• Asia Cup Cricket


    The ninth edition of Asia cup cricket is one the way and is scheduled to begin on June 24, 2008. Pakistan will be playing the role of hosting company, as decided by Asian Cricket Council (ACC). The smell of this exciting event is already in the air, as cricket is one of the most celebrated sports in Asian continent. Keeping in mind the popularity of this game, it would be a nice idea to trace the history and related aspects of this auspicious tournament.

    How It All Commenced

    The seeds for international sports event called Asia Cup cricket were sown in 1983, when founding stone for ACC was laid in UAE. The first edition of this event was held in 1984 at Sharjah and was won by India. It is worth mentioning that Indian cricket team has won this tournament maximum number of four times. Since its first edition, Asia Cup has been held eight times, hosted by different participating countries like India, Sri Lanka, UAE and Bangladesh. Pakistan will be hosting the event for first time in year 2008.

    About Asian Cricket Council

    ACC was formed in 1983, as an intervening authority for enhancing the value of this sport amongst Asian countries. It was headquartered at Sharjah, UAE, where the first edition of this prestigious event was held. The present working office of the Council is located at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and is presided by Arjuna Ranatunga, ex cricketer and Sri Lankan Cricket Chairman. The council consists of many small working bodies like ACC Development Committee, ACC Finance and marketing Committee and ACC Women’s Committee.

    Format Of Asia Cup

    It was originally decided to organize Asia Cup cricket after every two years. The decision has been recently taken to make this event biennial. This cricketing event follows the format of One Day Internationals. However, International Cricket Council objects upon the format followed by this Asian cricketing event.

    Asia Cup Cricket 2008

    The ninth edition of Asia Cup cricket is about to begin on 24th June and is scheduled to end on 6th of July. The event was scheduled to be held in 2006, but was postponed due to already frenzied schedule of other cricket tournaments. With Pakistan as the hosting country, following is the allocation of two opponent groups:

    Group A with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and UAE as the members and
    Group B with Pakistan, Hong Kong and India as the member teams.

    Following is the schedule for various ODIs to be played:

    Jun 24

    Bangladesh v United Arab Emirates 1st ODI, Lahore
    Pakistan v Hong Kong 2nd ODI, Karachi

    Jun 25

    Bangladesh v Sri Lanka 3rd ODI, Lahore
    Hong Kong v India 4th ODI, Karachi

    Jun 26

    Sri Lanka v United Arab Emirates 5th ODI, Karachi
    India v Pakistan 6th ODI, Karachi

    Jun 28

    A2 v B2 7th ODI, Karachi

    Jun 29

    A1 v B1 8th ODI, Karachi

    Jun 30

    A1 v A2 9th ODI, Karachi

    Jul 2

    B1 v B2 10th ODI, Karachi

    Jul 3

    A1 v B2 11th ODI, Karachi

    Jul 4

    A2 v B1 12th ODI, Karachi

    Jul 6

    T.B.C. v T.B.C. Final, Karachi

    With the date approaching near, it is recommended to keep your schedule free for unlimited fun and excitement promised by Asia Cup 2008.
    •