi, Abbottabad, PIA, ZTBL, SSGC).

The five-team pools are Group ‘B’ (Multan, Hyderabad, Sialkot, Wapda, SNGPL) and Group ‘C’ (Karachi Whites, Lahore Ravi, Faisalabad, National Bank, Pakistan Customs).

In addition, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has, for the first time, decided to stage the tournament on a new format in which the top two teams of the four pools will qualify for the Super Eight rounds where the teams are going to be further divided into two groups of four.

Pool ‘A’ of this segment would have winners of Group ‘A’ and Group ‘C’ and the runners-up of Group ‘B’ and Group ‘D’, whereas Pool ‘B’ comprises of Winners of Group ‘B’ and Group ‘D’ and the runners-up of Group ‘A’ and Group ‘C’.

The winners and runners-up of the two Super Eight pools will then play the semi-finals. The final will be a day/night affair at the Gaddafi Stadium on April 10.

Pools:

Group ‘A’: Lahore Shalimar, Peshawar, Islamabad, Quetta, Habib Bank, KRL.

Group ‘B’: Multan, Hyderabad, Sialkot, Wapda, SNGPL.

Group ‘C’: Karachi Whites, Lahore Ravi, Faisalabad, National Bank, Pakistan Customs.

Group ‘D’: Karachi Blues, Rawalpindi, Abbottabad, PIA, ZTBL, SSGC.

Schedule:

Preliminary rounds:

March 20: Quetta v Habib Bank (Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar); KRL v Lahore Shalimar (KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi); Islamabad v Peshawar (Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad); Multan v Hyderabad (Sheikhupura Stadium); Sialkot v Wapda (Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot); National Bank v Pakistan (Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad); Lahore Ravi v Karachi Whites (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore); Karachi Blues v PIA (National Stadium, Karachi); Abbottabad v ZTBL (NBP Sports Complex, Karachi); Rawalpindi v SSGC (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad).

March 22: Peshawar v Quetta (Arbab Niaz Stadium); KRL v Habib Bank (KRL Stadium); Islamabad v Lahore Shalimar (Diamond Club Ground); Wapda v SNGPL (Sheikhupura Stadium); Sialkot v Hyderabad (Jinnah Stadium); Faisalabad v National Bank (Iqbal Stadium); Karachi v Pakistan Customs (Gaddafi Stadium); PIA v ZTBL (National Stadium); Karachi Blues v SSGC (NBP Sports Complex); Rawalpindi v Abbottabad (Niaz Stadium).

March 24: Peshawar v Habib Bank (Arbab Niaz Stadium); Islamabad v KRL (Diamond Club Ground); Lahore Shalimar v Quetta (KRL Stadium); Sialkot v Multan (Jinnah Stadium); SNGPL v Hyderabad (Sheikhupura Stadium); Karachi Whites v National Bank (Iqbal Stadium); Lahore Ravi v Faisalabad (Gaddafi Stadium), Lahore; Karachi Blues v Rawalpindi (National Stadium, day/night)); ZTBL v SSGC (NBP Sports Complex); PIA v Abbottabad (Niaz Stadium).

March 25: Abbottabad v SSGC (National Stadium, day/night).

March 26: Islamabad v Habib Bank (Diamond Club Ground); KRL v Quetta (KRL Stadium); Peshawar v Lahore Shalimar (Arbab Niaz Stadium); Wapda v Hyderabad (Sheikhupura Stadium); Multan v SNGPL (Jinnah Stadium); Lahore Ravi v Pakistan Customs (Gaddafi Stadium); Faisalabad v Karachi Whites (Iqbal Stadium); PIA v Rawalpindi (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi); Karachi Blues v ZTBL (NBP Sports Complex).

March 28: Lahore Shalimar v Habib Bank (KRL Stadium); Peshawar v KRL (Arbab Niaz Stadium); Islamabad v Quetta (Diamond Club Ground); Sialkot v SNGPL (Jinnah Stadium); Multan v Wapda (Sheikhupura Stadium); Faisalabad v Pakistan Customs (Iqbal Stadium); Lahore Ravi v National Bank (Gaddafi Stadium); Karachi Blues v Abbottabad (UBL Sports Complex); PIA v SSGC (National Stadium); ZTBL v Rawalpindi (Niaz Stadium).

Super Eight stage:

March 31: A-1 v C-1 (Iqbal Stadium); B-2 v D-2 (Gaddafi Stadium); A-2 v C-2 (National Stadium); B-1 v D-1 (NBP Sports Complex).

April 2: A-1 v B-2 (Iqbal Stadium, day/night); D-2 v C-1 (Gaddafi Stadium); A-2 v B-1 (National Stadium); C-2 v D-1 (UBL Sports Complex).

April 4: A-1 v D-2 (Iqbal Stadium); C-1 v B-2 (Gaddafi Stadium); A-2 v D-1 (National Stadium); C-2 v B-1 (NBP Sports Complex).

April 7: First semi-final (Iqbal Stadium).

April 8: Second semi-final (Gaddafi Stadium).

April 10: Final (Gaddafi Stadium, day/night).