Kuwait represented in Bangladesh as domestic league continues
Tony Munro - 20 March 1999

Two senior umpires and two junior players from Kuwait are currently participating in an ICC Development Programme in Bangladesh.

The umpires, Gagira Perusinghe and Riaz Choudhury, have been invited along with two of Kuwait's most talented schoolboys to the programme, which runs from March 17-26.

The youngsters are 16-year-old, Taimour Ashraf, a tall fast bowler from the New English School in Jabbriya, and Ajish Mathew, a flamboyant all-rounder from the Indian Central School in Abbassiya. Mathew won the 1998 Kuwait Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year award. Both play in the senior teams for their club sides.

Meanwhile, Hubara holds a one point lead on the competition ladder in Kuwait's main senior competition, the Gulf Bank Super League, over main rivals, Evergreen Al Sayer. The two leading teams at the end of the competition rounds meet in the final of the competition in April.

The latest Gulf Bank Super League table is

	Played	Won	Lost	No Result	Points
Hubara	6	5	1	0	10
Evergreen Al Sayer	6	4	1	1	9
Gulf Bank	5	3	1	1	7
Salmiya	7	3	3	1	7
Bombay Stars	5	3	2	0	6
Unity	6	2	3	1	5
Al Mulla	5	0	5	0	0
Union	4	0	4	0	0

The latest tables in the Behbahani League (like a Second Division competition) is
Group A

	Played	Won	Lost	No Result	Points
Al Ahlaia	4	4	0	0	8
Sagir	5	3	2	0	6
City	3	2	1	0	4
Al Bastain	4	2	2	0	4
Gulf Consult	4	2	2	0	4
New Pak	5	0	5	0	0

Group B

	Played	Won	Lost	No Result	Points
Peoples	4	2	2	0	4
Lanka Lions	4	2	2	0	4
Skylarks	4	2	2	0	4
Fedex	3	1	2	0	2
ITT	3	1	2	0	2
Casuals	3	0	3	0	0

Winners of Groups A & B meet on May 28.

The final of the Hubara Cup (formerly known as the Mirza Cup) will be held on May 14 between Evergreen Al Sayer and Hubara Cricketers. Evergreen Al Sayer had defeated Salmiya in its semi-final in early February while Hubara Cricketers swept aside Gulf Bank to clinch its final berth.

In the Kuwait National Day Five Nations tournament, "Pakistan" defeated "India" by nine runs in the final thanks to a man-of-the-match award winning performance from veteran all-rounder Arshad Shams (a half-century and three wickets).