British High Commission celebrates Cricket
Celina Ali
Islamabad: The British High Commission this week brought together Teach For Pakistan, the Lahore Qalandars, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Female players and the Barmy Army for a street cricket match in Islamabad College for Boys, G6/3, with support from the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (MoFEPT).
This marks the arrival of the England cricket team to Islamabad as they prepare for their third and final match in the nail-biting UK-Pakistan series.
After a thrilling competition, Team Teach for Pakistan won the match by 5 wickets and with 6 balls remaining. 13 years old Saim Hussain was awarded the Player of the Match winning a bat, signed by the England Cricket Team, provided by the England Cricket Board (ECB) for this match.
Team Teach for Pakistan won the toss and decided to ball first. Team UK in Pakistan set the target of 104 runs in 10 overs and Team Teach for Pakistan while chasing the target scored 110 runs in 9 overs.
The UK is committed to supporting educational initiatives and cultural exchanges through sports. With UK funding, Teach For Pakistan have trained over 500 talented university graduates and young professionals through a two-year fellowship. Fellows are trained to improve learning outcomes of their students, and work in struggling schools in low-income communities. Over 34,000 students have benefitted, including nearly 23,000 girls.
On this occasion, British High Commissioner, Jane Marriott CMG OBE said that ‘It was electric to see seasoned professionals like Tania Saeed, Humna Bilal, Syed Faridoun Mehmood and Salman Fayaaz play with students who are clearly the future of Pakistan’s cricket! I can’t wait to see the kids in today’s match one day play against England in a future test match series.’
Khadija Bakhtiar, CEO of Teach For Pakistan, said: “A happy and safe learning space where students look forward to participating in intellectually and physically invigorating activities is the bedrock of Teach For Pakistan’s approach to whole child development. Today’s match is yet another stride in that direction via our partnership with FCDO and the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training,”
Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani, Secretary Ministry of Federal Education And Professional Training, said “I am thrilled to see everyone blooming in the spirit of cricket today. It is an absolute honour to host players of the English Cricket Team, Syed Faridoun Mehmood and Salman Fayyaz from the Lahore Qalandars, Tania Saeed and Humna Bilal from the Pakistan women’s team, and team of the British High Commission.Thank you for gracing us with your presence and inspiring our young players. My heart is overjoyed to see such enthusiastic participation by everyone and it makes us more excited to see what’s coming ahead”.
