Minaret defies the odds- Minaret College’s state championship-winning cricket team, back from

SPRINGVALE’S Minaret College is still celebrating after an improbable victory in Cricket Victoria’s Super 8s state championship last month.
Minaret’s talented group of Year 9 and 10 students cruised to a 54-run win over Balwyn High School in the grand final at Mentone Grammar’s Keysborough grounds on 31 October, becoming the first Islamic school in the country to win such a state title.
The eight-player side that represented Minaret in the final scored an astonishing 202 runs from its allotted eight overs and restricted Balwyn to 148.
Physical education teacher and team coach Mohamed Moustafa, a self-confessed cricket novice when he arrived in Australia from Egypt three years ago, said it was a remarkable feat for a school with such limited sporting facilities.
“We’re very proud of them,” Moustafa said.
“Not only to win the state championship, but to be the first Islamic school to do it is fantastic.”
Moustafa said most of the players were from Afghani and Pakistani backgrounds, so cricket had always been a popular lunchtime activity.