PCB and CA introduce Benaud-Qadir Trophy for Test series between Pakistan and Australia

They have been two spinning legends on the cricketing ground and on the occasion of Australia’s tour of Pakistan after 24 years, the cricket boards of the two countries have decided to honour the duo by naming the series after them.

On Wednesday, March 2, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Cricket Australia (CA) announced the introduction of the Benaud-Qadir Trophy after Australian Richie Benaud and Pakistani Abdul Qadir to commemorate the three-match Test series starting on Friday, March 4.

From now on, the Benaud-Qadir Trophy will be a perpetual one and will be presented to the winners at the end of each men’s Test series played between Pakistan and Australia. Australia and India have a similar arrangement in their bilateral Test meetings where they play for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Australia and the West Indies similarly vie for the Frank Worrell Trophy.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam and his Australia counterpart Pat Cummins unveiled the new trophy at the Pindi Cricket Stadium ahead of the first match. The trophy will be handed over to the winning side in Lahore, the headquarters of Pakistan cricket, after the conclusion of the third match.

Benaud (1930-2015) and Qadir (1955-2019) were two skilled and immensely respected cricketers of their respective eras. While Benaud was known for his attacking wrist-spin bowling and also was a decent bat, Qadir took the Australian’s art to the next level with some exemplary performances against high-quality batters at a time when fast bowlers dominated world cricket.

Benaud, who played 63 Tests and took 248 wickets, captained Australia on their first full tour of Pakistan in 1959 and bagged the series 2-0. Qadir, on the other hand, played 11 of his 67 Tests against Australia in which he claimed 45 scalps, including 33 in two three-match series in 1982 and 1988 when Kim Hughes and Allan Border captained Australia, respectively. Qadir, whose son Usman decided to pursue cricket Down Under, finished with 236 wickets. Benaud was inducted in the ICC Hall of Fame in 2009 while Qadir was posthumously included in the PCB Hall of Fame last year.

PCB, CA heads hail move

“There can be no better way to celebrate and mark the revival of Pakistan-Australia Test rivalry in Pakistan by launching the trophy in the names of two absolute legends and icons of this great game – Richie Benaud and Abdul Qadir. These two gentlemen remain a flavour of all eras and ages as their contributions towards cricket in general and wrist-spin bowling in particular are second to none,” PCB chief executive officer Faisal Hasnain said.

CA chief executive officer Nick Hockley said: “This Test series is an exciting and historic occasion with Australia touring Pakistan for the first time in 24 years. Given that context, it is fitting that we can honour two genuine legends of the game, Richie Benaud and Abdul Qadir, by inaugurating a trophy the two sides will play for with those legendary names on it.”