If England’s footballers come up short in Brazil, they can rest assured there is a national team already celebrating some silverware this summer.
An England team triumphed recently at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association Masroor international T20 cricket tournament.
The side, made up from members of the Armadiyya Muslim community beat Canada on Abbey recreation ground in Morden to claim title.
The four-day competition consisted of 20 teams representing countries from the world, including Germany, USA, Canada, and Ireland.
It is the dream child of Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmed, the worldwide head of the Armadiyya Muslim community.
The weather-affected final, where England won the toss and elected to bat, was restricted to 14 overs.
Two disastrous run outs of Abdul Aziz and Qaiser Mahmood meant that England struggled early on.
Leading scorer for the tournament Zeeshan Naseer also went cheaply and it was left for Faizal Ahmed to revive the England team with some fine batting, backed up by man of the match Abid Ahmad (34) to post 84-9.
In reply, Canada needed 12 off the last over, but once again Shakir Ahmed held his nerve and, despite a six of the last ball, England restricted Canada to 82-7 to win by the narrowest of margins.
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