The Netherlands’ sizeable Pakistani community will strut its stuff at Voorburg’s Westvliet ground this Sunday, at the second annual Pakistan Community Cricket Championship Cup.

Starting at 10 a.m., the tournament will feature six sides, two drawn from the Pakistani communities in each of the major cities, Amsterdam, Den Haag and Rotterdam. They will play 6-over matches, initially in two groups and culminating in crossover semi-finals and a final.

The chairman of the organising committee, Voorburg’s Mohsin Salman, says that the aims are to bring the community together and to provide a good family day out with short and exciting matches involving the best Pakistani players in the country.

Those involved in setting up the event include Dutch international Mudassar Bukhari and ex-international Zulfiqar Ahmed.

‘The short format is very popular nowadays,’ Salman says, ‘and these games will be good both for the players and the spectators. The players will certainly be trying to hit as many boundaries as they can.’

The tournament has the backing of the Pakistani embassy, and sponsors from the business community. The matches will be played in coloured clothing, using the experimental pink balls.

Nor will the action be confined to the field: there will be a lottery, with prizes including tickets for city trips to Milan and Barcelona, there will be music provided by a DJ, and the spectators will be able to sample the delights of Pakistani cuisine.

‘Last year’s event attracted a crowd of 200,’ says Salman, ‘and we’re hoping that this time the event will be even bigger.’

The tournament comes at an extremely interesting moment, with the KNCB’s recently-published policy document expressing concern about the ‘two cultures’ in Dutch cricket, and a general election taking place in which issues like immigration and integration are one of the main areas of contention.

Approached in the right way, cricket can be a powerful instrument for bringing Dutch communities together, and it is to be hoped that Sunday’s event will not only involve the Pakistanis, but attract the interest and support of cricket fans more generally.