Imams and Clergy Cricket match

 On Saturday 12 July 2008, the Annual interfaith Twenty/20 Cricket match between Imams and Clergy of Leicestershire took place at the County Grounds in Glenfield, Leicestershire.

The match was organised by St. Philip’s Centre and the Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO) alongside Leicestershire County Council.

Christians and Muslims from Leicester pioneered the idea of a cricket match two years ago and the match has now become an important annual feature in Leicester’s inter faith calendar. The match was attended by civic dignitaries including the Lord Mayor of Leicester, Councillor Manjoola Sood, Chairman of Leicestershire County Council, Tony Kershaw, a number of district council Mayors, Leicestershire Constabulary Assistant Chief Constable Chris Eyre and representatives from Leicester City Council.

Suleman Nagdi MBE, DL, Public Relations Officer of the FMO said: “The Twenty/20 match was testimony to the Muslim community’s commitment to promoting peace. I welcome the involvement of the Imam’s who participated in this activity once again and hopefully they dispelled some of the myths associated with them.”

Canon Dr. Andrew Wingate, Director of St. Philip’s Centre said, “The match symbolises the friendships and trust which has been established between the Christian and Muslim communities in our county. Events of this sort are very much needed when one considers the situation around the world”.

 The Imams won the match by 35 runs but both sides agreed that promoting community relations was the ultimate winner. Khalil Patel, captain of the Imams who scored 25 runs said, “This was a wonderful occasion which was full of fun. It was a perfect example for the whole world that we can enjoy life together whatever our background”. Robin Rolls who took 2 wickets for 14 runs added, “The atmosphere was good and it was great to see so many families out enjoying the day”. One of the Umpires was Ramesh Majithia, a Hindu who has been a long-time supporter of inter faith work. He backed up the sentiments by saying that “It was wonderful to be part of the Twenty/20 match which did so much symbolically to build bridges and break down barriers”.  

St Philip’s Centre, Leicestershire County Council and the Federation of Muslim Organisations are now looking forward to another event next year. Individuals and organisations wanting to find out more about the inter faith activities run by the St Philip’s Centre, should contact the centre on 0116 2733459

For more information:

Suleman Nagdi Tel: 0775 944 6555

Shanthi Hettiarachchi Tel: 07878 292 809