Dubai: The UAE will stage its biggest tournament next month.
Two weeks after the conclusion of the ongoing Pakistan-England series, the country will stage the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20 qualifiers.
All the cricket stadiums in the UAE will buzz with action, producing the best of Twenty20 cricket.
Speaking to Gulf News, Mazhar Khan, the chief administrator of the Emirates Cricket Board said: "Never before has the Emirates Cricket Board staged such a huge tournament. Sixteen nations will be here by the start of the month. They will play 72 matches from March 13 to 24. The Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, International Cricket Council Global Cricket Academy Oval ground and the Sharjah Cricket Stadium will be the venues for the matches."
The nations participating in the qualifiers are Afghanistan, Bermuda, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Denmark, Italy, Kenya, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Uganda and United States of America.
Even the Al Dhaid Cricket Village will be busy during this period. "Some of the practice matches are even being planned to be held at Al Dhaid village as we have turf ground there. Oman will be the first country to arrive ten days prior to the event. They will play three practice games against three top local clubs. This is also a good opportunity for local clubs to gain exposure against national teams," added Khan.
"Afghanistan, who had qualified for the last Twenty20 World Cup, which uses Sharjah as its base will commence their training soon while USA team is expected to arrive by March 8. This will be a preparatory tournament for us before we stage the Under-19 World Cup in 2014. With the excellent facilities available in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, the Emirates Cricket Board is looking forward to the challenge of hosting big tournaments and we are confident of delivering successfully," he said.
The best cricketers from Associate and Affiliate member countries will entertain the fans here. It is also an opportunity for the large number of expatriates from these 16 countries to turn up and support their teams.
One of the biggest honour in world cricket awaits the finalist of this tournament. They can qualify for the ICC World Twenty20 World Cup to be held in Sri Lanka at Colombo, Hambantota and Pallekele from September 18 September to October 7.
"Seventy two matches to be staged in a span of 12 days is indeed a great challenge. The first qualifier will emerge after the 61st match while the second qualifier will be known only after the 71st match. The winner of the 72nd and final match of the tournament will complete Group B of world cup by joining Australia and West Indies while the runner-up will team up with defending champion England and former winner India in Group A," revealed Khan.
Afghanistan who played Pakistan in a One-day match this month at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium is the defending champions of the qualifiers. With a new coach in Kabir Khan, they will challenge nations like Ireland, which had also qualified for the ICC World Twenty20 in 2010 held West Indies.
Afghanistan retained eight players who were members of the side that won the qualifiers two years ago in UAE. Captain Nawroz Mangal, Merwais Ashraf, Mohammad Nabi, Hamid Hassan, Mohammad Shahzad, Karim Khan Sadeq, Samiulah Shinwari and Shahpoor Zadran will lead the challenge.
Ireland has retained ten players from their 2010 campaign. The team will be led by William Porterfield, who captained the ICC Combined Associate and Affiliate team against England recently. Peter Borren will lead Netherlands which played in the 2007 event and stuned England in the tournament opener at Lord's. The Dutch team is being captained by Ryan ten Doeschate, who is the ICC's Associate ODI Player of the Year in 2008, 2010 and 2011
The world's best umpires led by Simon Taufel will officiate the matches.
