LAHORE, March 20: Three provincial teams and two departmental outfits will feature in the 2006-07 Pentangular Cup cricket tournament, starting at different venues in Karachi from March 28.

One team each from Punjab and Sindh, while a combined side of NWFP and Balochistan, will represent the provinces in the event.

Domestic Cricket Operations Manager PCB Saqib Irfan said the decision to introduce the provincial teams instead of regional squads has been taken to make the event more competitive, adding that last year many good cricketers had left the country to play county cricket, making the Pentangular contest less competitive.

He stated the provincial teams had already been picked up on the basis of the players’ performances in the recently concluded regional cricket.

The two departmental teams to play in the competition are Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), as the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), last year’s champions, failed to qualify this year.

The matches will be of four days and the tournament will be played on league basis.

Draws:

March 28-31: HBL v KRL, NBP Stadium; Punjab v Sindh, National Stadium; April 3-6: NWFP/Balochistan v KRL, UBL Ground No1; Punjab v HBL, National Stadium; April 9-12: Sindh v NWFP/Balochistan, National Stadium; Punjab v KRL, NBP Stadium; April 15-18: Sindh v HBL, UBL ground No.1; NWFP/Balochistan v Punjab, National Stadium; April 21-24: Sindh v KRL, National Stadium; NWFP/Balochistan v HBL, NBP Stadium.