Patron's Trophy aka President's Trophy is Pakistan's First-classcricket tournament. The 2012-13 Pakistan's First-class cricket domestic season will begin with the President's Trophy Grade 1 between 3 October and 7 December.
Background
The PCB has overhauled the domestic system by separating the regional and department sides, the cricket committee headed by Javed Miandad announced on Thursday at the Gaddafi Stadium. President's Trophy will be contested by corporate sides only.
Format
In 2012-13 season of the President's Trophy, ten departmental teams will play a round-robin league phase. Either way, each team will at least play nine matches, with the top two teams making the final.
News
27 September 2012:Pakistan Cricket Board has overhauled the domestic system by separating the regional and department sides. The 2012-13 Pakistan domestic season will begin with the Patron's Trophy which will be contested by corporate sides.
27 September 2012:Pakistan Cricket Board announced the 2012-13 domestic season calendar with Akram Raza named as a match official for the inaugural President's Trophy. Akram Raza, the former Pakistan offspinner, has been reinstated to the Pakistan Cricket Board umpiring panel, following his suspension for his alleged involvement in an illegal betting racket. After year-long proceedings in a Lahore court, he regained his PCB role.
21 October 2012: Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to use Kookaburra balls in domestic cricket from the ongoing season to keep with international standards. The imported balls were used in domestic competitions from 2000 until 2007, when the Ijaz Butt-led administration encouraged the use of locally manufactured balls. The Kookaburra ball will be used from the fifth round of the President's Trophy, starting 2 November. The players will continue to use the Grays ball for the fourth round.
10 November 2012: Pakistan Cricket Board is deliberating whether batsman Mohammad Yousuf and allrounder Shahid Afridi can play in the President's Trophy. Both players have expressed a desire to play the tournament, but were not registered in the teams' probable lists for the tournament. The players were not given permission to play as they had submitted their names too late to the selection committee. However, the players can participate in the upcoming Quaid-e-Azam trophy
11 November 2012: I have more success in longest format of the game, but I have been scoring in all formats. Now I am Doing everything I can to make a comeback- Fawad Alam
14 November 2012:Umar Akmal, the Pakistan batsman, has been left out by his department side Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited from the President's Trophy. Basit Ali, the SNGPL coach and former Pakistan batsman, said Akmal was dropped over his form and he need to work on his technique to play first-class cricket.
30 November 2012: Pakistan domestic cricket has been stumbling over shaky ground for the last decade, with a lot of experimentation. The 2012-13 season, with another revamped structure, got off to an ideal start, however, with well-contested games and competitive results. and qualified for the final, which has been pushed back for an indefinite period to make way for the 2012–13 Faysal Bank T20 Cup.
18 December 2012:The Final of President’s Trophy 2012-13 will be played from 15–19 January 2013at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. The decision has been taken to ensure the participation of Pakistan Team Players for the final. National Team is scheduled to return from India on 7 January and will be leaving for South Africa in the last week of same month.
