Sport | Cricket
Abu Dhabi players relishing chance to showcase skills against Ireland
The Abu Dhabi Cricket Council XI will take on Ireland in a day-night one-day encounter to be played at the Zayed International Cricket Stadium today.
- By M. Satya Narayan, Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:41 March 11, 2008
- Image Credit: Abdul Rahman/Gulf News
- Trent Johnston, the captain of Ireland, will be one of the major threats to the Abu Dhabi team's hopes.
Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Cricket Council XI will take on Ireland in a day-night one-day encounter to be played at the Zayed International Cricket Stadium today.
The Irish national team, fresh from their nine-wicket win over the UAE in the four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup which ended on Sunday, will take on the Abu Dhabi team in the shorter version today.
Commenting on the match, Dilawar Mani, president of ADCC, said: "This is a great opportunity for Abu Dhabi cricketers to test skills against a strong international team. A good performance in this game will also put them in reckoning for the UAE side."
Challenging test
"The ADCC squad comprises of youth and experience which has performed consistently in domestic cricket. We intend to provide a challenging test for the Ireland team."
United Bank Limited's Qazi Ayoub, who leads the ADCC today said: "It is a wonderful opportunity for ADCC Club players to play against an international team and showcase their talent at a higher level, which can only be a step forward towards representing the UAE. They will be knocking at the door of opportunity and we intend to put a strong performance."
The Zayed Cricket Stadium was also preparing to host the five English Counties who are already here in the UAE and will be playing in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi in a pre-season Pro ARCH trophy limited overs series.
Sharjah will host four matches and Abu Dhabi will stage eight games at the swanky Zayed stadium.
Mani termed the event as an exciting prospect coming on the heels of the Lashings World X1 versus the UAE Chairman's X1 game recently.
"The counties are highly professional teams and it will be a wonderful challenge for the UAE boys to play against the likes of Flintoff, Trescothick, Gough and the many other high-profile names," Mani said.
"Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Chairman of ADCC, is very keen to ensure the UAE team develops and continues to be exposed to such high calibre and challenges to evolve into a world-class side. It will also provide a major encouragement for local boys to take up the game and develop into world class performers."
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