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Bahrain’s cricket fanatics are padding up for a tough season ahead as the Bahrain Cricket League strode out to the crease to kick off the new season at the weekend.
Despite two of last season’s tournament finals not having been played yet due to a combination of an early Ramadan and high temperatures blazing longer than expected, the 2016-2017 edition is underway.
League general secretary and treasurer Burhan Aftab believes that this will be the most successful season yet. The Pakistani national, who was born and grew up in Bahrain, now sits on the committee and continues the legacy of his parents and uncles who originally started the league with just four teams in 1981.
He said: “It’s amazing to see how much the BCL has grown in recent years. It’s now more popular than ever, with a record 78 teams ready for this season, making it the biggest league in Bahrain by a long way.”
The league is split into three divisions, the Premier League, the Diamond League and the Golden League. At the end of each season, two sides are promoted and relegated from each league.
The captains of all the teams recently met for a briefing at Asdal Gulf Inn and all received mementoes for their participation in the previous year’s competition.
Alongside the league, there are 12 tournaments run throughout the season. This is achieved with a total of 16 grounds used for games, with 15 in Busaiteen and one at the Awali Cricket Club. Each ground costs BD1,500 to maintain a year and extensive care is taken to ensure they are fit for purpose. The outfield consists of sand that has been rolled, oiled and compressed to be as flat as possible. The wicket is concrete laid over with an AstroTurf carpet, and offers both consistent bounce and grip for spinners to ensure fair outcomes. Both are re-laid every six months.
The league follows the traditional International Cricket Council rulebook, although a few special rules have been adopted due to Bahrain’s extremely climate. Matches are forbidden to take place if the temperature is over a certain level, which has seen the delay of Awan Cricket Club’s tournament finals against both Niazi and Eagle Eye in two different tournaments and refreshment breaks are regular.
Burhan and the committee have also worked hard to ensure the highest of standards, with ICC-certified umpires overseeing every game and a full vetting system to ensure only Bahrain residents and CPR-holders can take part.
Burhan explained: “The league is fully controlled, so players have to be fully legal. Umpires check every player’s details before the game starts, to ensure everything is above board and a team hasn’t brought in a particularly skilful ‘friend’ from Saudi for the weekend!”
The league mostly consists of Pakistani and Indian players, but there are a scattering of Sri Lankan, British and German expats too, plus Bahraini locals who have fallen in love with the game.
A total of 30 matches took place last weekend as the league bounced off in style, and it was particularly good news for Burhan. The team he captains, Shahzad Zafar, scored a convincing victory against Kooheji Contracting as they chased down a target of 103 in just 16 overs in their Diamond League opener.
Keep up to date with league news, each week in GulfWeekly.
