da stake casino： The Punjab capital needs a sufficient number of grounds to stagefirst-class cricket
Muhammad Yaqoob22-May-2001The Punjab capital needs a sufficient number of grounds to stagefirst-class cricket. This situation, interestingly, has beenprevailing in a city which happens to be the seat of the PakistanCricket Board (PCB).Lahore, having the a population of about 6.5 millions, is mainlyrelying on the only ground of Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA)where first-class matches are being held, though it also requiresimproved facilities.The other grounds available for first class cricket belong to LahoreGymkhana, Bagh-i-Jinnah and the Railways Stadium. But the charges forhiring the Lahore Gymkhana are so high that no team can afford it.The Lahore Gymkhana authorities charge Rs 7,000 per day excludingSundays. The Railways Stadium has basic facilities for first classmatches, but the PCB is not using it for reasons best known to them.The Grade-II matches of the domestic cricket are being played at theModel Town Greens and the Punjab University Old Campus grounds whereimprovised tented baths and pavilions are made available for theplayers.Compared with other cities which are smaller in size as that of thePunjab capital, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala and Faisalabad, havedeveloped good infrastructure, but Lahore is facing a dearth in thisvital area of the game.Strangely, the numbers of the domestic cricket matches at Lahore aredecreasing every season due to poor non-availability of grounds.During the 2000-2001 cricket season around 400 matches were played inthe national junior grade-I and II, Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-I andII, Patron’s Trophy Grade-I and II, national one-day tournaments whichwere held separately for departments and associations. But Lahore, dueto lack of grounds got only 29 matches included 22 first class andseven Grade-II.The financially sound departments affiliated with the Pakistan CricketBoard like National Bank, Allied Bank and Habib Bank have so farfailed to have their own grounds in Lahore. Interestingly, the ABL’sRamiz Hasan Raja is holding a key post in the PCB as member of theadvisory council but the bank has no ground yet.To eliminate the dearth of grounds in the city, short and long termplanning is necessary. As a short term planning, those grounds shouldbe renovated where first class matches have been played in the past.In long term planning, new grounds should be laid especially in thenewly developed areas.The grounds where the first-class matches have been held are the D.SWorkshop ground and the Railways Stadium. The PCB should also urge theLahore Gymkhana authorities to make their venue available for firstclass matches at cheaper rates as a national cause.