The Patron's Trophy was a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

competition that was held in Pakistan between 1960–61 and 2018–19 mainly among teams representing the government and semi-government departments, corporations, commercial organisations, business houses, banks, airlines, and educational institutions. Matches in the competition were afforded first-class status in most seasons until 2006–07, when the domestic first-class competition was reorganised and merged into the

Quaid-e-Azam Trophy The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket competition in Pakistan. With few exceptions, it has been staged annually since it was first played during the 1953–54 season. Domestic cricket in Pakistan has undergone many reorganis ...

by the

Pakistan Cricket Board The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan national cricket team. A member of the International Cricket Coun ...

(PCB). From then on, the Patron's Trophy was a Grade II competition until a major reorganisation of domestic cricket in 2019 brought an end to the competition. For the 2012–13 domestic season a new first-class competition, called the President's Trophy Grade I, was created for departments. It was announced as a renaming of the Patron's Trophy, and ran for just two seasons before the PCB merged the regions and departments back into a reorganised Quaid-i-Azam Trophy for the 2014–15 season.

History

The competition was founded in 1960–61 as the Ayub Trophy, named after then

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...

. In 1970–71 the competition was renamed the BCCP Trophy, and two years later it received the title BCCP Patron's Trophy, recognising its purpose as a competition for departmental teams, as opposed to the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy, which was primarily contested by teams from regional associations. A year later, in 1973–74, the

Pentangular Trophy The Pentangular Trophy was a first-class cricket competition that was held intermittently in Pakistan between 1973–74 and 2011–12. History The Pentangular Trophy was first contested in 1973–74. From 1977–78 through to 1979–80 it was known ...

was introduced, contested by the leading teams from both competitions. The Patron's Trophy has most often been contested by all departmental teams, but has been a mixed competition with regional associations and even all associations. Matches in the competition were afforded the first-class status until 2006–07 with the exception of between 1979 and 1983, and the 1999–2000 season. When it has not been a first-class competition, the Patron's Trophy has commonly acted as a qualifying competition for the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy by means of promotion and relegation.

Winners

References

{{Cricket in Pakistan Pakistani domestic cricket competitions Recurring sporting events established in 1960 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2019 Sports leagues established in 1960 Sports leagues disestablished in 2019 1960 establishments in Pakistan 2019 disestablishments in Pakistan First-class cricket competitions Defunct cricket competitions