Qureshi hails MCL champions

HAFIZABAD/PUNJAB – PAKISTAN: Chairman of Cricket Council USA (CCUSA) Mahammad Qureshi has praised the efforts of all involved in the initial instalment of the Major Cricket League (MCL) Pakistan, especially winners Lahore Lions.

Lions ripped apart the Karachi Sharks in the final of the tournament by 58 runs to claim the title. Batting first, Lahore Lions made 104 for nine wickets in their 10 overs with Tariq Nawaz getting 20, Ali Marwat 25 and Gulfam Cheema 21. Nawaz faced just 10 balls, hitting five fours in his 20, while Cheema needed only nine deliveries and he smashed two sixes and two fours. Marwat was very good down the order in making his 25 off nine balls with two sixes and two fours. Bowling for Karachi Sharks Usama Basharat grabbed 3/13 off his two overs, while Akbar Barbar took 2/19.

When Karachi batted they found the going very tough from early on and crashed to 46 all out, the lowest score in the tournament. Only two players got into double figures as the day belonged the Asad Cheema Jr who was absolutely brilliant with the ball. He grabbed the best figures of the tournament five wickets for nine runs. After his performance there was no way that Karachi was going to challenge the score. Also bowling well for Lahore Lions were Ali Raza 3/12 and Shahid Ali 2/15.

Karachi slipped the from 42/5 to 46 all out – losing their last five wickets for just four runs, much to the delight of the Lahore players and fans.

Qureshi whose brainchild it was in coming up with this MCL concept said: “I want to say congratulations to the winners of the tournament but let me tell you that it is not all about winning. While, Lahore Lions played brilliant cricket and deserved all their credit, to me every team in this tournament was a champion.

“When I came up with the MCL idea it was all about giving cricketers a chance to showcase their talent and during this tournament we would have given around 75 players that exposure. They were seen internationally and the quality of the cricket was great, so I think that the players would be taken up by foreign teams now.

“I can say that we saw enough good talent to be interested in some of the players coming to play the US Open T20 tournament in Florida in December. Our teams owners would have followed the action on MaqTv and they will be ready to invest in the players.

“So what I can say is that we really had a successful tournament and I want to say thank you to all who made this possible. We look forward to being back against next year for the second edition which we hope to make bigger and better in order to give more players a chance at being seen.”