Dubai: Sir Maurice Flanagan was an ardent lover of cricket and his passion for the game not only helped the sport grow in the UAE in a big way, but also worldwide.

Sir Maurice played a huge role in the UAE making a mark in international cricket and through Emirates airline he recruited many talented players for their team Fly Emirates, allowing them to represent the country in international matches.

UAE opener Arshad Ali could not hold back his tears while narrating incidents of Sir Maurice’s support. “Whenever I played a good knock, he would either be present on the ground or, if not, the next day he would telephone and congratulate me. I could not believe such a gesture from a man who was holding the biggest position in the company.

“I was playing for Emirates against Essex in the Arch Trophy and I went on to hit a century. Flanagan had just recovered from a knee operation but refused to leave the stadium and waited until I got my century, congratulated me and only then he left.”

Khurram Khan, who played a pivotal role in the UAE qualifying for the recent Cricket World Cup through his all-round performances, says: “I would have been nowhere at all without his support. I have never seen a person who loved sports and sportsmen like him. He always helped his staff and his passing away will be one of the saddest days of my life. Every cricketer will miss him.”

Sir Maurice’s support for cricket was not confined to Fly Emirates alone, but the cricketing community as a whole.

Leroy Lindsay, the former manager of Fly Emirates, told Gulf News from his West Indies home: “Flanagan was responsible for cricket in Dubai flourishing in a big way. He took our idea of building two grass wickets in Dubai to Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum [President of Dubai Civil Aviation and Chairman and CEO of Emirates airline and Group] and got it approved. It was also Flanagan who initiated the Fly Emirates sponsorship for the ICC umpires.

“He always had time for cricket and his office door was always open for cricketers.”

In February 2008, Emirates signed a sponsorship deal as an official partner of the International Cricket Council (ICC) until 2015. Flanagan signed the deal with Malcolm Speed, the then ICC Chief Executive. It was Flanagan’s biggest gift to world cricket as players around the world travelled with Emirates.

Sir Maurice read extensively on cricket and once visited promoter Shyam Bhatia’s museum in Dubai.

“Flanagan is so well read about the game that he had a tale to tell about every item displayed in my museum. He spent so many hours in the museum talking about the game that his wife had to literally pull him out of the museum to return home. From that day, whenever the Lord’s Taverners team visited Dubai with its Test players to play here, he made sure the whole team visited my museum,” Bhatia said.