Umm Al Quwain: The Umm Al Quwain Cricket Association, which hosts 16 tournaments every year, is now planning to seek recognition from the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) as a separate council, a status currently enjoyed by Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Ajman.
Speaking to Gulf News, Naser Mohammad Sultan Al Azem Ali, president of the association said: “We have plans to make Umm Al Quwain a cricketing hub very soon. International cricketers now regularly play in our tournaments.
Our tournaments are also increasing every year and we will be expanding our activities.”
From a humble beginning in 2002, the association has 13 cement pitches and efforts have been launched to create two turf wickets too.
“We have become a popular cricketing centre purely due to the support of Umm Al Quwain government and Umm Al Quwain municipality, which has given the area to stage our tournaments. With the support from the government and municipality, we will create two turf wickets. We will also introduce night cricket by installing flood lights after we create the turf wickets,” said Mushtaq Ahmad Choudhary, general secretary of the Umm Al Quwain Cricket Association.
Choudhary’s vision is based on the enthusiasm shown by cricketers from different part of the UAE to play in tournaments in the emirate. “In the morning session, 13 matches will be held in our 13 pitches while, in the afternoon, they will be staging another tournament. A total of 52 matches are held between Friday and Saturday. Nearly 1,700 people assemble here for the matches, which include umpires and ground staff,” he said.
Ever since the Dubai Cricket Council lost its seven grounds in the Al Jadaf area during the height of the construction boom in 2005, it has been rare to find such a busy cricket calendar elsewhere in the UAE.
The Umm Al Quwain tournaments now attract not only beginners and newly formed clubs but also international stars. “The first international player to play in a tournament organised by us was Atul Wassan, a former Indian cricketer, who represented Tiger Steel as a guest player way back in 2003. From then on, international stars have played regularly like former Pakistan spinner Tauseef Ahmad, who played for ECT Sharjah, Hassan Raza for Alubond, Sohail Khan and Sharjeel Khan representing One Stop Tourism,” Choudhary said.
The popularity of the tournaments have made it easy for the Umm Al Quwain Cricket Association to get excellent sponsorship support from leading companies. “Most of our tournaments are named after the companies that sponsor the tournament. Corporate teams are now playing here with the latest being Emirates airline catering team. It took a lot of hard work to reach this level. Our success has been the excellent rapport we have with all the teams in the UAE,” Choudhary said.
“We want to make it as comfortable for the participating teams to play here. Hence we feel we deserve to be recognised as a council and are hopeful that Emirates Cricket Board [ECB], which is keen to spread cricket, will adhere to our request,” he added.
