Sharjah Cricket Stadium celebrates hosting 250th One Day International

Sharjah: A cricket ground with a lush green outfield and a good turf pitch is a dream amid the desert. Decades ago Abdul Rehman Bukhatir turned that dream into reality with the creation of the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Since the early 1980s the Sharjah Cricket Stadium has put the UAE on the world map with the CBFS (Cricketers Benefit Fund Series), which witnessed some nail-biting finishes, especially between the Asian giants India and Pakistan.

Javed Miandad’s last-ball six to guide Pakistan to victory over India in a thriller in the 1986 Austral-Asia Cup final will be ranked among the best.

On Wednesday, the venue, which holds the record for highest number of international matches, added another feather to its cap when it hosted the 250th One-Day International (ODI) in the first of the three-match series between Afghanistan and South Africa.

“Sharjah Cricket Ground has sent a message to the world that everything is possible in this country,” Waleed Bukhatir, Vice-Chairman of Sharjah Cricket and son of Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, told media after a ceremony to mark the 250th ODI at the famed venue.

“I have big memories all throughout, from the first match until today. Beautiful moments, celebrities and cricketers from several continents. Sharjah is celebrating its 250th ODI and we are counting. The best thing about Sharjah is that it never stopped, just kept increasing the ceiling. Sharjah has managed to host ICC World Cup for men, Indian Premier League, Pakistan Super League, Champions Trophy, Asia Cup and we are honoured to host the ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Cup next month. We are excited to deliver a beautiful tournament.”

Waleed said he was impressed with how his father planned things at the stadium. “He was so meticulous in his planning that he would announce the dates for the next tournament even before the current event would end. That was a lot of hard work.”

“When we started lot of people thought this wouldn’t happen, a stadium in the middle of the desert, but my father had a great vision and he always tried to accomplish his dream,” he added.

Major force

Afghanistan have become a major force over the last 14 months, scalping some of the best in world cricket. But the UAE played a big role in Afghanistan’s growth. Many of the Afghanistan cricketers were employed in warehouses in Dubai and Sharjah and they trained at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Afghanistan, for years, were using the facilities at the Sharjah stadium to hone their skills for their international games.

A team made up of men who spent most of their time either as expatriates or in refugee camps, earned the ODI status in the same year after failing to qualify for the 2011 World Cup.

From losing their first match to Bangladesh by 105 runs in the 2015 ODI World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand, Afghanistan in the last one year have defeated major Test-playing teams like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, England, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Australia in both the white-ball formats.

The six-wicket win over South Africa in the first of the three-match One-Day International series befits the occasion of Sharjah Cricket Stadium’s milestone. The familiarity of the venue and the recent successes have transformed the team so much for their coach Jonathan Trott to call themselves as favourites if not equals against the Proteas.

“I have been here since 1975 when I joined Bukhatir, a visionary. In those days we used to play on cement pitches with a mat on top of it. From there we invited the PIA team including Imran Khan, Wasim Bari, Safaraz Nawaz to play our select XI at Sharjah in 1976 that gave the Sharjah Cricket chairman the enthusiasm. His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, was also present to support our endeavour. Following those years Bukhatir thought of making this stadium and the vision was fulfilled. Then the rest is history,” Mazhar Khan, General Manager of Sharjah Cricket said.

“Today it’s a proud moment for Bukhatir and his family after reaching the milestone. Sharjah will continue to carry the flag Bukhatir has made for us,” Mazhar Khan said.