MHFH Lahore To Face MHFH Islamabad In Karachi Mobilink Hunt for Heroes Under-16 final on February 21

KARACHI: February 20, 2008 - Mobilink, the country's market leader in cellular services with over 30 million customers, and part of the Orascom Telecom group, announced the final match of the Mobilink Hunt for Heroes (MHFH) Under-16 Cricket Tournament to be held at National Stadium Karachi, today.

The final day/night match will be played between MHFH Lahore and MHFH Islamabad teams and a large turnout of spectators is expected to witness the game which is a part of the countrywide search for cricketing talent in Pakistan.

"We are very proud that the Mobilink Hunt for Heroes scheme provided an open and transparent platform for cricketers from every city, district and village of Pakistan, including the northern areas, to exhibit their talent and skill and thus having an opportunity to train amongst the best players from Pakistan. This scheme has been of historic proportions as more than 12,000 youngsters countrywide got a chance to play and win a place for themselves in their respective regional teams," said Bilal Munir Sheikh, Vice President Marketing, Mobilink.

Earlier last week, MHFH Lahore beat MHFH Karachi in a thrilling semi-final match. The match was made all the more memorable due to the performances of Babar Azam who scored an unbeaten 165 and took three catches, and Usman Qadir, who snapped 5 wickets for 37 runs, for MHFH Lahore. In the other semifinal, MHFH Islamabad defeated MHFH Peshawar with Shahid Ilyas scoring an unbeaten 44 and taking 4 wickets for just 12 runs in MHFH Islamabad's win over MHFH Peshawar region.

Both matches allowed the young players to showcase their skills in areas of batting, bowling and fielding. Out of a total of 12,000 participants under the age of 16 years from across the country, 180 players were short-listed and included in 12 regional teams, with each team comprising of 15 players.

"The two teams and its talented youngsters will be playing a day-night match for the first time at such a competitive level and we are proud to have contributed towards discovering talent in Pakistan, through the Mobilink Hunt for Heroes initiative. It is expected that the outcome of this scheme will showcase talent that will support cricket in Pakistan for many years to come," added Bilal Munir Sheikh.

In the next phase of this activity, 36 short-listed youngsters from phase II will get a chance to spend six weeks at the National Cricket Academy under the supervision of specialized coaches nominated by the Pakistan Cricket Board. In the six weeks spent at the NCA, these youngsters will undergo training in technical, physical, mental and tactical awareness to be groomed towards the U-19 World Cup 2010 and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.