PORT-OF-SPAIN – TRINIDAD: The very popular Maq Cricket59 tournament will make its debut in Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday, July 11 as a three-team tournament takes place in Avocat, South Trinidad.
The very popular format which is the brainchild of chairman of Cricket Council USA (CCUSA) Mahammad Qureshi is expected to be very interesting as players will for the first time get the opportunity to play this format in the Caribbean Island.
The format we see each innings being of 59 balls duration and the first ball of the match will be considered a ‘free hit’. It means that the first over of the game will consist of five balls.
The first time this format was played was in St. Maarten when CCUSA sponsored a cricket tournament there and it has caught on by leaps and bounds.
Currently, it is being played every weekend at the Maq Cricket Stadium in Delray Beach in the United States. The three teams taking part in the tournament are Vijay Sports, Fyzabad Invitational, and Maq/Cricket360 All Stars.
Member of parliament for the Fyzabad constituency Dr. Lackram Bodoe is expected to meet the players during the course of the day. The format will be round-robin with the top two teams playing for the title in the final match.
Speaking about this initiative CCUSA West Indies director Vinode Mamchan said: “We want to thank Mahammad Qureshi for yet again bringing something new to the table. He has brought this format forward and after seeing the success it has brought with it, I asked him to do it in Trinidad, which he readily obliged. Maq has been a brilliant administrator and is always thinking. He is restless and this is why so many great ideas come from him.”
Qureshi is response said he was happy to help cricket in Trinidad. “I have strong connections in Trinidad with a number of the cricketers there coming up to play at my tournament, which is the US Open T20 and this is wonderful. I am happy to see that the boys are getting the chance to sample the format and hopefully it catches on in Trinidad.”
