Punjab Lions showcase Cyprus cricket in Europe

By Richard Boxall

Punjab Lions cricket club from Nicosia produced an excellent performance in the European Cricket League in Spain, reaching the final of their group, where they were beaten in a rain-affected match against the Spanish champions.

The tournament pitted the champion team of 30 European nations against each other, split into five groups. Punjab Lions, who qualified as last season’s winners of the Cyprus T20 league, found themselves up against the champion teams of Holland, Jersey, Spain, Portugal and Greece.

The matches were played in T10 format (ten overs per side) and in the first stage all the teams played each other, with Punjab Lions winning three and losing two, leaving them in third place. Notable performances in these early matches included 85 from 32 balls by captain Gurpartap Singh against Farmers CC of Jersey, Scott Austin’s 28 against Corfu, Neeraj Tiwari’s 3 wickets for 11 runs in a losing cause against Malo of Portugal and identical figures in the win over Dutch side Craeyenhout, and Tejwinder Singh’s 39 in the same match.

In the next phase the top three played off against each other, and this time the Lions won one and lost one. Tejwinder was again in form with the bat, hitting a vital 37 to ensure the Lions progressed in second place.
Next, in a rather complicated format, they played the top team in the group, Pak I Care from Spain, and did particularly well to beat their strong opponents by six runs, which guaranteed them a place in the final. Qasim Anwar’s rapid 27 proved decisive in this game.

The Spanish champions did however have another chance in a further qualifying match, which they won, so that the two teams met again in the final. For the first time the weather intervened, after Pak I Care had made a useful, but beatable, score of 93-9, with Sushil Kumar bowling very economically for the Lions with 2 for 7 from his two overs.

However, a rain delay meant that the overs had to be reduced, and Punjab Lions were left with a target of 33 from 3 overs. They needed a flying start but unfortunately wickets tumbled and they could only muster 18 for 5, leaving them with a return to Cyprus instead of progressing to the final stage of the competition.

The Lions can return with heads held high, having done better in their first attempt at this tournament than many would have expected. Their fielding in particular was excellent, with almost all catches being taken (apart from one game). Taranjeet Singh (8), Tejwinder Singh (7) and Vikram Verma (6) were particularly consistent in their catching in the deep, and spectacular catches were taken during the week by Scott Austin, Chamal Sadun, Gurpartap Singh and Roman Mazumder.

Neeraj Tiwari with his off-spin was the most successful bowler from all 30 teams in the group stage, with 16 wickets in just 18 overs, while Tejwinder Singh had a very impressive economy rate of under 7 runs per over – excellent in the 10-over format. Tejwinder was also the best Lions batsman with 176 runs at a strike rate of over 200 per 100 balls. Considering also his good fielding, he was the Lions’ clear player of the tournament.

In the last week of the tournament the five group winners played off against each other, and Spanish champions Pak I Care, conquerors of the Punjab Lions, were comfortable winners again, beating England’s Tunbridge Wells in the final. In the whole competition Pak I Care played 20 matches and only lost two – one of which was against Cyprus’ Lions.

The focus now turns to domestic cricket, first a 10-over competition, and then the Spring T20 league, with the local players keen to earn a place in the Cyprus national team which is due to compete in a World Cup qualifying tournament in Finland in July.