LAHORE, Nov 8: Twenty-five teams including 11 departmental and 14 associations will compete for top honours in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy, the oldest domestic first-class cricket tournament, which gets under way from Dec 21.
The participating teams have been divided into two four groups, from I to IV. Unlike last season, the tournament is being competed jointly by the departmental and association teams.
The tournament is likely to face lots of problems due to inclement weather especially in Punjab and NWFP during the months of December and January.
Group-I consists of seven teams including three departments and four associations. The other three groups comprises six teams each. The last round of the first group will be held from Jan 26 to 29 whereas the final round of the remaining three groups is scheduled to be played from Jan 14 to 17.
The duration of each match will be of four days. But the Feb 18 to 22 final is of five days.
Top two teams of each group will qualify for the quarterfinals to be held from Feb 1 to 4. The winners will make the last four and will play their respective matches from Feb 7 to 10.
Two bottom teams of associations will be relegated to Cornelius Trophy for the 2003-2004 season. One bottom team of departments will also be relegated to Kardar Trophy in 2003-2004. Eight top teams of associations and departments will participate in the Patron’s Cup National One-day tournament to be played from Feb 20 to March 11, 2003. To decide the top eight teams, a separate points table for associations and departments will be maintained.
Following are the groups:
Group-I: National Bank, Wapda, Servis Industries, Sargodha, Lahore Blues, Faisalabad and Sheikhupura.
Group-II: Allied Bank, Pak PWD, Multan, Bahawalpur, Karachi Whites, Dadu.
Group-III: Habib Bank, Pakistan Customs, PCB XI, Lahore Whites, Sialkot, Gujranwala.
Group-IV: PIA, KRL, ADBP, Karachi Blues, Peshawar, Rawalpindi.
Schedule:
Dec 21-24: Sargodha v National Bank at Sports Stadium, Sargodha; Wapda v Servis at Gymkhana Ground, Okara; Faisalabad v Lahore Blues at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad; Multan v Allied Bank at Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan; Karachi Whites v Bahawalpur at National Stadium, Karachi; Pak PWD v Dadu at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi; Habib Bank v Pakistan Customs at Lahore Country Club, Muridke; Lahore Whites v PCB XI at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore; Gujranwala v Sialkot at Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala; KRL v PIA at KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi; Peshawar v Karachi Blues at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar; Rawalpindi v ADBP at Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi.
Dec 27-30: Faisalabad v National Bank at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad; Wapda v Lahore Blues at Gymkhana Ground, Okara; Sheikhupura v Sargodha at Sheikhupura Stadium; Bahawalpur v Allied Bank at Bahawalpur Stadium; Karachi Whites v Pak PWD at National Stadium, Karachi; Multan v Dadu at Multan Cricket Stadium; Habib Bank v PCB XI at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore; Sialkot v Pakistan Customs at Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot; Lahore Whites v Gujranwala, LCCA Ground, Lahore; KRL v ADBP at KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi; Rawalpindi v Karachi Blues at Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi; Peshawar v PIA at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar.
Jan 2-5: National Bank v Wapda at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad; Sheikhupura v Servis at Sheikhupura Stadium; Sargodha v Faisalabad at Sports Stadium, Sargodha; Karachi Whites v Allied Bank at National Stadium, Karachi; Bahawalpur v Dadu at Bahawalpur Stadium; Multan v Pak PWD at Multan Cricket Stadium; Lahore Whites v Habib Bank at LCCA Ground, Lahore; Gujranwala v Pakistan Customs at Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala; Sialkot v PCB XI at Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot; ADBP v PIA at Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi; KRL v Karachi Blues at KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi; Peshawar v Rawalpindi at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar.
Jan 8-11: National Bank v Servis at Gymkhana Ground, Okara; Faisalabad v Sheikhupura at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad; Sargodha v Lahore Blues at Sports Stadium, Sargodha; Karachi Whites v Multan at National Stadium, Karachi; Bahawalpur v Pak PWD at Bahawalpur Stadium; Allied Bank v Dadu at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi; Sialkot v Habib Bank at Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot; Lahore Whites v Pakistan Customs at LCCA Ground, Lahore; Gujranwala v PCB XI at Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala; PIA v Karachi Blues at KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi; Rawalpindi v KRL at Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi; Peshawar v ADBP at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar.
Jan 14-17: Sheikhupura v National Bank at Sheikhupura Stadium; Lahore Blues v Servis at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore; Faisalabad v Wapda at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad; Allied Bank v Pak PWD at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi; Karachi Whites v Dadu at National Stadium, Karachi; Multan v Bahawalpur at Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan; Gujranwala v Habib Bank at Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala; Pakistan Customs v PCB XI at Gymkhana Ground, Okara; Lahore Whites v Sialkot at LCCA Ground, Lahore; Rawalpindi v PIA at Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi; Peshawar v KRL at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar; ADBP v Karachi Blues at KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi.
Jan 20-23: Sargodha v Wapda, Sports Stadium, Sargodha; Faisalabad v Servis at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad; Sheikhupura v Lahore Blues at Sheikhupura Stadium; Sheikhupura v Lahore Blues at Sheikhupura Stadium.
Jan 26-29: Lahore Blues v National Bank at LCCA Ground, Lahore; Sheikhupura v Wapda at Sheikhupura Stadium; Sargodha v Servis at Sports Stadium, Sargodha.
Feb 1-4 (Quarterfinals): No 1 of Group-I v No 2 of Group-II at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore; No 1 of Group-III v No 2 of Group-I at Sheikhupura Stadium; No 1 of Group-II v No 2 of Group-IV at National Stadium, Karachi; No 1 of Group-IV v No 2 of Group-II at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.
Feb 7-10 (Semifinals): Winners of first quarterfinal v Winners of fourth quarterfinal; Winners of second quarterfinal v Winners of third quarterfinal.
Feb 18-22: Final.