Quaid-e-Azam Trophy
Quaid-e-Azam Trophy: participating teams
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cricket team
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All about the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament
There are several formats of the game of cricket, but the oldest and perhaps the most important of them is first-class cricket. This term appeared in the XIX century and literally meant that the game would go at the highest level. First-class cricket is played as part of regional competitions, but it is the basis for international cricket, as well as a springboard that gives talented players access to the world level and a chance to write their names in the history of cricket. In our article, we will talk about the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy – the most important first-class cricket championship in Pakistan.
First-class cricket in Pakistan and the history of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament
Cricket has been played on the territory of Pakistan for many centuries, so even when this country became independent in 1947, it did not affect the popularity of cricket. First-class cricket on the territory of this country also already existed at that time; local teams were part of the structure of the teams of India.
December 27, 1947, is considered the official date of the beginning of the history of first-class cricket in independent Pakistan: it was on this day that the match between Punjab and Sind teams in this format began.
Six years later, in the 1953-54 season, the first draw of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament was held in Pakistan. This championship was named after the politician Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who played a big role in making Pakistan an independent state. The name of the tournament can be translated as “Great Leader”. The first winner was the Bahawalpur team.
The 1954/55 season tournament was attended for the first time by a team from East Pakistan, which also became a significant event in the country’s cricket history.
Since then, the championship has been held annually, with rare exceptions.
| The year of the tournament’s foundation | 1953 |
| Number of tournaments held | 63 |
| The most titled team | Karachi cricket teams (20 титулов) |
| Match format | First-class cricket |
The history of this tournament has managed to mark a world record, which is unlikely to be broken soon. The fact is that the final of the 63rd Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament, which was held on January 1-5, ended in a draw. The title was shared between the teams of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Central Punjab.
The long life of this record is guaranteed by the fact that a draw in first-class cricket is an extremely rare phenomenon. In the entire official history of this format, out of 60,296 matches, only 67 ended in a draw, and only one of them was the final match – the final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament, where Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Central Punjab became the winners.
In Pakistan, a draw in a first-class cricket match is also a rare occurrence. The last time such a result took place was in 2011 when the HBL and WAPDA teams played each other, and for the first time, they drew in Pakistan in 1961 (Lahore Blues and Bahawalpur), more than ten years after the official history of this format of the game began.
Quaid-e-Azam Trophy now: participants and rules
In 2019, the rules of the tournament and other cricket championships of the country had changed. Since this season, six teams representing various provinces of Pakistan are participating in the tournament:
- Balochistan
- Southern Punjab
- Central Punjab
- Northern
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Sindh
During the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament, teams play 31 matches to determine the winner. Since 2019, changes have also been made to the tournament rules: now, the scoring system is focused on encouraging batsmen to better guard wickets.
The Pakistan Cricket Board, which oversees the championship, has established in the new version of the rules that an additional five batting points will be awarded to the team that earns 400 runs inside 100 overs (this rule only works for the first innings).
Bonus points in the first inning are now awarded according to the following system:
- 5 points for 400 runs inside 100 overs;
- 4 points for 350 runs inside 100 overs;
- 3 points for 300 runs inside 100 overs;
- 2 points for 250 runs inside 100 overs;
- 1 point for 200 runs inside 100 overs.
In addition, the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy championship now has a double system of awarding points to bowlers. The main scoring system is as follows:
- 3 points for 8 wickets inside 100 overs;
- 2 points for 6 wickets inside 100 overs;
- 1 point for 3 wickets inside 100 overs.
Additional bonus points are awarded according to the following rules:
- 1 point for 251-300 runs inside 100 overs;
- 2 points for 201-250 runs inside 100 overs;
- 3 points for 200 or less runs inside 100 overs.
For example, if Team 1 in a match with Team 2 earns 180 runs inside 95 overs, then Team 1 will receive 3 bonus points for winning 8 wickets in 100 overs and 3 additional points for holding off opponents within 200 runs. In contrast, Team 2 will not receive bonus points for failing to reach the 200 run mark in 100 overs.
In another scenario of the match, if Team 1 earns 285 runs inside 100 overs, then Team 2 will receive 3 additional points for 8 wickets but will also be able to record 1 bonus point. At the same time, Team 2 will also receive 2 bonus points for earning more than 250 runs inside 100 overs.
