Rai savours the taste of hard labour

Ramveer Rai is just 15 years old. The fruits of his hard labour and devotion to the game are beginning to yield results.

In the Bukhatir league last Friday, he picked up five for 20 for Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) Greens to help his team beat ECB Colts by 63 runs.

After attending classes until 6pm at the Indian High School, Dubai, he rushes off to the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, where he trains nearly for three hours.

"I am happy with my five-wicket spell. I have been working a lot on my bowling, and it is beginning to show. Coach Abid Ali's guidance has helped me learn new techniques and my follow through has also improved. If I manage to consistently train like this, I am sure I should be able to take more wickets," feels Rai, who returns home late night but studies all morning to make up for the time spent honing his skills.

Rai had caught the attention as a talented batsman in schools cricket before becoming the captain the UAE under-15 team in the Asia Cup. He also clinched a place in the UAE under-19 squad for the Asia Youth Cup in Karachi and played some good knocks there. But could not exhibit his bowling prowess.

"In the Al Rawabi inter- schools tourney, I scored 338 runs from five innings, but picked only eight wickets. I know I still have a long way to go, but I can feel the difference," he concluded.

Summarises scores

Emirates Bank lost to Welfit Kasargod by 8 wickets. Emirates Bank 120 in 25 overs (Akbar Rana 30, Maqsood 30, Phiroz 3 for 13, A. Sharon 3 for 33) Welfit Kasargod 124 for two in 14.3 overs (Farhan 69 no, Sajid Latif 2 for 21). Man of the match: Faraz.

Yogi International bt Dulsco Club by 33 runs. Yogi International 200 for six in 25 overs (Santosh 36, Rohit 43, Lalit Sadwani 53 n.o Sajid 2 for 32 runs) Dulsco 167 in 23.3 overs (Amjad 65, Rashid Minhas 34, Jude Fernando 3 for 47, G.Silva 2 for 18, Lalit Sadwani 2 for 24, Nandana P Kumara 2 for 25). Man of the match: Lalit Sadwani.

Al Kabeer beat Tellichery by seven runs. Al Kabeer 206 for 7 in 25 overs (Amir Rafique 69, Kamran Durrani 67, Hitesh 3 for 43) Tellichery 199 for 6 in 25 overs (Harish 75, Feroz 45, Gibi Alex 27, Iqbal 2 for 26). Man of the match: K. Durrani

Ibsons lost to Tellichery by two wickets. Ibsons 181 for 8 in 25 overs (Sohai 46, Tameez 38, Mohamed Kashif 28, Hitesh 3 for 37) Tellichery 183 for 8 in 24 (Feroz 31, Harish 29, Ashfaq 3 for 36, Israr Butt 2 for 36). Man of the match: Gibi Alex.

Eurocon beat Mediasys by 116 runs. Eurocon 196 for 6 in 25 overs (Shaji Ul Mulk 44, Talat But 41 n.o, Sudhir Karta 35, Imran Butt 35, Shah Hussain 3 for 41) Mediasys 80 in 16.4 overs (Shaji Ul Mulk 6 for 24, Irfan Zaka 3 for 12). Man of the match: Shaji Ul Mulk.

ECB Greens beat ECB Colts by 63 runs. ECB Greens 211 for 6 in 25 overs (Ansar Butt 56, Faisal Amin 44, Ramvir Rai 40, Aamir Ifthikar Ali 2 for 41) ECB Colts 148 for 8 in 25 overs (Farhan Siddiqui 31, Sharan Kumar 28, Ramvir Rai 5 for 20). Man of the match: Ramveer Rai.

Evergreen beat ECB Greens by three runs. Evergreen 194 for 6 in 24 overs (Saleh Zada 69 n.o, Mumtaz Khalid 42, Danish 2 for 16, Jawad 2 for 46) ECB Greens 191 for 9 in 23 overs (Khurram Saeed 69, Ramveer Rai 32, Ijaz Ahmad 3 for 29, Nasser Mahmood 3 for 40, Mumtaz Khalid 2 for 9). Man of the match: Mumtaz Khalid.

Solanki lost to Gulf Cobla by one wicket. Solanki 174 for 8 in 22 overs (Shakeel 44, Aslam 33, Mohamed Ali 3 for 42, Ali Ahmed 2 for 45) Gulf Cobla 175 for 9 in 22 overs (Mohsin 71, Arshad Hussain 41, Arshad Khan 25, Abdul Waheed 3 for 26, Azeem 2 for 49). Man of the match: Mohsin.