Dubai cricket fans are being promised a feast of runs and thrilling entertainment when the Emirates Airline Twenty20 gets underway at The Sevens cricket ground on Friday.
This year’s tournament is likely to serve up plenty of spectacular action with the likes of Indian legend Sourav Ganguly, England spinner Monty Panesar and Kiwi batsman Lou Vincent all in the mix.
County champions Nottinghamshire will be taking on Durham, Sussex and defending champions Fly Emirates XI as well as a specially assembled MCC side captained by Ganguly.
“It gives me great pleasure to welcome Durham, Sussex, Nottinghamshire and the MCC to Dubai for what promises to be an entertaining spectacle of sport,” said Richard Vaughan, Emirates’ DSVP Commercial Operations Worldwide.
“We are also looking forward to watching our very own Fly Emirates XI side get the tournament under way in the opening match here at 7he Sevens, Emirates’ dedicated sports and events facility. The cricket pitches have been in operation for a year now and are in top condition, so the stage is set for a great day of sport.
“Fly Emirates XI are the defending champions after beating Sussex in the final last year and our players - talented employees from the Emirates Group who juggle their love for cricket with busy work schedules - are excited about once again being able to test themselves against top professionals,” added Vaughan.
Ganguly, who last played for the MCC against Pakistan, said: "It is an honour and a pleasure to represent MCC, and I am absolutely delighted to have been invited to play for the club in the Emirates Airline Twenty20 competition.”.
“I thoroughly enjoyed captaining the MCC side that took on the Pakistanis at Lord's last summer, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to play in another talented MCC team.”
Also looking forward to the challenge is Sussex’s Monty Panesar, who was part of England’s Ashes winning squad last season.
“All the squad at Sussex are very much looking forward to the pre-season trip to Dubai and in particular the Emirates Airline Twenty20 tournament, as it will be great to get into some competitive action before the new season in England,” said Panesar.
“We did well to get to the final of the tournament last year and we’ll be looking to go one better this time around,” he added.
The Durham team, which features the likes of Steve Harmison, Ian Blackwell and Phil Mustard, are equally fired up for the tournament and will be tough to beat.
“The lads always go in to every competition wanting to win and this competition is no different. Winning is a habit and one we want to get in to straight away. We’re going to be up against tough opposition but we’ll be putting in every effort to bring the trophy back to the north east,” said Harmison.
Meanwhile, county champions Nottinghamshire will be looking to continue their fine form from last season when they step out onto the pitch at The Sevens.
“We take Twenty20 cricket very seriously and one of our objectives for this season is to reach finals day in our domestic competition. The quality of the opposition in the Emirates Airline Twenty20 is very high and it goes without saying that we’re keen to win the competition,” said Notts captain Chris Read.
Matches begin at The Sevens at 10.30am on Friday. Another highlight for fans heading to the tournament will be the presence of former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, who has been selected to captain the Kings XI Punjab in this year’s IPL.
Gilchrist is lending his support to the Emirates Airline Twenty20 and will be at The Sevens to take in some of the action at the April 1 event as well as meeting fans and signing autographs. He will be joined by Kings XI Punjab teammates Dinesh Karthik, who has represented India in 52 ODIs and 23 Tests, and Shaun Marsh of Australia.
Also running alongside the Emirates Airline Twenty20 will be an Under-11s Kwik Cricket tournament. Friends and families of the school children participating in this fun tournament are expected to come and cheer them on, adding to the festive atmosphere.
“There is plenty to look forward to at this year’s Emirates Airline Twenty20 with a great line-up of players who are certain to provide some excellent entertainment,” said Tournament Director Matthew Jackson. “With the kids tournament running alongside the main event as well, this certainly promises to be a true carnival of cricket,” he added.
Tickets to the Emirates Airline Twenty20 on Friday are Dh25 with children under 12 gaining free admission provided they are accompanied by a parent or guardian. Seating is on grass banks and fans are being encouraged to bring along their own garden chairs and sun umbrellas.
Tickets are available from the Promoseven Sports Marketing offices in the Emarat Atrium Building, Sheikh Zayed Road and will also be on sale at the gate at The Sevens ground, which is located on the Dubai - Al Ain Road just beyond Exit 29/30, on the day of the tournament. For any enquiries regarding the event, call the Promoseven Sports Marketing offices on +971 4 321 0008.
For more information on the tournament, log on to www.emiratest20.com.
Squads
Durham: Dale Benkenstein, Ian Blackwell, Scott Borthwick, Ruel Brathwaite, Gareth Breese, Mitchell Claydon, Kyle Coetzer, Mark Davies, Michael Di Venuto, Ben Harmison, Stephen Harmison, Gordon Muchall, Philip Mustard, Graham Onions, Liam Plunkett, Michael Richardson, Christopher Rushworth, William Smith, Mark Stoneman, Callum Thorp.
Fly Emirates XI: Aziz Abbas, Rehan Adil, Rizwan Ahmed, Arshad Ali, Lalith Dahayanake, Saby Fernandes, Bruce Fernando, Nizel Gilbert, Mohamed Imran, Muhammad Iqbal, Javid Ismail, Amjed Javed, Ivan John, Khuram Khan, Shoeb Muljiani, Mohammed Shareef, Amar Sharma, Gaurav Sharma, Yasin Sikander, Waqar Ul Hassan.
MCC: Omar Ali, Sourav Ganguly, Steven Davies, Hamid Hassan, Gary Keedy, Steve Kirby, Dawid Malan, Stephen Moore, Mohammad Nabi, Stephen Peters, Toby Roland-Jones, Chris Rogers.
Nottinghamshire: Jake Ball, Alistair Brown, Andrew Carter, Neil Edwards, Scott Elstone, Luke Fletcher, Paul Franks, Alex Hales, Steven Mullaney, Akhil Patel, Samit Patel,Brett Hutton, Chris Read, Charlie Shreck, Mark Wagh, Sam Wood.
Sussex: James Anyon, William Beer, Ben Brown, Joe Gatting, Naveed Arif Gondal, Lewis Hatchett, Andrew Hodd, Mohammad Amjad Khan, Christopher Liddle, Matthew Machan, Christopher Nash, Monty Panesar, Luke Radford, Lou Vincent, Luke Wells, Kirk Wernars.
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