Nationals create own tournament

Dubai : It might be a rare sight to see an Emirati playing cricket, but that's something 20-year-old Alawi Al Braik has set his heart out on changing - starting with the 1st Gulf Cup tournament which begins at the Dubal Cricket ground on Saturday.

Al Braik who founded the UAE Nationals Cricket Club in 2007 has spent the last month creating the first cricket tournament involving nationals from Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

And at the event's launch yesterday, he insisted: "For me the club was not the only solution to get the nationals into the game. That's why I proposed this tournament."

Lack of interest

Al Braik has represented the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) team at international level but fell out with administrators citing a lack of interest in developing the sport among Emiratis. "We've tried all we can do over the past few years. It's up to them to find a way. We keep going to them but they keep pushing us away. There's a new committee that's come into force who said the same things about doing something but nothing has been done till now. I don't know what they're worried about. We are not coming to take their positions. All we want is an infrastructure at the grassroots level," said Al Braik, who sought the help of former ECB chief selector and coach Abdulrazzaq Kazim to put the tournament together.

And the young all-rounder added: "This tournament is not the end of my goal which is to see cricket being played by nationals all over the UAE at all age levels. Only then will my mission will be accomplished. But I hope it will be the duty of someone else to do it. I want to be a player," he said.

Mohammad Abbas, chief selector of the ECB, rebuffed Al Braik's claims, saying: "There is no such thing as a lack of effort. We have a camp which is open to anyone. Out of 70 to 80 players who come, we cut it down to 30 and finally choose a squad of 14 players. And when you talk about youngsters, they have to be taken to an Academy like the ICC Academy. I am an Emirati and would love to see UAE nationals represent the team. But we take the side from who deserves to be in the team."