OCA plans all-India tournament in June

Orissa cricket Association (OCA) is gearing up to organise an all-India cricket tournament in the memory of its past president Basant Kumar Biswal at Cuttack from June 2 to 10. Six Ranji teams, belonging to five states, have been invited to compete in the limited-overs tournament along with two teams from the host state — Orissa ‘A’ and Orissa ‘B’. ‘‘Cricket associations of Bengal, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad and Karnataka have been requested to confirm the participation of their Ranji teams by the first week of April,’’ OCA secretary Asirbad Behera said. Matches will be of two-day nature, featuring 90 overs-a-side. Barabati Stadium and Ravenshaw University ground will be the venues for the tournament, which offers cash prizes of Rs 1 lakh for the winners and Rs 50,000 for the runners-up. STATE SCHOOL TOURNEY: Prior to the Basant Biswal Memorial Tournament, Cuttack would also play host to the State inter-school boys’ and inter-college women’s cricket tournaments in the first and last week of April respectively. Originally scheduled to be conducted in the month of February, the inter-school tournament was postponed due to academic examinations. A total of 32 teams — champion school of each district — will be eligible to compete in the State tournament. The champion and runner-up teams of the state meet will qualify for the National inter-school tournament. Matches of the inter-school tournament, which offers Rs 15,000 to the champion and Rs 10,000 to the runner-up teams, will be played on matting wickets. Twenty-six districts have confirmed their participation so far. The inter-college women’s tournament will be introduced for the first time.