The Emirates Cricket Board is looking to promote women's cricket during the Emirates D10. Reem Mohammed / The National
The Emirates Cricket Board is looking to promote women's cricket during the Emirates D10. Reem Mohammed / The National
The Emirates Cricket Board is looking to promote women's cricket during the Emirates D10. Reem Mohammed / The National
The Emirates Cricket Board is looking to promote women's cricket during the Emirates D10. Reem Mohammed / The National

Emirates D10 to feature women's match as curtain-raiser for final


Paul Radley
  • English
  • Arabic

The second season of the Emirates D10 will include a women’s fixture as a curtain-raiser for the final.

The Emirates Cricket Board have confirmed the 10-over competition, which was launched just after lockdown last year, will return, starting on Wednesday, March 24, in Sharjah.

The tournament will be livestreamed on Facebook, and will involve six teams from across the Emirates.

ECB Blues, the inaugural winners last summer, will start the campaign with a fixture against Dubai at 5pm on Wednesday. The final on Monday, April 5, will be preceded by a women’s “exhibition” match.

“Emirates Cricket and [commercial partners] ITW are firmly focused on developing women’s cricket across the region with this being the first such initiative toward building a strong UAE women’s team for the future,” the ECB said in a statement.

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Usman hits winning run in 2020 D10 final

  • Mohammed Usman hit the winning run for ECB Blues against Fujairah in the final of the Emirates D10. All pictures Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Mohammed Usman hit the winning run for ECB Blues against Fujairah in the final of the Emirates D10. All pictures Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • ECB Blues win the Emirates D10 after the final against Fujairah in Dubai
    ECB Blues win the Emirates D10 after the final against Fujairah in Dubai
  • Fujairah's Waseem Muhammad takes the wicket of Blues' Muhammad Boota
    Fujairah's Waseem Muhammad takes the wicket of Blues' Muhammad Boota
  • Blue's Kashif Daud in action
    Blue's Kashif Daud in action
  • Fujairah's Waseem Muhammad takes the wicket of Blues' Muhammad Boota
    Fujairah's Waseem Muhammad takes the wicket of Blues' Muhammad Boota
  • Blue's Muhammad Boota bats
    Blue's Muhammad Boota bats
  • Fujairah's Luqman Hazrat runs out Blues' Rohan Mustafa
    Fujairah's Luqman Hazrat runs out Blues' Rohan Mustafa
  • Fujairah's Luqman Hazrat runs out Blues' Rohan Mustafa
    Fujairah's Luqman Hazrat runs out Blues' Rohan Mustafa
  • Fujairah's Luqman Hazrat bats during the game
    Fujairah's Luqman Hazrat bats during the game
  • Fujairah's Luqman Hazrat bats during the game
    Fujairah's Luqman Hazrat bats during the game
  • Fujairah's Luqman Hazrat in action
    Fujairah's Luqman Hazrat in action
  • Blues' Adhitya Shetty bowls
    Blues' Adhitya Shetty bowls
  • Blues' Rohan Mustafa takes the wicket of Fujairah's Rishab Mukherjee
    Blues' Rohan Mustafa takes the wicket of Fujairah's Rishab Mukherjee
  • Blues' Muhammad Boota runs out Fujairah's Basil Hameed
    Blues' Muhammad Boota runs out Fujairah's Basil Hameed
  • Blues' Sultan Ahmad takes the wicket of Fujairah's Iqrar Shah
    Blues' Sultan Ahmad takes the wicket of Fujairah's Iqrar Shah
  • Blues' Muhammad Ayaz takes the wicket of Fujairah's Ali Shan Sharafu
    Blues' Muhammad Ayaz takes the wicket of Fujairah's Ali Shan Sharafu

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“This initiative dovetails well into ICC’s recently launched ‘100 per cent Cricket’ programme and their pledge to build interest and bring 1million new women and girls to the game.”

Khalid Al Zarooni, the vice chairman of the ECB, added that “we are extremely excited to bring our talented women’s players into our flagship tournament.”

Dr Tayeb Kamali, the chairman of selectors for the UAE, hopes the competition will provide a platform for talented young players.

“We are delighted that our efforts in conceptualising and delivering D10 and D20 tournaments have helped discover unique home-grown talent,” Kamali said in a statement.

“We have high expectations for these players to develop and perform at both national and international tournaments.

“We are also very keen to see women in the UAE participate and compete in the inaugural tournament as it provides an excellent platform to continue to fine-tune their skills.”

If you go

The flights

Fly direct to London from the UAE with Etihad, Emirates, British Airways or Virgin Atlantic from about Dh2,500 return including taxes. 

The hotel

Rooms at the convenient and art-conscious Andaz London Liverpool Street cost from £167 (Dh800) per night including taxes.

The tour

The Shoreditch Street Art Tour costs from £15 (Dh73) per person for approximately three hours. 

The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

If you go

The flights

There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.

The trip

Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.

The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.