Yorkshire Cricket Foundation is celebrating Ramadan with a special community competition.
The YCF is hosting its second Yorkshire Ramadan Cup, in partnership with the vital ‘Check-in With Your Mate’ campaign – with the event providing the opportunity for people in the community to pray together, play cricket together, and eat together, on Saturday, 25 March, at Wakefield Football Centre.
VIDEO:🎬 What does Ramadan mean to you?
The Tapeball competition, held in the month of Ramadan, will see eight teams across the region play in 30 ball matches and will welcome special guests Kabir Ali, the former England international and current assistant coach for Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC) and Mohammad Azharullah, the former Northamptonshire County Cricket Club cricketer and current high-performance coach for YCCC.
Leeds Strikers, Hull Royals, Bradford Swat, Manchester Malangs, Kirklees Kings 11, Kirklees PB, Sheffield Steelers and Rotherham Rangers, will battle it out on the cricket field, showcasing their skills, and demonstrating their love for the game.
The YCF is hosting its second Yorkshire Ramadan Cup, in partnership with the vital ‘Check-in With Your Mate campaign – with eight teams vying for the coveted trophy.
Sohail Raz, Diverse Communities Manager for YCF, who has helped organise the community competition, said: “The Ramadan Tapeball Cup is a brilliant initiative in a shortened tape-ball format of 30 balls per innings that keeps everyone on their toes.
“With Ramadan coming earlier and earlier every year, this year it will be played indoors and though it will be competitive, there will be a nice community feel with members of the community fasting, playing, praying and breaking their fasts together to create a real family atmosphere.”
The YCF has partnered with the ‘Check-in With Your Mate’ campaign as part of the Yorkshire Ramadan Cup celebrations to raise awareness of the risk factors that may lead to suicide, inspiring people to start conversations, about mental health with the men in their life at home, in the community and at work, as well as signposting to local support, with all participants receiving a free goodie bag on the day.
The event promises to be a day filled with fun, excitement, and togetherness and there is the opportunity for participants and members of the community to pray together and take part in an iftar meal.
Pictured, participants at last year’s community event enjoy a meal together, with the meal known as iftar – which is taken directly after sunset.
Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. The overall purpose of the fast is to gain Taqwa (which means to gain piety or God-consciousness). This is achieved through an increase in prayers, reading the Qur’an, self-reflection and self-discipline.
This year, in the UK Ramadan 2023 will begin in the evening of Wednesday, 22 March and end the evening of Friday, 21 April.
The dates of Ramadan and Eid depend on the moon cycle, and when the new crescent moon is first sighted, so these dates can vary slightly.
Ramadan is followed by the festival of Eid al Fitr (or Eid-ul-Fitr), a celebration to mark the end of Ramadan, which is expected to fall on Friday, 21 April or Saturday, 22 April, after the end of the annual fast.
Tapeball is a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape and is used in playing backyard cricket. This modification of the tennis ball gives it greater weight, speed and distance while still being easier to play with than the conventional cricket ball.
The increasing popularity of the tape ball in informal, local cricket has transformed the way games are played.
The Yorkshire Ramadan Cup event is just one of the initiatives Yorkshire Cricket is showcasing this month to highlight and support Ramadan 2023.
Stay tuned to Yorkshire Cricket Foundation social media channels for the latest content.
Yorkshire Ramadan Cup 2023
- Match play starts: 3:45 PM
- Semi-finals start: 4.30 PM
- Asr prayer: 5.20pm followed by the final and presentation.
- Maghib prayer: 6:31 PM
- Iftar Meal: 6.45 PM
