The third edition of Nazar Muhammad Memorial Cricket Tournament will get underway on Sunday (18th October) when Lahore Gymkhana will collide with Sayid Paper Mills (SPM) at Bagh-i-Jinnah Ground, near China Chowk, Lahore. An attractive right-hand batsman and a natural stroke-maker in a class of his own, Shafiq Ahmed Papa, a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 6 Tests and 3 ODIs from 1974 to 1980, will be Chief Guest in the opening ceremony.
Mian Aslam and Adnan Rasheed will supervise the match. Nazar Muhammad faced the first ball received by a Pakistani in Test cricket, at Delhi in 1952-53, and in the next match became the country's first Test centurion. On a batting wicket at Lucknow, he carried his bat for 124 not out in eight hours 35 minutes and set up an innings victory; he was the first player to be on the field throughout a Test. He became a coach, selector and one of Pakistan's best cricketing raconteurs.