Al Dhaid to host some Asain T20 matches

Dubai: The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Twenty20 tournament for non-Test playing countries to be held in UAE during November will stage some of their matches at the Al Dhaid Cricket Village.

Ashraf-Ul-Haq, the chief executive officer of the ACC, visited the cricket village and has given the go ahead to stage the matches there. This picturesque venue which was created two years back amidst palm trees will thus become an international venue.

"We created this cricket village to ensure that people enjoy the game with their families in lush green surroundings. It has now become a popular domestic cricket venue and we are proud that it will now become an international match venue too," remarked Waleed Bukhatir, the chairman of the Al Dhaid Cricket Village Development Committee.

Mazhar Khan, the Administrator of the Emirates Cricket Board said: "We have built an excellent turf ground and it will be a great experience for the visiting teams to play in colourful surroundings."

Ten nations will be playing in the ACC Twenty20 tournament. "The matches will be held in different venues of UAE starting from November 1," said Khan.

"Though it will be a Twenty20 tournament, the matches won't be held at night. All the matches will be day matches and we have scheduled two matches every day. The first match will be held from 9 to 12 and the second match from 1.30pm to 4.30pm," said Khan who held talks with Haq to finalise the staging of the event.

"This cricket village was created after many grounds were hit by the construction boom virtually putting an end to domestic cricket in many emirates," said Waleed Bukhatir.