The city of Lahore, which perhaps has the largest population of veteran cricketers in the country, was the venue of a grand function held by the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association. Mr. Ashiq Hussain Qureshi, the Senior Vice President of the Association and a popular figure in cricket circles acted as convener. Through his influence and efforts he managed to collect a galaxy of persons associated with the game, past and present.

The function held on the night of 14 January 2001 to commemorate the start of 3rd Inter City Veterans Tournament was presided by Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and attended by around 150 distinguished guests. Prominent among those present were the trio of former captains, Fazal Mahmood, Imtiaz Ahmed and Intikhab Alam, while the current Pakistan team was represented by Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar and Abdur Razzaq. Also present were the former Pakistan cricketers, Shafiq Ahmed (presently a selector), Ashraf Ali, Saadat Ali, Ali Zia, Zakir Khan and some others.

Conspicuous among other guests were Khalid Mahmood, a former Chairman of the Board, Aamir Hayat Rokri President Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA), Mian Muhammad Munir President of the Lahore Division Cricket Association (LDCA), Azhar Zaidi a former Manager of the Pakistan team, Suhael Ahmed of Cricinfo and other important figures. Former ICC Umpire Khizer Hayat and other national umpires namely Siddique Khan, Iftikhar Malik and Riaz ud din were also there. Many others amongst the guests were affiliated with the game in one capacity or the other.

The veterans cricket took its roots in Karachi many years back, when some former players took to the bat and ball for fun and recreation eventually forming a team. With some other cities following suit, matches began to be played between them. It was about 3 years back that Fawad Ijaz Khan of Ideal Group, a business group came forward to establish and sponsor the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA) and promote its activities on national level. The magnitude of the scheme's popularity came to be known when Mr. Fawad informed the audience that 270 veterans were registered with the association from the city of Karachi only.

Two tournaments having already been played, the function was held to inaugurate the third one being participated by 12 teams.

Lt Gen Tauqir Zia Chairman PCB, Fawad Ijaz Khan Chief Executive PVCA, and the two Vice Presidents of the association Ashiq Hussain Qureshi and Javed Zaman spoke on the occasion. They highlighted the progress that the PVCA had made, its financial aspect involving a yearly budget of around Rs 2 million to hold the countrywide tournaments and the need for sponsorship for future growth. They also revealed that a program had been chalked out to play some matches against the Indian veterans but was deferred on account of the Indian government's refusal to allow mutual visit of teams.

The speakers also brought to light the fun and frolic that the veterans cricket could produce. Most vocal among them was Lt. Gen. Tauqir Zia, who since taking over the reins of PCB had participated in at least four matches. He said that playing a match at this age was a pleasure but the pangs that one felt afterwards at home were also significant. He expressed his astonishment on some of the veterans for being so alert to hold their catches and agile enough to take 3 runs by running and not crawling. May be they got their age wrong, as is the normal practice in junior cricket and thus should be subjected to the 'wrist test'.

Commenting on the age structure of the veterans, the General proposed that the present minimum age of 40 years should be raised to 45, because many cricketers of the world continued playing test cricket till this age. He suggested that those falling in the age group of 45 to 60 years should be called the 'veterans' while those above 60 years should be treated as ' senior citizens'. Similarly those capable of throwing the ball from the boundary line straight into the hands of the wicket keeper should not be accepted in the veterans' fraternity!

In the end, he appreciated the progress that veterans cricket had made and emphasized that it was not only a healthy pastime for the aging players but also provided them the wonderful opportunity to play together in the manner they did in their youth. He advised the PVCA to forward its programs and plans to the PCB for recognition by the Board.

It was a well organized and a highly interesting function that acted as a reunion for the former players and officials. The delightful evening ended up with a sumptuous dinner well enjoyed by the guests, before they embarked on their drive homewards in an atmosphere shrouded by the winter chill and fog restricting the visibility to a mere 100 yards. CricInfo took a keen interest in the event and a glance at the pictures will bring back many memories to cricket fans. More Photos

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