Ajman: The Ajman Cricket Council honoured the top performers of their tournaments held this season at ceremony held at Hotel Ramada on Monday night. It was a proud moment for Mairaj Hussain and Kamal Hussain, two young entrepreneurs who had the vision to see the potential of Ajman as a major cricketing centre.
Shaikh Abdul Aziz Al Nuaimi, Chief Patron, has been the inspiration, supporting Ajman Council by providing large areas of land and the licence to stage cricket in the emirate. Shaikh Majid Al Nuaimi was also instrumental in the formation of the council and continues to support the growth of cricket in the emirate.
As a result, Ajman Council this year hosted 22 tournaments featuring a mammoth 1,000 games. The council directly staged eight tournaments and backed Mushtaq Ahmad from Umm Al Quwain to stage 11 tournaments and Jaeel, a private organiser, to host three tournaments to be held under the auspices of the council.
Shaji Ul Mulk, secretary of the council who has been at the helm for years, has provided the best of facilities to teams from different parts of the UAE that take part in the council’s tournaments. I
The awards were handed out in the presence of Waleed Bukhatir, Emirates Cricket Board member and chairman of the newly formed Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) Domestic Cricket Development Committee; Mazhar Khan, Administrator of the ECB, Mohammad Lokhandwala of Dubai Cricket Council; Ali Anwar Jafri of Sharjah Cricket Council; and I.P. Khaitan, chairman of UAE’s Forty’s Club,
Razzaq Shah, who was the chief co-ordinator of the council, was honoured for his efforts, while a special award was presented to Mushtaq Ahmad of Umm Al Quwain for his feat of hosting 11 tournaments.
Ajman tournament winners were top UAE teams like: Ibsons, Eurocon Alubond, Age Steel, Emirates Islamic Bank, P2 XI, Khatri CC and GHI International.
Eurocon skipper Nasir Aziz won the best bowler award in the Super Cup, while Mohammad Azam of Eurocon, who cracked 224 runs including an unbeaten 159 from 63 balls, received the award for best batsman in Mulk Holdings Cup.
Young Qadeer Ahmad, who produced a fine spell of six wickets for 10 runs, received a huge round of applause from the gathering for his man of the final and best bowler awards in the junior league tournament.
Award winners: Junior League: Winner: Gulf Health International(GHI); runner-up: Spartan Cricket Club. Best batsman: Abbas Badri (AEN Dubai) 337 runs, Qadeer Ahmad (GHI) 15 wkts; man of the final: Qadeer Ahmad 6 for 10, Player of tournament: Murtaza Mughal (AEN Dubai) 163 runs and eight wickets.
Premier League: Winner: Emirates Islamic Bank, runners-up: Eurocon Alubond, Best batsman: Faizan Asif (Ibsons) 253 runs. Best bowler: Irfan Sajid (Ibsons) 11 wkts; man of the final: Samiullah (Eurocon Alubond); Player of tournament: Nazir Aziz (Eurocon) 153 runs and 7 wkts.
Winter Cup: Winners: P2 XI, Runners-up: Al Badar CC. Best batsman: Nigel Rodrigues (Al Badar) 466 runs. Best bowler: Naghman Rafiq, 11 wkts. Man of the final: Mohammad Usman of P2 XI, Player of tournament: Kaizad (ABCC) 131 runs and 11 wkts.
Invitation Cup: Winner: GHI, Runners-up: Age Steel, Best batsman: Younus Kaka (GHI) 239 runs, Bestb bowler: Noor Khan 11 wkts, Man of the final: Rizwan Azam (GHI), Player of tournament: Ahmed A Qay (Mighty CC) 117 runs and 6 wkts.
Super Cup : Winners: Age Steel, runners-up: Ibsons, Best batsman: Faizan Asif ( Ibsons) 294 runs, Best bowler: Nasir Aziz (Eurocon) 10 wkts, Man of the final: M Arif (Age Steel), Player of tournament: Pervez (Ibsons) 209 and 6 wkts.
Mulk Holdings Cup: Winners: Eurocon Alubond, Runners up: Age Steel, Best batsman: Mohammad Azam ( Eurocon) 224 runs, Best bowler: Nadeem Hussain (Age Steel) 8 for 87, Man of the final: Prashant Braggs (Eurocon Alubond), Hassan Saud (Spartan Club) 389 runs, 6 wkts.
Junior Champion Trophy: Winners: Age Steel, runners-up: Flowtech CC, Best batsman: Nauman Fareeq (Flowtech) 253 runs, Best bowler: Saqib Rashid (Age Steel) 9 for 99.
Champions League: Winners: Khatri Club, Runners-up: Ibsons.
Trucape Ramadan Cup: Winners: Ibsons. Runners-up: Age Steel.
