Abu Dhabi to stage seven new community cricket tournaments during 2021/22 season

Abu Dhabi T20 Community Cup the flagship event of calendar which comprises tournaments for men, women, and children

The Abu Dhabi T20 Community Cup semi-finals and final will be played at the Tolerance Oval. Khushnum Bhandari/ The National

Abu Dhabi Cricket and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council on Wednesday announced seven new community cricket tournaments for the 2021/22 season, led by the inaugural Abu Dhabi T20 Community Cup.

The calendar encompasses a variety of different formats, while serving the entire cricket community - from children to adults, including events for both men and women.

The T20 Community Cup is a new 28-team headline event, which spans over eight weekends and boasts a prize money pool of Dh50,000 on offer for the participating teams. It starts on December 3, with the semi-finals and final to be played on the Tolerance Oval and to be livestreamed.

“Abu Dhabi Sports Council is determined to ensure sport is as accessible and affordable as possible, while keeping the emirate healthy, and this calendar of domestic cricket does just that,” Aref Al Awani, general secretary of the sports council, said.

An eight-team Nations Cup will see players represent their respective countries and, along with the 24-team Abu Dhabi Ramadan Rumble, will be played in a 20-over format.

The League of Schools and Abu Dhabi T10 Super Cup will be 10-over tournaments, with dedicated categories for both men and women.

The schools tournament will feature 10 teams from Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, while there is a first for women's cricket in the 10-team Abu Dhabi T10 Super Cup, which will host its inaugural women's tournament across Community Ovals 1 and 2.

The season will wrap up with the Super 60 Sixes, a six-a-side tape-ball community tournament open to men and women over 16 years old, with a maximum participation of 60 local teams.

“There has never been a better time for community cricket in the UAE to build upon the success of the Indian Premier League and ICC Men's T20 World Cup taking place in the country,” Matt Boucher, CEO of Abu Dhabi Cricket, said.

“We’re aware that our hosting of international tournaments has curtailed the last few editions of many community tournaments, but we’re thrilled to be back with a bang!"

The new community cricket ovals are being constructed over the original sand grounds, with new artificial grass and cement wickets providing community upgrade.

Each oval will have minimum 60-metre boundaries and will be available for use by all cricketers in the UAE at https://booking.abudhabicricket from December 1.