JEDDAH — The Chairman's-XI and the President's-XI came out on top in the Saudi National Day cricket matches organized by JCA here recently. The highlight of the evening was the awarding of plaques to chief guest Khaled Almaeena, Editor-in-Chief of Saudi Gazette, and guest of honor Nadeem Nadwi, CEO of Saudi Cricket Centre (SCC). Almaeena was awarded the title “The Soul of Cricket in Saudi Arabia”, while Nadeem Nadwi was awarded a plaque for being “The Binding Force for Cricket in the Kingdom”. The services of Mohammad Amjad Mehmood in preparing the grounds for the matches were also praised. He had a miraculous escape in a car accident a day before. Plaques were also given to JCA Chairman Dr. Faiz Al-Abideen and Vice Chairman Humayun Farooq. The office-bearers of the Saudi Cricket Centre, Qasim Naqwi, Sadiq Islam, Hamed Rana Afandi and Sameer Khan, were also present on the occasion. Almaeena, speaking on the occasion, thanked JCA for inviting him to witness the festival matches celebrating the Saudi National Day. He emphasized that unity among the cricketing organizations was the need of the hour. Almaeena said he will meet with Dr. Al-Abideen and Nadwi after Haj to work for the promotion of cricket in the Kingdom. Earlier Dr. Al-Abideen briefed the gathering on JCA facilities and its operations. Mohammad Iqbal, JCA President, also thanked the guests for taking time out from their busy schedules to come and witness the matches. Match summaries: Chairman's-XI beat President's-XI by 39 runs. Chairman's-XI 228. Zeeshan Butt 39, Amer Shahzad 35, Sadiq 23 and Usman Butt 38 not out. Zahid 3-26, Hafiz 2-30. President's-XI 189-7 (Ehsan 66, Fahad 62. Sadiq 2-28). President's-XI beat Vice Chairman's-XI by 141 runs. President's-XI 245-9 in 25 overs (Shahzad 68, Pervez Khan 26, Syed Noor 26, Wasay 24. Ashfaque 3-28, Murtaza 2-8 & Karam Ali Khan 2-38). Vice Chairman's-XI bundled out for 141 in 17.3 overs (Humayun Farooq 33, Azhar 19, Irfan 12, Adeel 12. Momin 3-20, Noor 3-13 and Shahzad 2-12). Cash awards were given to the players who put on great performances: Amer Shahzad, Yameen, Syed Noor, Imran, Ehsan, Zahid, Fahad and Aatif along with the umpires Kumar Krishnan and Azam Khan.
