DUBAI // The Sharjah cricket officials plan to make their famous old ground a hub for Twenty20 cricket, but admit the recent reports linking them with the new Champions League were wide of the mark.
It was reported in the UK press at the end of July that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) were planning to inaugurate a new cash-rich Twenty20 league in the Middle East, to rival one set up by the Indian board.
One London newspaper stated the ECB were close to striking a deal to secure Abu Dhabi backing for the event and were "ready to finance the new league to the tune of £750 million over 10 years".
Those claims were dismissed as inaccurate by the Abu Dhabi cricket chief Dilawar Mani.
The respected cricket website Cricinfo then reported that Sharjah was the ECB's new venue of choice - a story which surprised the stadium's officials.
The Sharjah Cricket Council, and Emirates Cricket Board administrator Mazhar Khan was in Malaysia, with the UAE's ACC Trophy tour party, when the news broke of Sharjah's surprising return to prominence.
"It was news to me," said Mazhar. "First they said it was going to be held in Abu Dhabi, and that the royal family were involved. I don't know.
"Cricket is so tied up these days, in terms of getting hold of international teams. It is so difficult.
"If there is any opportunity of these teams coming, then definitely - we would look forward to it. But when are these teams available? That is the issue."
Between 1984 and 2003, the Sharjah Cricket Stadium hosted 198 one-day internationals - still a record for any ground.
However, hectic schedules and a brief Indian government-imposed ban on their national team playing "off-shore" matches stemmed the flow of matches in the emirate.
In Aug 2006, Sharjah officials revealed plans to host a Twenty20 club championship, a precursor and less-vaunted version of the Champions League.
"We want to have international cricket again at our ground," Zahid Noorani, a Sharjah stadium official, commented at the time.
"We will invite the champion Twenty20 teams from Test-playing nations in January before the World Cup [in 2009 in the West Indies]."
The event never took place, and has since been superseded by a new, India-backed version, the first edition of which is now planned to take place in Mohali, Delhi and Jaipur in December.
Mazhar is keen to tap in to the Twenty20 boom, and believes the atmospheric Sharjah ground will be perfectly suited to the abbreviated form.
However, the packed international calendar remains the main impediment to their plans. He added: "Twenty20 is moving in different directions. Now they are talking about club cricket, a Champions League for the domestic champions, but I really don't know. For the Champions League, you have to get hold of eight teams, who consist of international players.
"With the international calendar so tied up, I think a lot of countries are struggling to get hold of a slot - even for those events that they had announced.
"We have to wait and see how things move forward from here, rather than just raising our hands and saying 'Yes, we can do it'."
pradley@thenational.ae
The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
