LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to continue with its policy of not using two balls in one innings of the Inter-city U-19 Cricket Tournament, which started across the country on Saturday.

For domestic cricket, the PCB has a rule of using two balls, one each from both the ends, to maintain the condition of balls till the end of the innings. But the same rule is not applied to the Inter-city U-19 Cricket Tournament, a grassroots event from where promising boys will be picked to play higher-level cricket in Pakistan.

This one-ball-for-one-innings rule will save some money for the PCB but perhaps it will not serve the purpose for which this rule of two balls in one innings was introduced.

Moreover the PCB, which announced the squads of the 90 cities — each comprising 20 members — will bear the cost of providing 15 kits to each squad and in case of a replacement player coming in from the pool of five reserve players, the kit of the replaced player will be given to the new entrant.

Meanwhile, a PCB spokesman said that last year one ball was used in one innings at this U-19 level of competition but when it is held at the national level, two balls will be used.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2022