Venue : KOC Grounds, Ahmadi
Pictures by: Mr. Alban D’souza
For the 2nd consecutive time ‘SHARQ UNITED’ won the 3rd KCWA Cricket Cup 2010 which was organized by KCWA for its members on Friday 19th November at Ahmadi Grounds, Kuwait. The tournament commenced by releasing of balloons and the matches began at 7:15am, with 9 teams on board. All the matches were of 8 overs per innings with the batsmen retiring after scoring 30 runs.
The 1st phase of the match was conducted on league basis with 2 pools. Pool A consisted of Sharq United, KICC A, President’s XI, Miyar XI & Little Flowers while pool B consisted of Friends XI, KICC B, Queen of Arabia& Mangalore Stars. From pool A Miyar XI &Sharq United and from pool B Mangalore Stars& Friends XI qualified for the Semi-finals.
In the Finals, Sharq united defeated Miyar XI in the last ball and lifted the trophy for the 2nd consecutive time. After winning the toss Miyar XI elected to bat and could score only 56 for the loss of 7 wkts. The final match was reduced to 5 overs due to lack of time and sunlight. For Miyar XI Naveen scored 22runs (8balls) and for SU Rayan bowled superbly by taking 4 wickets in 2 overs. Chasing the target of 56 Sharq United’s moment of glory arrived at the last ball of the innings. Thanks to the superb and skillful batting by Kiran Lobo (31 in 12) captain Arthur (15). Earlier, in the 1st semi-Final, Miyar XI(117/5) defeated Friends XI (72/6) and in the 2nd Semi-Finals, Sharq United (59/1) defeated Mangalore Stars(56/7) and qualified to the Finals.
The winners & runners up teams were rewarded with glittering Trophies & individual cups to all the players. Apart from this special trophies for the following categories were also awarded: Player of the Tournament : Arthur Lewis (Sharq United) Best Batsman : Kiran Lobo (Sharq United) Best Bowler : RayanAlmeida (Sharq United)
The tournament was sponsored by M/s. Hempel Paints, Mr. Pascal B. Pinto, Mr. Don D’souza (Deen Center), Mr. Anand D’souza (Illuminations Sound and Lightings), Mr. Alban D’souza (Photography), Mr. Victor Martis, Mr. Jossie Pinto (M&M Confectionary), Mr. Nitin Castelino and a well wisher. A special note of thanks is worth mentioning to Mr. Mohd. Abdullah (Kuwait Cricket Association), Mr. Sudhakar Shetty (Director, Domestic Affairs – Kuwait Cricket Council) and Mr. Melwin Serrao.
The tournament umpires were, Javeed, Hazeem Hussain& Nawaz. Rudy D’Souza, Stephen Machado, Steevan Misquith, Wilfred Lobo and Lloyd D’souza thoroughly entertained the crowd with witty running commentary in various languages through out the day. Lloyd D’souza was the official scorer for the day. Lancy Rodrigues provided music and ensured that sound system was continuously at service. Sports Secretary Alex Rego with the help of the KCWA President and Management Committee Members successfully organized the whole event. All the participant players were provided with free lunch. The special attraction of the tournament was Fr. John Harry D’souza who captained Queen of Arabia team, showed his excellence in Batting and bowling.
