| |
Further to the plans of Kuwait Cricket to conduct an All Stars Twenty20 cricket exhibition match on the rest day of the ongoing ICC World Cup qualifying U-19 cricket tournament the initiative isgetting momentum with many visiting teams and tournament officials showing keen interest to participate in this festival exhibition match as a hallmark ofthe ICC centenary celebration. The match will be held on 28 th April 2009 at the KOC Ahmadi cricket ground.
A few highlights of the remarkable careers of the international acclaimed cricketers assembled in Kuwait for this ACC U-19 Elite Cup and who are expected to play will be presented daily in the papers starting with Bandula Warnapura, Roy Dias, Mansoor Akhtar and Raqibul Hasan today. Bandula Warnapura is presently the Director Cricket Operations Sri Lanka Cricket. He is also the Asian Cricket Council Development Manager. He played with distinction for Sri Lanka before they achieved Test status and was their first captain in Tests and ODIs. He captained the Sri Lankan team in their first four Test matches. He has been an ICC match referee, is a Level IV certified coach as well as being a Board-qualified Umpire. After a spell as National Coach, in 1994 he became Sri Lanka’s Director of Coaching and since 2001 he has been their Director of Cricket Operations. His constant efforts to promote the game in almost 18 developing countries in Asia speak volumes of his dedication, interest and love for the game. He has visited Kuwait before and was highly impressed with the development of the game in the country, the structure of Kuwait Cricket and the way cricket is run here in general under the leadership of Sheikh Dhari Fahad Al Ahmed Al Sabah. This has led to Kuwait Cricket being awarded the premier U-19 Elite Cup tournament by ACC in which Bandula played a major role. His presence in Kuwait to attend the U-19 Elite Cup is an indication of his great interest in the development of the game in the country and the recognition of the efforts of Kuwait Cricket to bring Kuwait in the forefront of the Associate countries.
Roy Dias was born in Colombo Sri Lanka in 1952. He played in 20 test matches from 1982 until 1987, scoring 1285 runs at an average of 36.71. He scored three centuries and eight fifties, and he also took six catches. Roy also played 58 one day internationals for Sri Lanka, scoring 1573 runs at an average of 31.46 with a strike-rate of 67.94. He had a highest score of 121, and his one day career includes 16 catches. Though he bowled rarely Roy also took 3 wickets in the same match with figures of 3 for 25. He had a glorious First Class career. In his 93 first class games, Roy scored 4296 runs at an average of 32.05. He was an integral part of Sri Lanka's tournament victory with his 214 runs in the 1979 ICC Trophy. He played four matches with a batting average of 71.33. The victory meant Sri Lanka qualified for the 1979 cricket World Cup. Surprisingly, Sri Lanka won one match in that tournament as well. Roy Dias made a patient 50 as Sri Lanka made their way to 238 for 5, before bowling India out for a paltry 191. After retirement Roy was the coach of the Sri Lankan team for some time. He has been the National coach of the Nepal team since a long time now and has played a key role in the development of Nepal cricket to make them one of the most prominent ACC nations on the brink of an ICC ODI status.
Flamboyant Pakistani cricketer Mansoor Akhtar was born in 1957 in Karachi. He made his test debut against West Indies at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore in 1980. He played 19 test matches for Pakistan and scored 655 runs at an average of 25.19 including 1 century and 3 x 50’s. He also played 41 ODIs for Pakistan and scored 593 runs in 35 innings at a smart average of 51.7. He is currently coaching Saudi Arabia and is in Kuwait as the National U-19 team coach of Saudi Arabia for the ACC Elite Cup.
Raqibul Hasan is a former Bangladeshi cricketer who played in 2 ODIs in 1986. He is widely regarded as one of the best Bangladeshi batsman of his era. Born in 1953 in Dhaka, he made his first-class debut in 1968-69 at the age of 16, and was soon selected to represent Pakistan's U19 team against the English Schoolboys. He was twelfth man in a Test match against New Zealand at Dhaka in 1969-70. Barely sixteen at the time, he seemed sure to have a lengthy Test career ahead of him but the war for independence and some severe personal losses kept him away from International cricket after making a promising start. He was an opening batsman. Raqibul played in two ODI's for Bangladesh. He had two spells as captain of Bangladesh; first during 1977-79 and 2nd during the 1983-84 season. Raquibul Hasan played in 3 ICC Trophy tournaments. Raqibul is a key figure in building Bangladesh cricket and plays an important role in its development program. He is now a respected Match referee and umpire. Kuwait Cricket is privileged to have him here attending the ACC U-19 Elite Cup tournament.
Kuwait Cricket wishes to thank them for their participation and encourages all cricket lovers of Kuwait to not miss these stalwarts in action on 28 th April. It is a fabulous opportunity for the young and upcoming Kuwait cricketers to meet them, talk to them and learn from their experiences and advice.
|
|
