Islamabad: The British High Commission brought together Teach For Pakistan, the Lahore Qalandars, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Female players and the Barmy Army for a street cricket match in Islamabad College for Boys, G6/3, with support from the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (MoFEPT). This marks the arrival of the England cricket team to Islamabad as they prepare for their third and final match in the nail-biting UK-Pakistan series.
After a thrilling competition, Team Teach for Pakistan won the match by 5 wickets and with 6 balls remaining. 13 years old Saim Hussain was awarded the Player of the Match winning a bat, signed by the England Cricket Team, provided by the England Cricket Board (ECB) for this match.
Team Teach for Pakistan won the toss and decided to ball first. Team UK in Pakistan set the target of 104 runs in 10 overs and Team Teach for Pakistan while chasing the target scored 110 runs in 9 overs.
The UK is committed to supporting educational initiatives and cultural exchanges through sports. With UK funding, Teach For Pakistan have trained over 500 talented university graduates and young professionals through a two-year fellowship. Fellows are trained to improve learning outcomes of their students, and work in struggling schools in low-income communities. Over 34,000 students have benefitted, including nearly 23,000 girls.
British High Commissioner, Jane Marriott CMG OBE said:
‘It was electric to see seasoned professionals like Tania Saeed, Humna Bilal, Syed Faridoun Mehmood and Salman Fayaaz play with students who are clearly the future of Pakistan’s cricket! I can’t wait to see the kids in today’s match one day play against England in a future test match series.’
Khadija Bakhtiar, CEO of Teach For Pakistan, said:
“A happy and safe learning space where students look forward to participating in intellectually and physically invigorating activities is the bedrock of Teach For Pakistan’s approach to whole child development. Today’s match is yet another stride in that direction via our partnership with FCDO and the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training,”
Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani, Secretary Ministry of Federal Education And Professional Training, said:
“I am thrilled to see everyone blooming in the spirit of cricket today. It is an absolute honour to host players of the English Cricket Team, Syed Faridoun Mehmood and Salman Fayyaz from the Lahore Qalandars, Tania Saeed and Humna Bilal from the Pakistan women’s team, and team of the British High Commission.Thank you for gracing us with your presence and inspiring our young players. My heart is overjoyed to see such enthusiastic participation by everyone and it makes us more excited to see what’s coming ahead”.
Teach For Pakistan is a national nonprofit building a movement for leadership development among youth to end educational inequity. It recruits exceptional graduates of reputable universities from home and abroad. It trains them for a unique Fellowship, during which they teach for two years in government schools in underserved communities. During the two-year Fellowship, the Teach For Pakistan classrooms close as much as 4.4 years of the learning gap. Having taught 30,000+ students across 132 schools, Teach For Pakistan has expanded its program to under-resourced public schools in Sindh, beginning in Karachi this year. More than 70% of the Teach For Pakistan Alumni remain engaged with education reforms related fields. Teach For Pakistan’s mission of quality education for all focuses on whole child development to prepare future leadership to take Pakistan forward.
