The 2002 Morocco Cup was a three-team cricket tournament which took place in Tangier, Morocco during August 2002. The tournament was the first occasion on which the highest level of international cricket had been played in North Africa. Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka competed in the competition, which was funded by Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, a wealthy business man from the United Arab Emirates. Sri Lanka beat South Africa in the final to scoop the $250,000 prize money.[1]

Morocco Cup 2002
Date12 – 21 August 2002
LocationMorocco
Result Sri Lanka won the 2002 Morocco Cup
Teams
 Pakistan  South Africa  Sri Lanka
Captains
Waqar Younis Shaun Pollock Sanath Jayasuriya
Most runs
Yousuf Youhana (153) Jacques Kallis (141) Sanath Jayasuriya (299)
Most wickets
Waqar Younis (11) Allan Donald (10) Upul Chandana (8)

The tournament, in addition to attracting TV audiences to Bukhatir's TEN Sports channel, promoted cricket in North Africa. All of the matches were played at the National Cricket Stadium in Tangier, a purpose built ground which cost $4 million, most of which was spent on the grandstand. The organisers of the competition were so keen to avoid any accusations of match-fixing that they installed closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the team dressing rooms.[1]

During the group stage, Pakistan won only once; beating Sri Lanka in the second match of the tournament. Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in their other match, and defeated South Africa in both the side's group contests to finish top of the table. South Africa won both their matches against Pakistan to qualify for the final.[2] In the final, Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 27 runs, led by a run-a-ball score of 71 from their captain Sanath Jayasuriya, and two wickets from each of Chaminda Vaas, Pulasthi Gunaratne and Muttiah Muralitharan.[3]

Jayasuriya finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer, aggregating 299 runs from his five appearances at an average of 59.80. Each of the top-three run-scorers were Sri Lankan; the highest Pakistani batsman was Yousuf Youhana whose 153 runs placed him fourth, while South African Jacques Kallis was fifth with 141 runs.[4] In contrast, Waqar Younis of Pakistan took the most wickets, 11, followed by a pair of South Africans – Allan Donald and Lance Klusener, who took 10 and 9 respectively. Upul Chandana and Pulasthi Gunaratne were the leading Sri Lankans, claiming 8 wickets apiece.[5]

Group stage edit

Table edit

Key: Pld = Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, Pts = Points, NRR = Net run rate.

Morocco Cup[6]
Team Pld W L Pts NRR
  Sri Lanka* 4 3 1 13 +0.725
  South Africa* 4 2 2 8 −0.344
  Pakistan 4 1 3 4 −0.365

Notes:
Teams marked  *  progressed to the final of the competition.

Fixtures edit

1st match edit

12 August 2002
South Africa  
283/9 (50 overs)
v
  Pakistan
229 (43.2 overs)
HH Gibbs 114 (130)
Waqar Younis 5/38 (10 overs)
Imran Nazir 40 (29)
Younis Khan 40 (41)
L Klusener 3/45 (8.2 overs)
South Africa won by 54 runs
National Cricket Stadium, Tangier
Umpires: DJ Harper (AUS) and S Venkataraghavan (IND)
Player of the match: HH Gibbs (SA)
  • South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Points: Pakistan 0; South Africa 4

2nd match edit

14 August 2002
Pakistan  
279/5 (50 overs)
v
  Sri Lanka
251/8 (50 overs)
Saeed Anwar 70 (77)
UDU Chandana 1/29 (5 overs)
MS Atapattu 42 (73)
Abdul Razzaq 3/36 (10 overs)
Pakistan won by 28 runs
National Cricket Stadium, Tangier
Umpires: DJ Harper (AUS) and SJA Taufel (AUS)
Player of the match: Younis Khan (PAK)
  • Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field.
  • Points: Pakistan 4; Sri Lanka 0

3rd match edit

15 August 2002
Sri Lanka  
267/7 (50 overs)
v
  South Africa
174 (45 overs)
PA de Silva 73* (84)
JH Kallis 2/47 (10 overs)
AA Donald 2/47 (10 overs)
G Kirsten 55 (65)
ST Jayasuriya 3/24 (5 overs)
Sri Lanka won by 93 runs
National Cricket Stadium, Tangier
Umpires: SJA Taufel (AUS) and S Venkataraghavan (IND)
Player of the match: PA de Silva (SL)
  • Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Points: South Africa 0; Sri Lanka 5

4th match edit

17 August 2002
Sri Lanka  
242 (49.5 overs)
v
  Pakistan
203 (43.4 overs)
ST Jayasuriya 97 (94)
Waqar Younis 3/43 (9 overs)
Yousuf Youhana 80 (91)
PW Gunaratne 4/44 (9.4 overs)
Sri Lanka won by 39 runs
National Cricket Stadium, Tangier
Umpires: DJ Harper (AUS) and S Venkataraghavan (IND)
Player of the match: ST Jayasuriya (SL)
  • Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Points: Pakistan 0; Sri Lanka 4

5th match edit

18 August 2002
South Africa  
196/8 (50 overs)
v
  Pakistan
188 (48.3 overs)
MA Boucher 57 (99)
Wasim Akram 3/31 (10 overs)
Shahid Afridi 62 (40)
AA Donald 4/43 (9.3 overs)
South Africa won by 8 runs
National Cricket Stadium, Tangier
Umpires: DJ Harper (AUS) and SJA Taufel (AUS)
Player of the match: AA Donald (SA)
  • South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Points: Pakistan 0; South Africa 4

6th match edit

19 August 2002
South Africa  
220/6 (50 overs)
v
  Sri Lanka
221/4 (42.1 overs)
JH Kallis 84 (124)
UDU Chandana 3/32 (10 overs)
PA de Silva 77* (75)
R Telemachus 2/51 (6 overs)
Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets
National Cricket Stadium, Tangier
Umpires: SJA Taufel (AUS) and S Venkataraghavan (IND)
Player of the match: PA de Silva (SL)
  • South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Points: South Africa 0; Sri Lanka 4

Final edit

21 August 2002
Scorecard
Sri Lanka  
235/7 (50 overs)
v
  South Africa
208 (48.3 overs)
ST Jayasuriya 71 (71)
L Klusener 2/35 (10 overs)
AA Donald 2/35 (8 overs)
MV Boucher 70 (65)
WPUJC Vaas 2/33 (10 overs)
M Muralitharan 2/35 (10 overs)
Sri Lanka won by 27 runs
National Cricket Stadium, Tangier
Umpires: DJ Harper (AUS) and SJA Taufel (AUS)
Player of the match: ST Jayasuriya (SL)
  • Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat.

References edit

  1. ^ a b Steer, Duncan (2003). "Morocco Cup, 2002". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  2. ^ "Full details of the 2002 Morocco Cup". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  3. ^ Agha Akbar (21 August 2002). "Sri Lanka prevail despite late fright". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  4. ^ "Records / Morocco Cup, 2002 / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  5. ^ "Records / Morocco Cup, 2002 / Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  6. ^ "Point_Table / Morocco Cup, 2002 / Point Table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 June 2022.

External links edit