Islamabad Lions Make A Roar In Tintwistle

Dinting Cricket Club’s Simmondley Lane usually hosts local fixtures in the Derbyshire area, however, for one day only, it attracted a team that normally competes 5,000 miles away.

The Islamabad Lions, based in Pakistan, were invited to take part in a special fixture against the best players from the Derbyshire and Cheshire Cricket League at under 16 level.

The game, which took place in glorious weather, was organised by D&CCL officials and coordinated by Old Glossop chairman, Den Lane.

The Lions were given a warm welcome but were soon faced with some fearsome bowling, as the Derbyshire and Cheshire openers showed their quality and rattled through the first three batsmen.

The result itself was immaterial on the day, as the game was organised to unite two sides from different sides of the world through the power of sport.

Den, who has played a pivotal role in Old Glossop’s fundraiser to secure new nets, said it was a great occasion and one that will prove valuable for both sides as they look to develop. Speaking to Chronicle Sport, he said: “We heard that the Lions were touring in the area, so we rallied around at late notice, assembled a team together and managed to organise the fixture, which is great when you consider how good the weather is as well.

“We managed to recruit a strong team; I didn’t know the quality that we would be up against, so I didn’t want to put too weak a team out.

“It’s great to have all the kids over from Pakistan. We actually have a couple of Pakistani lads playing for us, so it helps to integrate everyone together, and cricket is a real leveller, it’s a sport and not about anything else - that’s why it’s so good”.

Commenting on the current developments at Old Glossop, whose first team occupy sixth spot in Division One, Den said: “We were struggling for juniors at the start of the season, but we managed to pull more players in and put some teams out. The second team is doing well, although the first team are struggling a little bit.

“We managed to raise the money we needed for the new nets, so hopefully they’ll be built over winter and they can be utilised to develop all the teams who represent the club.”