Exclusive: 'No reason UAE can't host major tournament'

Barnaby Read 11:27 16/02/2014
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • In with a shout: Warne believes that the UAE would be a great host nation of a major international cricket tournament

    Cricket legend and second-highest wicket-taker in Test match history, Shane Warne, believes that there is 'no reason' why a major international cricket tournament couldn't be a held in the UAE. 

    Warne, who represented his country in two Tests against Pakistan in Sharjah in 2002, threw his weight behind the UAE as a possible host nation of a senior ICC tournament as the current U19 World Cup is being played across the region.

    The U19 World Cup coming to the UAE marked a historic moment for sport in the country as the first time that a global ICC event had been hosted in the area. 

    Speaking exclusively to Sport360° inbetween ambassadorial duties with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi, Warne said: "Well I think there’s a huge passion for the sport of cricket over here and in this part of the world. 

    "I’ve played a few games in Dubai, we’ve had Australia play Pakistan in Abu Dhabi so there is a lot of interest and passion for the sport in this part of the world and Abu Dhabi is absolutely first class.

    "Everything they do [there] is spot on so there is no reason why some of the big tournaments couldn’t be [held] here in Abu Dhabi at all."

    The former leg-spinner is not the first Australian to advocate the UAE's potential as a host nation for ICC events, with compatriate and former team-mate of Warne's, Steve Waugh, calling for the ICC to look to the country as a venue for the first ever day/night Test match. 

    With cricket in the region blossoming, the UAE side is about to embark on their first Twenty20 World Cup in Bangladesh this year and has just qualified for the 50-over equivalent for only the second time in its history, with their only other appearance coming in 1996, there is no doubt that the sport's burgeoning success is laying crucial foundations for development of cricket in the area.

    Hosting the U19 World Cup is also seen as a great test of the UAE's ability to organise an international sports tournament and the early fixtures have proved to be a hit, albeit they haven't enticed the kind of crowds that the ICC would like but this is rather typical of the age-group tournaments held outside of the Test-playing nations.

    The UAE has been playing host to Pakistani international cricket since 2002 and with facilities improving and money being poured into the sport, there is real potential for the 2027 50-over World Cup and 2024 Twenty20 competition to be held in the area.

    If the UAE continue to impress over the course of the next couple of years and can compete during their upcoming assaults on ICC competition then there will be even greater calls for the next editions of cricket's world tournaments to head to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

    Recommended