The 2002 Morocco Cup was a three-team

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 st ...

tournament which took place in

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

during August 2002. The tournament was the first occasion on which the highest level of international cricket had been played in North Africa.

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

competed in the competition, which was funded by Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, a wealthy business man from the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

. Sri Lanka beat South Africa in the final to scoop the $250,000 prize money. The tournament, in addition to attracting TV audiences to Bukhatir's

TEN Sports Sony Sports Network, formerly Sony Pictures Sports Network, and also known as Sony TEN, is a group of Indian pay television sports channels owned by Culver Max Entertainment (formerly Sony Pictures Networks India). The original TEN Sports chan ...

channel, promoted cricket in North Africa. All of the matches were played at the National Cricket Stadium in

, a purpose built ground which cost $4 million, most of which was spent on the grandstand. The organisers of the competition were so keen to avoid any accusations of match-fixing that they installed

closed-circuit television Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly tr ...

(CCTV) cameras in the team dressing rooms. During the group stage, Pakistan won only once; beating Sri Lanka in the second match of the tournament. Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in their other match, and defeated South Africa in both the side's group contests to finish top of the table. South Africa won both their matches against Pakistan to qualify for the final. In the final, Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 27 runs, led by a run-a-ball score of 71 from their captain

Sanath Jayasuriya Deshabandu Sanath Teran Jayasuriya ( si, සනත් ජයසූරිය, ta, சனத் ஜெயசூர்யா; born 30 June 1969), is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and a captain. He is credited for having revolutionized one-day in ...

, and two wickets from each of

Chaminda Vaas Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas (born 27 January 1974) is a former Sri Lankan international cricketer, who played all forms of the game, and a former ODI captain who is often described as the greatest fast medium bowl ...

Pulasthi Gunaratne Pulasthi Waruna Gunaratne (born 27 September 1973), known as Pulasthi Gunaratne, is a Sri Lankan former cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler. Playing career Already an experienced player at the time of his S ...

and

Muttiah Muralitharan Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan ( si, මුත්තයියා මුරලිදරන්, ta, முத்தையா முரளிதரன், also spelt Muralidaran; born 1972) is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, former professional c ...

. Jayasuriya finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer, aggregating 299 runs from his five appearances at an average of 59.80. Each of the top-three run-scorers were Sri Lankan; the highest Pakistani batsman was Yousuf Youhana whose 153 runs placed him fourth, while South African

Jacques Kallis Jacques Henry Kallis (born 16 October 1975) is a South African cricket coach and former cricketer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketers of all time and as South Africa's greatest batsman ever, he is a right-handed batsman and righ ...

was fifth with 141 runs. In contrast,

Waqar Younis Waqar Younis Maitla HI (Punjabi, ur, ; born 16 November 1971) is a Pakistani cricket coach, commentator and former cricketer who captained Pakistan national cricket team. A right-arm fast bowler, Waqar Younis is regarded as one of the great ...

of Pakistan took the most wickets, 11, followed by a pair of South Africans –

Allan Donald Allan Anthony Donald (born 20 October 1966) is a South African former cricketer who is also the current bowling coach of Bangladesh national cricket team. Often nicknamed 'White Lightning' due to his lightning quick bowling, he is considered ...

and

Lance Klusener Lance Klusener (born 4 September 1971) is an international cricket coach and former cricketer of South Africa. He was known for his aggressive batting and fast-medium swing bowling. Klusener was one of the best all-rounders in the world during ...

, who took 10 and 9 respectively.

Upul Chandana Deshabandu Umagiliya Durage Upul Chandana (born 7 May 1972), popularly known as Upul Chandana, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who played both Tests and ODIs. He was more specifically a leg spin bowler and was also an outstanding fielder. Unfo ...

and

were the leading Sri Lankans, claiming 8 wickets apiece.

Group stage

Table

''Key: Pld = Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, Pts = Points, NRR =

Net run rate Net run rate (NRR) is a statistical method used in analysing teamwork and/or performance in cricket. It is the most commonly used method of ranking teams with equal points in limited overs league competitions, similar to goal difference in foo ...

.'' Notes:
Teams marked progressed to the final of the competition.

Fixtures

1st match

2nd match

3rd match

4th match

5th match

6th match

Final

References

External links

{{International cricket in 2002 Morocco Cup, 2002 International cricket competitions in 2002 Cricket in Morocco 2002 in Moroccan sport