2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy
| Dates | 14 September – 31 December 2019 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | Pakistan Cricket Board |
| Cricket format | First-class |
| Tournament format(s) | Group stage and Final |
| Host(s) |  Pakistan |
| Champions | Central Punjab (1st title) |
| Participants | 6 |
| Matches | 31 |
| Player of the series | Zafar Gohar |
| Most runs | Imran Butt (934) |
| Most wickets | Nauman Ali (54) |
| Official website | www.pcb.com.pk |
The 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy was a first-class domestic cricket competition that took place in Pakistan from 14 September to 31 December 2019.[1][2] Habib Bank Limited were the defending champions.[3] However, after the new domestic structure announced by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), six newly formed regional teams played in the tournament.[4]
During the opening round of fixtures, a concussion substitute was used for the first time in a domestic cricket match in Pakistan.[5] In the match between Southern Punjab and Central Punjab, Mohammad Saad replaced Usman Salahuddin in Central Punjab's team on the second day of the match.[6] On 31 October 2019, Ahmed Shehzad was fined 50% of his match fee following a drawn match between his side, Central Punjab, and Sindh after his team was found guilty of ball-tampering.[7]
The final was originally scheduled to be played from 9 to 13 December. However, in November 2019, the dates were moved to 27 to 31 December 2019, after Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) agreed to tour Pakistan in December to play two Test matches.[8] Ahead of the penultimate round of matches, four teams were in contention to reach the final.[9] Following the conclusion of the tenth and final round of group stage matches, Central Punjab and Northern had qualified for the final of the tournament.[10][11] Central Punjab won the tournament, beating Northern by an innings and 16 runs in the final.[12] Umar Akmal and Bilal Asif were named as the men of the match, for the batting and bowling respectively,[13] and Zafar Gohar was named the player of the tournament.[14]
Background
The PCB were working on revamping the domestic structure.[15] However, Pakistan's Prime Minister, and former international cricketer, Imran Khan, had rejected the proposals, with Khan insisting that department sides no longer take part.[16] The PCB also considered splitting the tournament into two parts, to have a window for the domestic T20 competition and the draft for the 2020 Pakistan Super League.[17]
On 31 August 2019, the PCB confirmed the new structure of the tournament, in which six newly formed regional teams played a total of thirty-one matches, each team playing ten matches.[18] The teams that competed were Balochistan, Central Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Northern, Sindh and Southern Punjab.[19] On 3 September 2019, the PCB confirmed all of the squads for the tournament.[20]
The PCB also updated the playing conditions for the tournament, including removing the mandatory coin toss and the possibilty of extending the final by an extra day, if needed.[21] The visiting team's captain had the choice to bowl first if they wished. If not, then the coin toss took place as before.[22] This practice had been used in England since the 2016 County Championship season.[23] If the final ended in a draw, the winner would be declared on the basis of a first innings lead. However, if the first innings for both teams had not been completed, an extra day would have been used. In the event that both teams did not complete their first innings, they would both be declared the winners of the tournament.[24]
Teams and squads
Each team was drafted with three centrally contracted players, sixteen regular players and three white ball specialists.[25]
In September 2019, Wahab Riaz took an indefinite break from red-ball cricket, therefore withdrawing himself from Southern Punjab's squad.[32]
Points table
| Team[33] | Pld | W | L | T | D | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Punjab | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 133 | +0.191 |
| Northern | 10 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 130 | +0.376 |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 124 | –0.058 |
| Southern Punjab | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 112 | +0.092 |
| Sindh | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 90 | –0.158 |
| Balochistan | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 84 | –0.441 |
Fixtures
Round 1
14–17 September 2019
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- Toss uncontested, Balochistan elected to field.
- Points: Sindh 9, Balochistan 7.
14–17 September 2019
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- Southern Punjab won the toss and elected to bat.
- Points: Southern Punjab 11, Central Punjab 11.
14–17 September 2019
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- Toss uncontested, Northern elected to field.
- Haider Ali (Northern) made his first-class debut.
- Points: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 13, Northern 8.
Round 2
21–24 September 2019
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42/0 (11 overs)
Imran Butt 29* (32) |
- Toss uncontested, Southern Punjab elected to field.
- Points: Balochistan 13, Southern Punjab 9.
21–24 September 2019
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- Toss uncontested, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elected to field.
- Points: Sindh 11, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 10.
21–24 September 2019
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- Toss uncontested, Northern elected to field.
- Points: Central Punjab 24, Northern 3.
Round 3
28 September–1 October 2019
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- Balochistan won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: Central Punjab 24, Balochistan 3.
28 September–1 October 2019
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- Toss uncontested, Sindh elected to field.
- Haris Rauf (Northern) made his first-class debut.
- Points: Sindh 10, Northern 8.
28 September–1 October 2019
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- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa won the toss and elected to bat.
- Points: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 7, Southern Punjab 6.
Round 4
5–8 October 2019
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- Northern won the toss and elected to bat.
- Points: Northern 13, Balochistan 11.
5–8 October 2019
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- Sindh won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: Southern Punjab 24, Sindh 4.
5–8 October 2019
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- Toss uncontested, Central Punjab elected to field.
- Points: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 12, Central Punjab 8.
Round 5
28–31 October 2019
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- Toss uncontested, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elected to field.
- Akif Javed (Balochistan) made his first-class debut.
- Points: Balochistan 11, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 11.
28–31 October 2019
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- Toss uncontested, Sindh elected to field.
- Points: Central Punjab 11, Sindh 10.
28–31 October 2019
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- Northern won the toss and elected to bat.
- Points: Northern 12, Southern Punjab 11.
Round 6
4–7 November 2019
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11/0 (2.3 overs)
Sami Aslam 6* (10) |
- Toss uncontested, Balochistan elected to field.
- Points: Southern Punjab 13, Balochistan 8.
4–7 November 2019
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- Toss uncontested, Sindh elected to field.
- No play was possible on days 3 and 4 due to rain.
- Points: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 8, Sindh 8.
4–7 November 2019
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- Central won the toss and elected to bat.
- Points: Central Punjab 20, Northern 3.
Round 7
11–14 November 2019
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- Central Punjab won the toss and elected to field.
- Points: Balochistan 13, Central Punjab 10.
11–14 November 2019
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- Northern won the toss and elected to bat.
- Salman Irshad (Northern) made his first-class debut.
- Points: Northern 24, Sindh 6.
Round 8
18–21 November 2019
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- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa won the toss and elected to bat.
- Points: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 23, Balochistan 2.
18–21 November 2019
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- Central Punjab won the toss and elected to bat.
- Mohammad Umar and Aamir Ali (Sindh) both made their first-class debuts.
- Points: Sindh 11, Central Punjab 9.
18–21 November 2019
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- Northern won the toss and elected to bat.
- Points: Northern 13, Southern Punjab 9.
Round 9
25–28 November 2019
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- Toss uncontested, Northern elected to field.
- Points: Northern 22, Balochistan 6.
25–28 November 2019
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- Southern Punjab won the toss and elected to bat.
- Shahnawaz Dhani (Sindh) made his first-class debut.
- Points: Sindh 12, Southern Punjab 11.
25–28 November 2019
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- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa won the toss and elected to bat.
- Points: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 22, Central Punjab 3.
Round 10
2–5 December 2019
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- Toss uncontested, Sindh elected to field.
- Points: Balochistan 10, Sindh 9.
2–5 December 2019
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- Central Punjab won the toss and elected to bat.
- Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab) made his first-class debut.
- Points: Central Punjab 13, Southern Punjab 10.
2–5 December 2019
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- Toss uncontested, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elected to field.
- Points: Northern 24, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 5.
Final
References
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- ^ "Ambitious and competitive 2019-20 domestic cricket season unveiled". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ "Habib Bank lift Quaid-e-Azam Trophy after tense draw". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ "Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the jewel in Pakistan domestic cricket's crown". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
- ^ "Mohammad Saad becomes first concussion sub in Pakistan domestic cricket". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ "Saad replaces Salahuddin in the first-ever use of concussion substitute in Pakistan domestic history". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ "Central Punjab found guilty of ball tampering, Ahmed Shehzad fined". ESPNcricinfo. 1 November 2019.
- ^ "Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final to be played from 27 December". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "Four sides in contention for Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ^ "Northern and Central Punjab to contest 2019 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final". Geo TV. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- ^ "Central Punjab and Northern face-off in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final tomorrow". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
- ^ "Umar Akmal, Bilal Asif hand Central Punjab Quaid-e-Azam title". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ "Central Punjab win first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2019-20". Cricket World. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ "Central Punjab blow away Northern to claim Quaid-e-Azam Trophy". Samaa. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ "QeA Q&A: What the new domestic structure means for Pakistan cricket". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ "Imran Khan rejects PCB's new domestic model". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
- ^ "PCB likely to split Quaid-e-Azam Trophy to create T20 window". Geo TV. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ "PCB unveils new domestic set-up with 'stay at the top' mantra". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ "PCB releases Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2019-20 schedule". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
- ^ "PCB announces squads for 2019-20 domestic season". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- ^ "PCB announces playing conditions and code of conduct for 2019-20 season". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
- ^ "PCB announces playing conditions and code of conduct for 2019-20 season". Geo Super TV. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
- ^ "Coin toss to be scrapped in County Championship cricket". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
- ^ "Playing conditions, code of conduct details announced by PCB". The International News. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
- ^ "Sarfaraz Ahmed and Babar Azam to take charge of Pakistan domestic sides". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- ^ "Balochistan, ready to make big impression". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
- ^ "Central Punjab, a squad laden with talent and skill". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
- ^ "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a union of youth and aggression". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
- ^ "Northern, opportunity for young talent to step-up". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
- ^ "Sarfaraz Ahmed-led Sindh, a real force to reckon with". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
- ^ "Shan Masood-led Southern Punjab, a blend of youth and experience". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
- ^ "Wahab Riaz takes break from red-ball cricket to focus on shorter formats". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
- ^ "Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2019: Points table". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 5 December 2019.