The country is finally going to provide a platform for young cricketers to display their talents with the launch of competitions for Under 14 and Under 16 teams.
To begin with, they will be staged at schools in Abu Dhabi and then, with the backing of Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, Minister of Higher Education and the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) chairman, across all emirates.
The ECB chief executive Dilawar Mani admits there is a need to structure all competitions if they are to unearth some real talent and give young players the chance to test themselves competitively.
"School cricket was a long-felt need but for some reason or another, it never got started in Abu Dhabi," he says. "Now is the time to get it going.
"We have drawn up a plan and will circulate information to the schools to fix dates for the Under 14 and 16 tournaments. We are not going to stop at that; the winners or the top two or three teams will qualify to play in an inter-emirate competition.
"Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak has a strong focus on the development of school cricket. The goal is to ensure that the UAE can grow the youth talent to compete at international levels.
"He also has an extremely keen interest in the operation of the ECB and he wants the affairs to be managed with high standards of corporate governance. He wants more unification of cricket formats and playing conditions across the country."
Mani says the Zayed Cricket Academy will also play an important role. The academy boasts more than 600 registered students and three of them - Syed Ammar Abdi, Zubin Ghyara and Shaib Nasir - have gone on to represent the UAE in various age groups.
"There is a greater demand from people to play cricket since the academy was established. Now inter-school cricket is the best way for the sport to move forward," added Mani.
"There are some fine players in the academy and they are ready to help develop the school tournaments. Some of them are well exposed enough, from the opportunities they have got through the academy, to even play against visiting schools from the UK and South Africa if that happens."
Cricket started to be played in the capital in a more organised format when the Abu Dhabi Cricket Council was established in 1989. However, the sport was only played among adults as a recreation sport. A few private companies then recruited first-class cricketers from the subcontinent for the games to become more competitive.
However, the game at the grassroots level remained ignored. The ECB hope all that will change with the new initiative as the schools would include cricket as part of their extra-curricular activities.
Mani's focus will be on evolving strategies to develop the sport at all levels, particularly in introducing the game to Emiratis, promoting women's cricket and unifying the governance across all regional councils.
"These are some of key issues we need to address," added Mani. "There is no dearth in the interest and the game's popularity. But we need to work harder to improve the quality of the players and attract the Emiratis, which we haven't been able to do."
apassela@thenational.ae
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
England squad
Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Dominic Bess, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Lewis Gregory, Keaton Jennings, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Amar Virdi, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
FA Cup fifth round draw
Sheffield Wednesday v Manchester City
Reading/Cardiff City v Sheffield United
Chelsea v Shrewsbury Town/Liverpool
West Bromwich Albion v Newcastle United/Oxford United
Leicester City v Coventry City/Birmingham City
Northampton Town/Derby County v Manchester United
Southampton/Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich City
Portsmouth v Arsenal
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
