ISLAMABAD, FEB 24 (DNA) -The Australian High Commission (AHC) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) with the support of Serena Hotels today hosted the 3rd PCB-AHC Girls’ Cricket Cup at Murghzar Cricket Ground, Islamabad.

The PCB-AHC Girls’ Cup 2018 involved teams from four schools: Special Education School for Girls with Hearing Impairment H-9; Islamabad Model School for Girls F-7/2 Islamabad; Islamabad Model School for Girls G-7/2 Islamabad and Islamabad Model School for Girls G-11/1 Islamabad.

The girls attended a five-day coaching clinic in the lead-up to the competition conducted by first class women cricketers and PCB coach Farrukh Hayat.

The Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Margaret Adamson congratulated the schools on their participation and welcomed the continued support of the PCB and Serena Hotels for the annual PCB-AHC Girls’ Cricket Cup.

“Sharing a passion with Pakistan for cricket, the Australian High Commission was pleased to again join with the PCB and Serena Hotels to host this initiative to empower girls through cricket and promote gender equality through sport,” High Commissioner Adamson said.

“We were particularly pleased to have the participation of women first class players who helped to build confidence, foster team spirit and encourage the girls to push beyond the boundaries,” she said.

Mr. Aziz Boolani, CEO Serena Hotels, said, “Cricket is a passion in Pakistan and as a sport it embodies all the best attributes of any game – encouraging teamwork, discipline, hard work and strategic thinking. Under Serena Hotels Sports Diplomacy initiatives we support, facilitate and sponsor numerous sporting events and our commitments to sports diplomacy and women’s empowerment have found expression in the PCB-AHC Girls’ Cricket Cup. This tournament provides a wonderful vehicle for promoting and highlighting the importance of gender equality in sport”.

This year’s competition was also supported by Malik Sports through the donation of cricket equipment and the Islamabad Region Cricket Association which provided the ground facilities.