2016–17 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy
Cricket tournament / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2016–17 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy was the 59th edition of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan's domestic first-class cricket competition. It was contested by 16 teams representing eight regional associations and eight departments,[lower-alpha 1] and ran between 1 October and 15 December 2016.[1]
Dates | 1 October 2016 (2016-10-01) – 15 December 2016 (2016-12-15) |
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Administrator(s) | Pakistan Cricket Board |
Cricket format | First-class |
Tournament format(s) | Two round-robin group stages and final |
Host(s) | ![]() |
Champions | WAPDA (1st title) |
Participants | 16 |
Matches | 69 |
Most runs | Kamran Akmal (1035) |
Most wickets | Mohammad Abbas (71) |
Official website | www.pcb.com.pk |
← 2015–16 2017–18 → |
The format of the competition remained the same as the previous season, with two round-robin group stages and a final. The regions and departments were divided evenly between the two groups for the preliminary group stage, with the four top teams in each advancing to a "Super Eight" group stage; the top team in each of the Super Eight groups contested the final.[2] Ten of the matches, including the two Super Eight fixtures and the final, were played as day/night games, in preparation for Pakistan's tour to Australia in December 2016.[1]
Returning to first-class cricket were Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and a second Karachi team (Blues) having gained promotion from the Patron's Trophy and Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Grade II competitions respectively;[3][4] they replaced Port Qasim Authority and Hyderabad, which were relegated at the end of 2015–16.[5] Neither PIA nor Karachi Blues were able to retain their first-class status as both were relegated at the end of the season.[6]
The final was contested between Habib Bank Limited and Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). The match finished in a draw, with WAPDA declared as the winners of the tournament, because of a first-innings lead. This was WAPDA's first title in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. Salman Butt was the man of the match in the final after scoring a century in both innings.[7]