New Delhi
19 May 2007
Cricket is popular in the sub-continent and what better way to usher
in the 60th anniversary of independence of India and Pakistan than a cricket match in the
United Kingdom, which is widely considered the home of the gentleman's game.
The Prince of Wales, who conceived the idea, hopes that the match will help to foster
ongoing relations between the UK and South Asia. Rahul Dravid will accordingly captain
India's Men in Blue for a one-day international cricket match against Pakistan in July.
Clarence House, the official residence of The Prince of Wales, has said that Prince
Charles has invited India and Pakistan to play a one-day international cricket match,
known as The Friendship Cup, at Glasgow in Scotland this July.
"The original idea behind this match came from The Prince of Wales, who hopes that the
match will serve to mark the 60th Anniversary of Indian and Pakistan's Independence
and help to foster ongoing relations between the UK and South Asia," it said.
The Friendship Cup is expected to raise over five million dollars (or 2.5 million pounds)
for charities in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka as well as in the United Kingdom.
The match is being organised by the British Asian Trust.
The British Asian Trust is a new subsidiary of the Prince's Charities Foundation, which
was set up to fund community projects in these areas. The proceeds from the one-day
international cricket match will be distributed by the Trust.
The match will be played at the Citylets Titwood, Beaton Road, Glasgow on July 3. The
online ballot for tickets at www.britishasiantrust.com, at a price of 44 pounds each, will
close on May 27. About 5,000 seats will be available for the match.
Clarence House said, "Participation in the ballot is limited to one entry per person. Each
person applying can apply for a maximum of four tickets." The draw will be done by
random selection and successful applicants will be notified by June 4 2007.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Vice President Lalit Modi and the director of
cricket operations for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Mr Zakir Khan, have confirmed
the participation of their national cricket teams to Clarence House.
"This will be an amazing occasion as both our nations have not met outside the World
Cup or the ICC Trophy in the United Kingdom. With such large Indian and Pakistani origin
populations it will be a fantastic opportunity to play such a match in aid of such a
wonderful cause. The game was His Royal Highness's idea and we are pleased that
together with Cricket Scotland we have been able to put this into our tour of the United
Kingdom," Modi told Clarence House.
The Prince's Charities is a group of not-for-profit organisations of which The Prince of
Wales is president and 16 of the 18 charities were founded personally by Prince
Charles. The group is the largest multi-cause charitable enterprise in the UK.
The British Asian Trust aims to promote and creatively support The Prince of Wales's
initiatives in South Asia from the UK, working with the British Asian community and
others, and will seek to identify other projects in South Asia which should be helped.
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