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.”
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Date: Sunday, November 25
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
The biog
Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
Hobbies: audiobooks and fitness: she works out every day, enjoying kickboxing and basketball
Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
Price: Dh3,179
Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Brave CF 27 fight card
Welterweight:
Abdoul Abdouraguimov (champion, FRA) v Jarrah Al Selawe (JOR)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (TUN) v Alex Martinez (CAN)
Welterweight:
Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA) v Khamzat Chimaev (SWE)
Middleweight:
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Rustam Chsiev (RUS)
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) v Christofer Silva (BRA)
Super lightweight:
Alex Nacfur (BRA) v Dwight Brooks (USA)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) v Tariq Ismail (CAN)
Chris Corton (PHI) v Zia Mashwani (PAK)
Featherweight:
Sulaiman (KUW) v Abdullatip (RUS)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) v Mohammad Al Katib (JOR)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The specs
Price: From Dh529,000
Engine: 5-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 520hp
Torque: 625Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
The Kites
Romain Gary
Penguin Modern Classics
The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
UAE Rugby finals day
Games being played at The Sevens, Dubai
2pm, UAE Conference final
Dubai Tigers v Al Ain Amblers
4pm, UAE Premiership final
Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
