Both teams of the Lahore Region Cricket Association (LRCA), Blues and Whites, failed to qualify for the semifinals of the ongoing National One-day Cup for Regions as Karachi and Islamabad reached the finals last week. Karachi Whites reserved a place in the final after beating Peshawar region in the first semifinals while Islamabad edged out Rawalpindi in a thrilling match.

But the poor performance of the Lahore Region this year after showing excellent performances last year is not good for the regional cricket. Lahore Blues remained third last year in Quaid-i-Azam Trophy amid the departmental teams. Moreover, both the Lahore Blues and Whites teams played the final of the National T20 Cup for Regions, which was admired by all. But now the performance of the region is on the decline. The critics of LRCA president Shahrez Rokhari who won the elections last year when the Lahore Region was already performing well at the national level now believe the change of command in the region is the main reason behind the decline of the region’s cricket.

More interestingly, the LRCA has also announced to award both the teams for their fabulous performances in 2016-17 season but yet no such event was held which is just to discourage the players.

The LRCA management has to improve its working, showing seriousness as Lahore is a biggest region of the country. It must be a point of sorrow for the Lahore Region if a small region like Islamabad plays the final.

Meanwhile, from Lahore Blues its Mohammad Saad remained the top scorer with an aggregate 464, averaging 77.33, followed by Test player Sami Aslam who could score just 222. And only these two players could excel with the bat.

As bowlers, international discarded pacer Aizaz Cheema and Qaisar Ashraf remained top bowlers with 11 wickets each for the Blues. Bilawal Iqbal with 10 wickets and Salman Ali Agha with nine wickets remained other prominent bowlers.

For the Lahore Whites, Usman Salahuddin was the top scorer with aggregate 355 averaging 71.00, followed by Rizwan Hussain (181) as prominent Test opener Ahmed Shahzad fell at the third number with a total of 163 runs.

The Dar Hockey Academy and Rana Zaheer Hockey Academy in a joint effort will hold a six-team competition from Feb 15 to 17 not just to promote the game but also to remember old stalwarts of hockey who have passed away. All the six teams are named after the late renowned Olympians. Among them are Munir Dar-XI, Tanvir Dar-XI, Saeed Anwar-XI, Afzal Manna-XI, Ch. Ghulam Rasool-XI and Bri. Atif-XI.

Head of the Dar Hockey Academy, Tauqir Dar, made this announcement. He says all the deceased Olympians have rendered great services for the game of hockey, bringing a good number of medals and this event will be a tribute to their services. He says the teams are being formed through the club’s players as ultimately the talent at the grassroots will get an opportunity to show their mettle.

Though women of Pakistan are not excelling at any international level in any discipline, at local levels the national sports federations are busy providing them with some national level opportunities to show their skill.

The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) held Super Hockey League for the Women last week. Its final is being held today (Sunday). Five teams, namely Lahore Lions, Karachi Dolphins, Quetta Panthers, Peshawar Deers and Islamabad Shaheen, have participated in it. Lahore Lions and Peshawar Deers have qualified for the final. Though it has been a good tournament as all international players have played in it, notable number of fans was not attracted to it, mainly because the matches were held in the morning when most of the youth were attending schools and colleges.

As many as 342 golfers, including amateur, senior amateurs, veterans and women, are competing in the Quaid-i-Azam Golf Championships at the Lahore Gymkhana. It is a three-day event to be closed on Sunday.

Noted golfers from across the country, namely Afzaal Ahmed, (Margalla) Tariq Mahmood (Margalla), Ralfie Aslam Raja (Rawalpindi), Khalid Mehmood (Rawalpindi), Raja Muhammad Israr (Garden City), Mohammad Rehman (Royal Palm), Zunair Aleem Khan (Raya), Fakhar Imam (Raya), Murad A. Khan, (Raya) Mohammad Ali (Lahore Garrison), Ayaz Saleem (Lahore Garrison), Salman Jehangir, Wazir Ali, Ahmed Zafar Hayat , Sardar Murad Khan, Mohsin Zafar, Robin Bagh, Waleed Zubair, (all from Gymkhana) and a very young one falling in the age bracket of 14 years, Mikyel Majid.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2018