New cricket season starts in Cyprus

By Richard Boxall
The 2023 cricket season in Cyprus got under way at the weekend with the first round of matches in the 2023 CCA BAOFinancial Spring T10 Cup.

This is the shortest form of cricket currently played on a formal basis on the island, where each team bats for a maximum of 10 overs. Big hitting is the order of the day as teams look to post a score of over 100 to give themselves a decent chance of winning.

In all three of Sunday’s matches the team batting first did total over 100, and in each case that proved to be enough to secure victory.

The first game was the closest, with Limassol Zalmi beating the Sri Lankan Cricket Club from Nicosia by just 8 runs. Faisal Khan was the outstanding performer for Zalmi, hitting 35 from only 13 balls as his team posted 102-5.

Sri Lankan captain Chandana Prartana made a spirited reply with 42, but with 11 runs required from the last three balls of the match he was run out, and his team finished on 94-5.

In the next game their compatriots, Sri Lanka Lions of Limassol, hit the day’s highest score of 134-2, thanks to Akila De Silva’s unbeaten 55 and Sadun Chamal’s 34. Sadun then took a remarkable three wickets for three runs in his two overs, as Napa Royal Kings were restricted to 80 all out, with Tanvir Taariq top-scoring on 22.

The third game featured a new team, also from the Agia Napa area, in Afghan Atalan, who found the going tough against the established Nicosia Tigers. The Tigers mustered 127-5 with the chief contributions coming from Rasedul Hasan (36) and Abdullah Al Tasmin (31), who put on 76 for the third wicket.

Atalan lost only three wickets in their reply, with Yasar Qalandari making 22, but they were quite unable to keep up with the required scoring rate, and reached 79 in their 10 overs, losing by 48 runs. Al Tasmin was the leading bowler with 2-8 from his two overs.

The T10 competition is due to run until early April. Then, after an Easter 6-a-side festival, a T20 league will take place through the remainder of the spring and early summer. With various international matches also planned this year, it promises to be a full and exciting season of cricket.