Cricket hopes for Morocco magic

South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will contest Morocco Cup

Where can you watch such cricket luminaries as Jonty Rhodes, Waqar Younis and Muttiah Muralitharan for free?

The answer is in Morocco.

The North African country makes its first foray into cricket on Monday when it hosts a nine-day triangular series.

Tangiers: Cricket's new venue

Morocco will not field a team, instead Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka will battle it out in Tangiers for the £165,000 prize - second only to the World Cup when it comes to prize money.

The game will grow in the future and Moroccan people will be more aware of cricket and I hope we will be able to achieve something

Mohinder Armanath

Cricket is a new phenomenon in Morocco - it was introduced only three years ago and boasts a mere 240 senior cricketers who play for just eight clubs.

But the Moroccan Cricket Federation is hoping the appeal will soon grow, especially with free tickets to see some of the greatest current cricketers on show.

But cricket is battling against football, tennis and athletics, which are all adored in Morocco.

The task of making cricket popular in Morocco has fallen to former Indian Test all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath.

Amarnath is helping develop cricket in Morocco

Amarnath is probably best remembered for his man of the match performance when India beat the West Indies in the World Cup final at Lord's in 1983.

He said: "Cricket in Morocco is like a new language.

"India has a cricket history of over 100 years.

"Here it started two years ago and they had no idea about the game so we started at the grass-roots level but now they know better.

"The game will grow in the future and people will be more aware of cricket and I hope we will be able to achieve something."

This historic event is an important milestone in the globalisation of the game and in its growth in Africa in particular

Percy Sonn

The tournament, from 12-21 August will be played in a new state-of-the-art stadium.

The multi-million pound, 5,000-seater stadium, overlooking the Straits of Gibraltar, includes five pitches for matches and another seven in the practice area.

The first match to be played there will be Pakistan versus South Africa, at 1030 BST on Monday.

Morocco is currently an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council but is attempting to gain associate status by the end of the year.

Runner Said Aouita is a hero in Morocco

If granted, it would allow Morocco to benefit from the ICC's development programme and funds to help in infrastructure and technical projects.

FRMC's media and communications manager Nick Jennings said he hoped the tournament would become an annual event.

He added: "Morocco can become the possible neutral venue for Test series matches if the tournament proves a success."

Percy Sonn, vice-president of the African Cricket Association, said Africa was the new zone for cricket.

"This historic event is an important milestone in the globalisation of the game and in its growth in Africa in particular." he said.