State of Palestine announces it's entry into International Cricket
The State of Palestine are proud to announce their entry into International Cricket with the founding of the Filastin Cricket Council (FCC), the official board of administration of Cricket Palestine. The decision has been made after all the requirements for a feasible Cricketing Team representing Palestine was successfully met.
The team joins the International Circuit a few years after the establishment of the WCC, and almost a decade and a half after the State of Palestine gained Independence. The hype about cricket started off rather weakly but has grown a lot of interest in the past decade, seeing the success of neighboring nations such as Israel and Egypt. But Amidst Political Issues and other constraints, it has been difficult to gather funds and a ready squad for International Games under an established Board.
But after all these years, the FCC has been established with their own funds and have gathered the 15 best cricketers in the country who were also willing to take part in International Games across Seasons. It hopes to expand the interest more over the further years as more youngsters get inspired and motivated by the current bunch and Palestine's potential success in the game.
A domestic cricket tournament is one of the Board's first priorities once it gathers the funds and enough enthusiasm and participation. It would be a great accelerator in the process of adding more talent to the side and encouraging more people to take up the sport, making the pathway to the International Arena easier. The board is very optimistic of setting up a Domestic System very soon while they wait for the team to participate in some International Events.
The Board Director, Ahmad Shah Hafiz, says - "It's a great achievement to set up a board and an international team for the state of Palestine. It has been a goal for many years and we have finally been able to achieve it. We only have a base set of guys in the squad for now but we are surely hoping to expand and get a good Domestic Structure in to encourage cricket to the depths of our country. Hope to perform well in our first set of games and set an example to our people that we too can play Cricket and it's their chance to try out next"
Palestine will play it's First International Tournament as the ASCON Asia Cup in November. They will look to engage in a few practice games and tours before that too, and are already in the talks for scheduling some.
Palestine Cricket announces 15-man strong squad for Asia Cup
The Filastin Cricket Council has named its team for the nation's first International Assignment and Tournament, the ASCON Asia Cup in 2002. The 15-man strong squad comprises of the same set of players who travelled to Wales for their first unofficial FC and List A fixtures against Wales' domestic and A sides, who will all be making their debuts as part of the first International Palestine Team in the Cricket Circuit.
Palestine Squad
Anwar Mahmoud Trevor Shard Hussain Murad Adil Rafiullah Jesus Jeremiah Hafiz Ahmadi Asratullah Gurbaaj Muhammad Ahmad Omar Al-Azzeh Nasser Wolowitz Ibraheem-ul-Abbas Victor Jordan Pranav Koothrapalli Sikander Rasheed Bilal Goregen
Batter Anwar Mahmoud will continue with captaincy after leading the side in the unofficial fixtures in Wales, while Bilal Goregen has been named as unofficial vice-captain. All the names which were part of the Wales tour, as the first main squad of players from Palestine, have been included in this historic debut International Squad.
The Director of the Filastin Cricket Council says they are excited to take part in their first International Competition which will also simultaneously be their debut in Internationals. Says that the performance in Wales was a satisfying start to our careers and hopefully that fighting spirit translates to the Bigger Stages too. Thanks the ASCON for helping them throughout their journey and letting them take part in such a prestigious tournament against some Top Teams from Asia.
After their loss to Qatar in the opening match, Palestine crashed out by 146 runs against a dominant Saudi Arabia side in their 2nd group game.
Palestine Cricket Team are hanging by a thread and face do-or-die situation in the 2002 ASCON Asia Cup, following two heavy losses against Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Coming into the tournament as debutants and playing their first International Fixtures, the Palestine Team were never strong favourites, and the odds proved to be against them.
Captain Anwar Mahmoud says to the press - "It is obviously difficult coming in as the rookies against a bunch of experienced teams in a major competition like this. The pressure of Internationals with the added pressure of a big tournament has not been easy on us. I have been given the prestigious position of leading Palestine, and though it has not translated too well in the competition so far, we will be sure to put on a much bigger fight in the upcoming games and defy the odds to qualify for the knock-outs. We have a few good guys on the bench who have been delivering drinks and this is the right time to try them out and explore our talent, give opportunities as it may reward us in the end.
Stating this, Palestine's Captain announced their 3 changes for the next game, which included Opening Batsman Hussain Murad being dropped for the young Adil Rafiullah, only 19 years of age, but brimming with talent and potential, according to the captain himself. Rafiullah says - "It is a great thing that the captain backs me and to finally play for Palestine internationally. I will hope to deliver my best and make the opener spot my own". Rafiullah had played the two unofficial FC games in Wales but has never played a single List A game for Palestine, and will be debuting.
An other change involved the swapping of keepers as Asratullah Gurbaaj is set to make way for Hafiz Ahmadi. Management's own words- "They are both talented wicket keeper batsmen. Asratullah is a bit younger but Hafiz also has experience, both are great behind the wicket and with bat so we just want to try out options to find our best fit for the format". The last change was Ibraheem-ul-Abbas, the all-rounder coming in for paceman Victor Jordan, owing to the conditions of the pitches in the tournament as said by the captain. "Victor's left arm pace will be missed, but the extra batting is something we need" says skipper Mahmoud.
The management says - "It's not wrong to take bold and strong calls when the situation demands and that is exactly what we need to do. We are a new, young, side in the International Circuit still in the mode of self-discovery. We haven't entirely figured out our best combinations and all of our players are talented and have their skill-sets. The tournament has not gone quite well for us but we are happy with how the boys are thriving under a level of pressure and experience completely new to them. We will unearth our best talents which is part of the process, and a few big changes in the XI will only help us get the best out of our squad"
Palestine play Pakistan on 21 November in Beijing, after which they take on Sri Lanka in their final group game.
Palestine bows out of Asia Cup in style with first International Win
Captain Anwar Mahmoud stepped up to play a brilliant knock to help Palestine get their first victory against Sri Lanka
Palestine Cricket enjoys it's first of many successes to come in International Cricket as they shock Sri Lanka in their final Group Game in the ASCON Asia Cup 2002. After 3 straight losses that sealed their elimination from the tournament, they finally stepped up in the final game to upset a much more experienced Sri Lankan side. Captain Anwar Mahmoud led the way with a brilliant 92 (86) while paceman Pranav Koothrapalli lead the wickets tally with 3 scalps.
The Match, which happened on 24th of November in the Xi'An Olympic Sports Centre's Cricket Ground- saw Palestine win the toss and elect to field straight away. Both the sides were coming into the game winless but Palestine was by far the most inexperienced side playing their first ever International Tournament. It was however a dream of a start for the latter as their pacer Koothrapalli struck in the very first over dismissing Lankan Opener Mendis for a duck.
Sri Lankans continued to struggle losing their 4th wicket by the 15th over. They then kept a partnership going, and despite a few more wickets, a brilliant knock from middle-order batter Silva Jayasinha ensured they got to an at-least manageable score of 213. Pranav Koothrapalli managed to grab 3 wickets while Off break bowler Bilal Goregen got 2 scalps as well as the Palestinians managed to restrict the Lankans to a sub-par score.
In response, Palestine didn't get off to the best of starts as they lost aggressive opener Trevor Shard for just 3 runs. Youngster Rafiullah batted along with the skipper Mahmoud for a while before he departed for a respectable 37, which helped them start off strongly. Keeper Batsman Hafiz Ahmadi then went on to bat in another great partnership with the captain to add more runs and ensure the chase was set. Captain Mahmoud was dismissed just 8 runs short of a century, but by then the chase was sealed. Jeremiah and Ahmad from the middle-order then finished things off quite easily with over 13 overs to go, as Palestine cruised to their first ever International Victory in style.
Captain Anwar Mahmoud's words to the press - "It was great being out there, we had done a brilliant job in the first innings with the ball and had to follow it up with a good batting performance to seal the deal. We did exactly that and I am satisfied to have done exactly what I went there to do, score runs and win the game for the team. This is one of many many victories to come and is the starting of a great era for our country. Everyone was excellent in the field and we have a lot of positives and learnings from this performance. We may have not qualified to the Semis, but that does not take away what a beginning this is for our side"
Despite this win, Palestine are knocked out of the Asia Cup but will manage to grab that solitary win and 2 points to bow out in style an avoid a last-place finish in their first tournament.
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