Cricket Arena CIC

‍Big Bash Indoor Cricket League levelled-up in 2018: six teams, triple the matches and a full media crew streaming every ball. Crowd favourites Molvi Sixers topped the table yet kept their “chokers” tag; 6 Shotterz—inspired by player-of-the-series Basharat Ali—pinched the trophy off the very last ball. With 50% more players, 10,000+ YouTube views and a volunteer committee running the show, BBICL showed what’s possible when a cold sports hall meets a hot-blooded community.

BBICL 2018

Venue:

Yorkshire Muslim Academy (YMA) – Sheffield

Dates:

Molvi Sixers · Hit & Run · 6 Shotterz · Knights Watchmen · Darnall Dynamites · Batsman & Robin

Structure & Format:

Round-robin, Semi-finals & Final · 12-over innings · Windball indoor

Teams:

Molvi Sixers · Hit & Run · 6 Shotterz · Knights Watchmen · Darnall Dynamites · Batsman & Robin

Results:

6 Shotterz (champions) · Molvi Sixers (runner-up)

Highlights

Bitter sweet rivalry

Molvi Sixers ripped through the league stage: 8 wins from 10, the first four on the bounce—until Hit & Run reminded everyone who wrecked last year’s final. That one stung, even if the later slip to Batsman & Robin was just background noise.
Revenge served cold: finishing top threw Molvi Sixers straight into a Qualifier rematch with Hit & Run. One wicket, last ball—Molvi Sixers won a direct ticket to the final.

Outlying scores

Same skiddy laminate, wildly different returns. Week 3: Darnall Dynamites bundled out for 15 all out after two confident wins. Week 4: Batsman & Robin nearly doubled the hall average, smashing 120-2 in 12 overs—highest across both seasons—in a 51-run stomp over Knights Watchmen. Maybe that cracked window really did make one week “bowler-friendly,” the next “batter-friendly”…

Calm heads under pressure

Six Shotterz only finished third but lived for nail-biters. Debut skipper Basharat Ali—finally playing the league he founded—kept the lads ice-cool: four wins by one wicket, including the final. Last man Azeem Mohammed stroked the winning run with one ball left. Pressure? What pressure.

One-man show in the Qualifier

Hit & Run posted 64; Sixers crumbled to 5-4. Enter Zobair Khaliq—45* (39) of pure grit, while Mohammed “Uncle T” Tariq blocked 11 off 24 at the other end. One to win off the last ball: Zobair cut, crowd invaded—Sixers home by the barest margin. Full drama in the highlight reel below.

Bigger & better

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2017 was just the starter; 2018 was the main. After a year of WhatsApp haggling, graphic-designing new logos and talent-searching, lads turned up feeling like proper clubs, not pick-up sides. Rivalries had history now, shocks actually hurt, and every week someone new stepped up, earned respect, and left with a few more mates supporting them.

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Family-friendly

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We had 16-year-old Muneeb Khatana tearing through line-ups with 4 for 14, his skipper Arslan Khalid smashing the league’s first indoor fifty, and father-and-son duo Mohammed and Haroon Tariq stacking 240 runs to drag Molvi Sixers into the final. Teenagers and dads—same hall, same buzz. BBICL really is for everyone to enjoy.

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Designed for digital

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First indoor league (as far as we know) with live commentary. Different voices each Friday, CricClubs scoring on everyone’s phones, dressing-room gossip piped straight to YouTube. Add it all up and the 2018 playlist passed 10,000 views. Proof that a cold Sheffield hall can still entertain an online crowd —when everyone shows up.

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Stand-out players

Award

Player

Team

Numbers

Most Runs

Zobair Khaliq

Molvi Sixers

232 runs @ 29.00

Best Strike Rate

Zobair Khaliq

Molvi Sixers

124.73 SR (8 x 6s, 11 x 4s)

MVP & Most Wickets

Basharat Ali

6 Shotterz

14 wkts & 4 MoM’s

Best Economy

Hamzah Younis

Molvi Sixers

4.18 rpo

Best Wicket Keeper

Mazar Sharif

Hit & Run

10 wk catches & 8 stumpings

View full stats from BBICL 2018 →

Presentation ceremony

“There were four of us in the commentary box, and when 6 Shotterz still needed 54 off the last five overs we’d written them off. But Shohaib Khaliq and Azeem Mohammed held their nerve and dragged it over the line.”

Arslan Khalid

—Commentator & Presenter

"We had a par score and considering our bowling attack I definitely felt that we could have defended that score. I think the 'choker' label has rightly been put upon us. Never underestimate your opponent. We did that, and that led to our downfall. We’ll have a consultation, analyse our mistakes, and come back stronger.”

Adnan Mohammed

—Runner-up Captain (Molvi Sixers)

"See ball, hit ball. I love to talk - I expect it back, so I'm used to staying cool under pressure"

Azeem Mohammed

—Player of the Final

What's next?

After the popularity of this competition, organisers are planning a Cup tournament in early 2019—the best of BBICL, but shorter and sharper (two fewer teams) and more intense, with the same Friday-night vibes. Stay tuned.

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