A new chapter is about to be written in the evolution of cricket in the UAE with the inaugural Danube ‘Test’ Series – the first ever two-day match tournament in the country – beginning at the ICC Academy from today.
The tournament, which was launched last night by Pakistan Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez and a few members of the team, will feature six of the top teams in the UAE.
The six teams were divided into two groups, with Hafeez picking the lot.
Group A has GMW Royal, Yogi Group and Emirates Group, while Group B features Danube Lions, Wings Group and Dubai Lions.
The first match of the tournament will be played between Danube Lions and Wings Group at the ICC Academy, starting 9.30am.
Each day will comprise of 95 overs. First innings for both sides are restricted to a maximum of 75 overs.
There is a maximum limit of 150 overs to constitute an outright victory. Within those overs, teams can push for four innings to winning the match outright.
The remaining 40 overs from the 190 overs (on the second day) will be a T20 match.
A brainchild of Danube’s Anis Sajan, the tournament has received the backing of Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) and Dubai Cricket Council (DCC).
Speaking at the launch, Sajan said: “Almost all cricket in UAE is either T20 or 50 overs a side. This is our attempt to introduce the longer format here, and hopefully, this will be the start of a journey that will see UAE become a Test-playing nation in the future.”
Hafeez praised the effort of the organisers. ECB’s Waleed Bukhatir and Mazhar Khan, Dubai Cricket Council’s Mohammad Reda Abbas and Mohammad Lokhandwala and Abu Dhabi Cricket Council’s Wajahat Hussain were also present during the occasion.
Points will be allocated to each team on the basis of the results of the match, first inning, the T20 match, as well as batting and bowling performances.
For example, an outright win and first innings lead will earn the team 20 points. If they win outright but were behind in the first innings, they get 12 points.
If the match is decided on the basis of the first innings with no outright result, the team gets 10 points.
Victory in the T20 match will add five points to their tally.
Similarly, if a team makes a score of 300-plus, there are four batting points, coming down to one point for a score in the region of 150-200.
Bowling points are four for bowling out a team, down to one for taking between 2-4 wickets.
While Danube are the title sponsors, the tournament also enjoys the support of co-sponsors Emax and Delhi Darbar, radio partner 89.1 Radio 4, clothing sponsor YAS Sports and Web Channel.
