Ten years ago, there was not a single grass cricket field in Oman.
Even today, there are only two, side by side on a patch of ground next to a wadi, in a small town called Al Amerat, around 18kms from the main city centre of Muscat.
And yet, when ICC and Indian cricket officials breezed into the Oman Cricket Academy earlier this summer, they had no qualms about signing off on staging the opening match of their next World Cup there.
Oman will host six preliminary round matches at the T20 World Cup, spread across three nights on October 17, 19 and 21.
It will be far removed from the days when the only cricket played was on a cement wicket in the middle of some sand or gravel.
The sides who will be vying for the two qualification places from that group – Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, and hosts Oman – will find a well-appointed venue, in a gorgeous setting, awaiting them.
Some of the facilities were there before the World Cup came calling. There is an oval neighbouring the main field which is also ICC-accredited for international cricket, outdoor nets, as well as a seven-lane indoor net area.
Substantial upgrades have been set in motion by the decision to bring the World Cup to the country, too.
Given confirmation only came at the end of June, there has been a race against time to get the ground ready.
“When we first stepped in, the ground was like a clubhouse getting ready for a club tournament,” said Damodar Katti, an architectural design consultant who is one of the two project managers overseeing the upgrades.
“One Saturday morning I got a call saying, ‘This is where you need to work’.
“A document was given to us, which was our briefing, then together we master-planned this whole thing.
“When ICC came in and we presented it, we were so happy to hear from them that 80 per cent of their requirements we could capture in one go.
“The other 20 per cent were small modifications. The only concern we had was how to execute it within a short duration.”
Katti reckons the work required by the project would usually take five months to complete, but “we can actually complete it in 11 weeks, because of the effort which has gone in from all of us”.
He estimates that, with just under a month until the first ball, more than 75 per cent of the work is already complete.
Although he is an avid cricket fan, Katti has never previously worked on a project related to the sport.
At least his co-project manager, Rupak Udeshi, has some background in the subject, having served a similar role when the turf fields were first installed, back in 2012-13.
“I’ve been involved with cricket in Oman for more than three decades,” said Udeshi, another Indian national, who is the general manager of a Muscat-based construction company.
“The grounds for most of that time were mud grounds. These grounds, with the grass fields, were done by me.”
The wicket table is based on clay imported from Pakistan. The paspalum grass was grown in Barka, a farming town around an hour from Muscat, on the coast road which leads towards UAE.
The first major modification they attended to was to upgrade the floodlights to meet with the broadcast demands of staging the World Cup.
Thanks to the influence of Pankaj Khimji, one of Oman’s leading captains of industry who heads up cricket in the country, fittings for the floodlights were airfreighted in from Bangalore at short notice.
The pylons themselves are manufactured in Muscat. The floodlights now have illumination capacity of 3,100 lux, which far exceeds the minimum standard expected for broadcast at ICC events.
Temporary stands are in the process of being added. Four, holding 672 spectators each, will line the boundary, with a smaller one holding 320 is to be installed next to a DJ booth.
The other new structure is a stand at the northern end of the ground, for media and corporate customers, which is the only permanent stand to be added for the T20 World Cup. It will take the capacity for the matches to around 4,100.
Construction for the new north stand continued throughout the one-day series which have been taking place at the ground in recent weeks.
It meant the workers had to keep their wits about them when Jaskaran Malhotra was hitting six sixes in an over for United States earlier in the month – most in their general direction.
Malhotra’s feat was captured by a three-camera feed for an online stream. When the World Cup starts, there will be 39 cameras on site.
Despite all the challenges, those involved have been thrilled to be part of the project.
“It has been a journey we have cherished a lot,” Katti said.
“It is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and we feel very privileged to be part of it.
“We are excited, and want to help everything go smoothly to make it a successful event for Oman.”
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
SQUADS
Bangladesh (from): Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mahmudullah Riyad, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Taijul Islam, Mosaddek Hossain, Nayeem Hasan, Mehedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadat Hossain, Abu Jayed
Afghanistan (from): Rashid Khan (capt), Ihsanullah Janat, Javid Ahmadi, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Ikram Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Qais Ahmad, Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, Yamin Ahmadzai, Zahir Khan Pakteen, Afsar Zazai, Shapoor Zadran
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Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
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