Inter-Gulf Cup start delayed
Tony Munro - 10 January 2000

The starting date for the inaugural Inter-Gulf Cup has been delayed to February 13 to accomodate the sponsor Farmers.

Farmers wanted the start of the Cup to coincide with the launching of a new product and asked tournament organisers to reschedule the event. This was done after receiving confirmation from the six participants.

The draw which was released last month remains the same, with just a change of dates for the order of matches. The new dates for matches are given below.

Eligibilty rules were relaxed after protests from two countries. Teams must now have at least four home-born players. The rest must have at least three full years of residence. No ex-Test players are permitted.

Meanwhile, Bahrain has announced its squad, which includes five Bahraini born players. The team will be captained by Netherlands professional, Asgar Bajwa.

Bahrain squad: * denotes Bahrain born
Asgar Bajwa Captain. RHB OB. Brilliant player
Qamar Saeed Vice-captain. LHB SLA
*Fahad Arif Opener RHB LB
Samantha Wickramasingha Opener RHB Occasional slow medium
Mohamed Fayaz W'keeper RHB
Zafar Zaheer RHB OB
Mohhamed Yaqub RHB
*Sameer Ul-Haq RHB Medium-slow
*Yasser Arif Medium pace opening bowler. Brother of Fahad Arif
*Tariq Baluch RHB Slow medium. Getting on a bit
Mohamed Nadeem Fast medium opening bowler
Ajith Kumarasiri LHB Slow medium Left hand Bowler
Vijay Sailor RHB Occasional r-hand slow medium
* Amir Khaled RHB r-hand slow medium (make-weight)

Bahrain Cricket Association secretary, Guy Parker, said the first 11 listed players probably will comprise the starting XI. He reported the team's main weakness to be a lack of fast bowlers - only two.

Two of Bahrain's best eligible players - Mohamed Shiraz (w'keeper-batsman) and Ajay Kumar are not available.

Bahrain's plight has been highlighted by a recent practice match between Bahrain's Gulf Cup XI and a team of Bahrain Residents not who do not meet the eligibility rules.

Bahrain XI 223 all out (41.5 overs)
Select XI (ineligible players) 224 for 1 (33 overs)

The revised dates for the draw:
February 13: Bahrain v Oman; UAE v Kuwait
February 14: Kuwait v Saudi Arabia; Oman v Qatar
February 15: Bahrain v Qatar; UAE v Saudi Arabia
February 17: Semi finals - Group A winner v Group B runner-up; Group B winner v Group A runner-up
February 18: Final

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