UAE cricket round-up: Sindhi CC learn patience is a virtue after UK tour

Denzil Pinto 12:27 27/05/2014
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  • English country garden: Players from Sindhi CC and Worcestershire Fossils at Malvern Cricket Club in Leicestershire.

    For the second year in a row a 12-members of the UAE-based Sindhi Cricket Club (SCC) were handed a hugely memorable experience as they played three matches in England. 

    Shiva G Pagarani, Paresh Amarnani, Niranjan Chawla, Neeraj Ramamoorthy, Ranjeet Chavan, Freddy Sidhwa, Rahul Aswani, Gaurav Rajkumar, Deepak Odhrani, Vinay Mehra, Ashok Shewakramani and Rohit Bachani, all leading businessmen in the UAE, swapped their suits for cricket whites on a tour arranged by City Cricket Academy in Leicester.

    SCC lost their first match of the six-day trip by three wickets against Desi Veterans at Hinckley Town. However, Ramamoorthy scored a half-century in the second game against the over-40s side at the same venue.

    And despite losing their final match by five wickets against Worcestershire Fossils at Malvern Cricket Club, Pagarani said the opportunity to return and play cricket in the UK again was a great experience.

    “Cricket is a very famous sport in the UAE and in Asia and we usually watch a lot of England matches on television because it’s the home of cricket.

    “And we had already gone to the UK last year to play. But due to the rain, we could only play two of our scheduled matches. So we wanted to return and make sure we got a feel of the playing conditions.

    “We were very lucky to have such great weather and it certainly worked in our favour. There was no rain at all and played all three matches.

    “You can say that every minute spent on the ground was a memory. Even at 21:30 the sun was still there and we were still playing the match under the day light.”

    The SCC has around 35 players, who play practice matches in Dubai every month. And Pagarani noted there was a key difference between the playing style in the UK.

    “There was a difference between the speed of the game in the UK and the UAE. For example, in the UAE players like to play their shots fast – they play in a Twenty20 format but in England they play slowly, similarly to Test match cricket.

    “Batsmen like to stay at the wicket, spend time on the crease and stay there for as much time as they can before being given out. The key thing I learned is about being patient in everything in cricket, and that is something I will remember."

    With the trip giving the squad a break from their “day-to-day” lives, Pagarani is already looking forward to the next tour.

    He added: “In September or October, we are planning to go to Malaysia. We want to experience something different.”

    GEMS sparkle with clean sweep


    GEMS Modern Academy (GMA) created history in the eighth edition of the Maxtalent Global Sports Vision Cup when the Under- 17s team completed a clean sweep in all three categories.

    After winning titles in the boys Under-13s and girls Under-17s, GMA defeated Our Own English High School Sharjah (OOEHSS) by 39 runs.

    Batting first after losing the toss, GMA posted 151-6 in their 20 overs with Sushain Thapar, who was later declared player of the match, topscoring with 33.

    In reply, OOEHSS, were bowled out for 112 as Akshay PK and UAE Under-19s star Shorye Chopra finished with 2-19.

    The result ensured that Chopra ended his Vision Cup campaign on a winning note, having previously scored 20 off 16 balls at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

    Sudhakar Shetty, managing director of Maxtalent Global Sports said: “An unbelievable rate of scoring was achieved in this MGS Vision Cup with some IPL-style batting on show.

    “We have seen Tushar Tugnait hit a 32-ball hundred in the Under-13 category and Elred Rego score a 16-ball 50 at Under-17 level.

    “We are glad that the VisionCup platform has enabled these young cricketers to showcase their skills in such a magnitude.” 

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