laksh_01
State Vice-Captain
Fixtures:
October 27:
Malaysia v Nepal at Hubara
Afghanistan v Qatar at Hubara
Kuwait v UAE at Unity
Hong Kong v Singapore at Unity
October 28:
Singapore v UAE at Hubara
Kuwait v Saudi Arabia at Hubara
Nepal v Qatar at KEC
Malaysia v Oman at KEC
October 29:
Malaysia v Qatar at Unity
Afghanistan v Oman at Unity
Hong Kong v Saudi Arabia at KEC
Kuwait v Singapore at KEC
October 30:
Afghanistan v Nepal at Hubara
Oman v Qatar at Hubara
Hong Kong v UAE at KEC
Saudi Arabia v Singapore at KEC
October 31:
Nepal v Oman at Hubara
Afghanistan v Malaysia at Hubara
UAE v Saudi Arabia at Unity
Hong Kong v Kuwait at Unity
November 1:
SF1: A1 v B2 at Unity
SF2: A2 v B1 at Unity
November 2:
3rd and 4th Playoff:
Losers SF1 v Losers SF2 at Hubara
Final: Winners SF1 v Winners SF2 at Hubara
Venues:
Kuwait Oil Company Hubara,
Kuwait Oil Company Unity,
Kuwait Entertainment City Ground.
Match Times:
09:00AM to 12:00 PM
&
01:30PM to 04:30 PM
Previews:
Afghanistan:
Afghanistan are many people’s favourites for this tournament as well as being many people’s favourites in general. They play cricket with a single-minded desire to succeed comparable to that of Indians and Pakistanis from outlying districts.
Afghanistan have added grace and finesse to their fire and fervour and are now more than a team of big-hitting, stump-scattering individuals. They take instruction well and just need more top-class match experience to be a truly competitive force. Skill is what they are developing rapidly, match-savvy is what they need desperately.
Two of their players, Hamid Hassan and Mohammad Nabi, have represented the MCC this year, a remarkable achievement for players from an Affiliate country. “Nabi should be playing Test cricket,” said MCC President Robin Marlar in 2006 after watching Afghanistan tour England.
Should Afghanistan win the ACC Twenty20 it will be the country’s first ever international team victory. “The fans, the public will go wild,” says their coach Taj Malik, “cricket is the Number 1 sport in Afghanistan.” They’ve come close in past ACC tournaments, the Twenty20 could just be the one where they break through.
Malaysia:
Malaysia just may surprise a few people in this tournament. They have a well-balanced side, packed with all-rounders (Suresh Navaratnam and Thushara Kodikara to the fore) and slow-bowling options in Rohan Suppiah, his brother Arul and Eszrafiq Azis. Arul Suppiah is the one cricketer in the competition with professional Twenty20 experience having played three seasons for English county side Somerset. Plus in Rohan Selvaratnam and Krishnamurthi they will have two of the classiest top-order batsmen on display. The tall Manrick Singh heads the pace attack with his distinctive jangly action.
The past two years have seen a marked improvement in fitness and ability throughout the squad. They have a sound blend of old and new in the squad and are a fine fielding side. The players have all been exposed to high-level cricket in the past eighteen months with the visit of U-19 sides from England, Sri Lanka and Australia. A number of them have taken part in net sessions with the players and coaches of Australia, India and the West Indies during the 2006 DLF Tri-Series in Kuala Lumpur in 2006.
The benefits of all this will be apparent in Kuwait and a place in the semi-finals at least, is very possible.
Hong Kong:
Like Germany in football and England in rugby, Hong Kong have an uncanny ability to get to the business end of major international tournaments. They’ve qualified for the 2008 Asia Cup thanks to being 2006 ACC Trophy finalists, thus repeating their 2004 qualification and invariably do enough to impress onlookers with their all-round competence.
They may lack the flair and fire of some of the other teams in the competition – though the pace-bowling all-rounder Butt Hussain will certainly keep the crowds entertained – yet they more often than not find a way to negate their opponents’ strengths and win through in tight matches.
Hong Kong’s bowling looks a little better than their batting, particularly in the spin department. In a format where even international batsmen are finding slow-bowling more difficult to play than pace, they just may have a formula for success.
Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia caused a massive stir during the 2006 ACC Trophy with their batsman’s aggressive cricket which took them to the brink of victory against Malaysia and UAE. Their bowling and fielding let them down ultimately but such was the magnificence of their strokeplay, it was that which lingered in the spectators’ minds long after the ACC Trophy was over.
The same batsmen – Sarfraz Ahmad, Suhrab Kilsingatakam, Fahad Suleiman - are back for the ACC Twenty20 and their bowling has been considerably strengthened. They are the oldest team in the tournament however, and that may count against them as the tournament progresses.
Definite dark-horses.
Qatar:
Qatar are capable of playing excellent cricket. They are not without aptitude in their bowling but it is upon their batsmen whom much rests. In Tamoor Sajjad – at 15 years 9 months the youngest player in the ACC Twenty20 – they have a batsman of sublime talent; in Muhammad Jahangir – approaching 38 and one of the oldest players in the tournament – Qatar have a batsman of great skill and dedication who is guaranteed to be one of the fittest cricketers on display.
Sajjad and Jahangir are backed up by other talented players whose skills only fire fitfully however. Their young captain Omer Taj oozes class as a batsman, their teenage vice-captain Zaheeruddin Ibrahim is an emerging all-rounder. At their best they’re very good, but consistency is a problem.
Singapore:
Singapore always impress. They’re well turned out, polite to a fault, play disciplined cricket and never seem to play any ugly shots. They’re great ambassadors for their country.
But they do tend to get muscled out of the way by teams hungrier and better equipped for victory. For a long time, their ultimate placing in a tournament didn’t matter, as long as they had beaten neighbours Malaysia whenever they met; (which they more often than not, did).
Now however following a rebuilding you can sense that Singapore’s ambitions are higher. They have a fine blend of quality young home-grown players – teenagers Anish Param, James Muruthi and Rizwan Madakia – as well as strong imports in Buddhika Mendis, Chaminda Ruwan and others.
They’re a quality team, strong in all departments and are capable of beating any side in the competition.
Oman:
Oman’s talent took them to the final of the 2004 ACC Trophy and though they haven’t quite pushed on since, they remain a fiercely competitive outfit. Packed with all-rounders and infused with excellent spirit Oman have the beating of any team on their day.
As with Qatar, lack of any turf for practice or match play holds them back, but they have enough thinking cricketers in their squad to make the necessary adjustments. They have considerable heart too and no match is ever given up as lost.
Whereas other teams in the competition have a mixture of young and old, the majority of this Omani side are between 28 and 32 years old, the peak years for any athlete. Twenty20 cricket is likely to suit their particularly explosive skills perfectly and one shouldn’t be surprised if Oman go all the way.
Nepal:
Nepal's status as the youngest side in the tournament belies the fact that they are jam-packed with veterans of international cricket. Half of the squad are U-19 World Cup Plate winners and have been part of sides that have beaten Test-playing nations.
Yet when it comes to seniors cricket Nepal have found themselves bustled out of the reckoning by sides who have more ability to wreak havoc with bat, ball and burliness. But those days may just about be ending. As batsmen Nepal are peerless and a treat to watch; power and grace combine in someone like Paras Khadka to mark him out as someone worthy of first-class cricket.
Pace–bowling, the aggressive Mahaboob Alam aside, remains Nepal’s weakness and what ultimately costs them in the longer version of the game. They do have a clutch of canny spinners however, and in Sharad Vesawkar just may have the player of the tournament. But there will be plenty of Nepalese candidates for that honour.
UAE:
UAE are the pedigree side in ACC senior tournaments, having won the one-day ACC Trophy four times in a row and having won the three-day ACC Premier League two of the past three years.
Bolstered as they are by regular infusions of first-class cricketers from overseas as well as fresh homegrown talent coming up through the ranks, the UAE have traditionally been very strong. If the UAE don't win this tournament they can say they've sent a relatively inexperienced side some of the senior stalwarts having to save themselves for ICC World Cricket League fixtures in the weeks ahead. If the UAE win the ACC Twenty20, they can point to their tremendous strength in depth. Either way, the UAE are going to be hard to beat.
Their captain in this tournament Saqib Ali oozes top-order class and in Arshad Ali, captain in the longer formats, they have a batsman whose appetite for runs has never diminished in all the years he's been playing the game. He's a one man wrecking crew and his leg-spin is decidedly useful too. Whenever he makes runs it's almost certain UAE win.
A fine well-balanced side, they have the ingredients to go all the way.
Kuwait:
As the home team and arguably the most ambitious team, Kuwait have a lot going for them. Plus they have a genuinely strong batting line-up. Khalid Butt, Nadeem Malik and Saud Iqbal at the top of the order all have the ability to inflict some serious damage on any bowlers. Local coach Tahir Khan says that "300 is possible for this team, they have the batsmen."
What Kuwait don't have however, is the bowling to back up the batsmen and like all the teams in the Gulf, they don't have the fielding. When so few hours of practice are available a week, usually late at night, fielding is the one discipline that suffers.
They have the oldest player in the tournament in slow left-armer Haji Javed at 45, a player whose fitness levels remain very high. Apart from wicket-keeper Mohammad Rashid (21) the rest of the squad are all seasoned campaigners. What Kuwait's players do have is familiarity with playing on turf, being the only Gulf country outside the UAE to have grass wickets. It could be a critical advantage.
Much rests on Kuwait's batsmen but given enough to work with, their slow-bowlers just may ultimately dictate the course of each match.....
...
October 27:
Malaysia v Nepal at Hubara
Afghanistan v Qatar at Hubara
Kuwait v UAE at Unity
Hong Kong v Singapore at Unity
October 28:
Singapore v UAE at Hubara
Kuwait v Saudi Arabia at Hubara
Nepal v Qatar at KEC
Malaysia v Oman at KEC
October 29:
Malaysia v Qatar at Unity
Afghanistan v Oman at Unity
Hong Kong v Saudi Arabia at KEC
Kuwait v Singapore at KEC
October 30:
Afghanistan v Nepal at Hubara
Oman v Qatar at Hubara
Hong Kong v UAE at KEC
Saudi Arabia v Singapore at KEC
October 31:
Nepal v Oman at Hubara
Afghanistan v Malaysia at Hubara
UAE v Saudi Arabia at Unity
Hong Kong v Kuwait at Unity
November 1:
SF1: A1 v B2 at Unity
SF2: A2 v B1 at Unity
November 2:
3rd and 4th Playoff:
Losers SF1 v Losers SF2 at Hubara
Final: Winners SF1 v Winners SF2 at Hubara
Venues:
Kuwait Oil Company Hubara,
Kuwait Oil Company Unity,
Kuwait Entertainment City Ground.
Match Times:
09:00AM to 12:00 PM
&
01:30PM to 04:30 PM
Previews:
Afghanistan:
Afghanistan are many people’s favourites for this tournament as well as being many people’s favourites in general. They play cricket with a single-minded desire to succeed comparable to that of Indians and Pakistanis from outlying districts.
Afghanistan have added grace and finesse to their fire and fervour and are now more than a team of big-hitting, stump-scattering individuals. They take instruction well and just need more top-class match experience to be a truly competitive force. Skill is what they are developing rapidly, match-savvy is what they need desperately.
Two of their players, Hamid Hassan and Mohammad Nabi, have represented the MCC this year, a remarkable achievement for players from an Affiliate country. “Nabi should be playing Test cricket,” said MCC President Robin Marlar in 2006 after watching Afghanistan tour England.
Should Afghanistan win the ACC Twenty20 it will be the country’s first ever international team victory. “The fans, the public will go wild,” says their coach Taj Malik, “cricket is the Number 1 sport in Afghanistan.” They’ve come close in past ACC tournaments, the Twenty20 could just be the one where they break through.
Malaysia:
Malaysia just may surprise a few people in this tournament. They have a well-balanced side, packed with all-rounders (Suresh Navaratnam and Thushara Kodikara to the fore) and slow-bowling options in Rohan Suppiah, his brother Arul and Eszrafiq Azis. Arul Suppiah is the one cricketer in the competition with professional Twenty20 experience having played three seasons for English county side Somerset. Plus in Rohan Selvaratnam and Krishnamurthi they will have two of the classiest top-order batsmen on display. The tall Manrick Singh heads the pace attack with his distinctive jangly action.
The past two years have seen a marked improvement in fitness and ability throughout the squad. They have a sound blend of old and new in the squad and are a fine fielding side. The players have all been exposed to high-level cricket in the past eighteen months with the visit of U-19 sides from England, Sri Lanka and Australia. A number of them have taken part in net sessions with the players and coaches of Australia, India and the West Indies during the 2006 DLF Tri-Series in Kuala Lumpur in 2006.
The benefits of all this will be apparent in Kuwait and a place in the semi-finals at least, is very possible.
Hong Kong:
Like Germany in football and England in rugby, Hong Kong have an uncanny ability to get to the business end of major international tournaments. They’ve qualified for the 2008 Asia Cup thanks to being 2006 ACC Trophy finalists, thus repeating their 2004 qualification and invariably do enough to impress onlookers with their all-round competence.
They may lack the flair and fire of some of the other teams in the competition – though the pace-bowling all-rounder Butt Hussain will certainly keep the crowds entertained – yet they more often than not find a way to negate their opponents’ strengths and win through in tight matches.
Hong Kong’s bowling looks a little better than their batting, particularly in the spin department. In a format where even international batsmen are finding slow-bowling more difficult to play than pace, they just may have a formula for success.
Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia caused a massive stir during the 2006 ACC Trophy with their batsman’s aggressive cricket which took them to the brink of victory against Malaysia and UAE. Their bowling and fielding let them down ultimately but such was the magnificence of their strokeplay, it was that which lingered in the spectators’ minds long after the ACC Trophy was over.
The same batsmen – Sarfraz Ahmad, Suhrab Kilsingatakam, Fahad Suleiman - are back for the ACC Twenty20 and their bowling has been considerably strengthened. They are the oldest team in the tournament however, and that may count against them as the tournament progresses.
Definite dark-horses.
Qatar:
Qatar are capable of playing excellent cricket. They are not without aptitude in their bowling but it is upon their batsmen whom much rests. In Tamoor Sajjad – at 15 years 9 months the youngest player in the ACC Twenty20 – they have a batsman of sublime talent; in Muhammad Jahangir – approaching 38 and one of the oldest players in the tournament – Qatar have a batsman of great skill and dedication who is guaranteed to be one of the fittest cricketers on display.
Sajjad and Jahangir are backed up by other talented players whose skills only fire fitfully however. Their young captain Omer Taj oozes class as a batsman, their teenage vice-captain Zaheeruddin Ibrahim is an emerging all-rounder. At their best they’re very good, but consistency is a problem.
Singapore:
Singapore always impress. They’re well turned out, polite to a fault, play disciplined cricket and never seem to play any ugly shots. They’re great ambassadors for their country.
But they do tend to get muscled out of the way by teams hungrier and better equipped for victory. For a long time, their ultimate placing in a tournament didn’t matter, as long as they had beaten neighbours Malaysia whenever they met; (which they more often than not, did).
Now however following a rebuilding you can sense that Singapore’s ambitions are higher. They have a fine blend of quality young home-grown players – teenagers Anish Param, James Muruthi and Rizwan Madakia – as well as strong imports in Buddhika Mendis, Chaminda Ruwan and others.
They’re a quality team, strong in all departments and are capable of beating any side in the competition.
Oman:
Oman’s talent took them to the final of the 2004 ACC Trophy and though they haven’t quite pushed on since, they remain a fiercely competitive outfit. Packed with all-rounders and infused with excellent spirit Oman have the beating of any team on their day.
As with Qatar, lack of any turf for practice or match play holds them back, but they have enough thinking cricketers in their squad to make the necessary adjustments. They have considerable heart too and no match is ever given up as lost.
Whereas other teams in the competition have a mixture of young and old, the majority of this Omani side are between 28 and 32 years old, the peak years for any athlete. Twenty20 cricket is likely to suit their particularly explosive skills perfectly and one shouldn’t be surprised if Oman go all the way.
Nepal:
Nepal's status as the youngest side in the tournament belies the fact that they are jam-packed with veterans of international cricket. Half of the squad are U-19 World Cup Plate winners and have been part of sides that have beaten Test-playing nations.
Yet when it comes to seniors cricket Nepal have found themselves bustled out of the reckoning by sides who have more ability to wreak havoc with bat, ball and burliness. But those days may just about be ending. As batsmen Nepal are peerless and a treat to watch; power and grace combine in someone like Paras Khadka to mark him out as someone worthy of first-class cricket.
Pace–bowling, the aggressive Mahaboob Alam aside, remains Nepal’s weakness and what ultimately costs them in the longer version of the game. They do have a clutch of canny spinners however, and in Sharad Vesawkar just may have the player of the tournament. But there will be plenty of Nepalese candidates for that honour.
UAE:
UAE are the pedigree side in ACC senior tournaments, having won the one-day ACC Trophy four times in a row and having won the three-day ACC Premier League two of the past three years.
Bolstered as they are by regular infusions of first-class cricketers from overseas as well as fresh homegrown talent coming up through the ranks, the UAE have traditionally been very strong. If the UAE don't win this tournament they can say they've sent a relatively inexperienced side some of the senior stalwarts having to save themselves for ICC World Cricket League fixtures in the weeks ahead. If the UAE win the ACC Twenty20, they can point to their tremendous strength in depth. Either way, the UAE are going to be hard to beat.
Their captain in this tournament Saqib Ali oozes top-order class and in Arshad Ali, captain in the longer formats, they have a batsman whose appetite for runs has never diminished in all the years he's been playing the game. He's a one man wrecking crew and his leg-spin is decidedly useful too. Whenever he makes runs it's almost certain UAE win.
A fine well-balanced side, they have the ingredients to go all the way.
Kuwait:
As the home team and arguably the most ambitious team, Kuwait have a lot going for them. Plus they have a genuinely strong batting line-up. Khalid Butt, Nadeem Malik and Saud Iqbal at the top of the order all have the ability to inflict some serious damage on any bowlers. Local coach Tahir Khan says that "300 is possible for this team, they have the batsmen."
What Kuwait don't have however, is the bowling to back up the batsmen and like all the teams in the Gulf, they don't have the fielding. When so few hours of practice are available a week, usually late at night, fielding is the one discipline that suffers.
They have the oldest player in the tournament in slow left-armer Haji Javed at 45, a player whose fitness levels remain very high. Apart from wicket-keeper Mohammad Rashid (21) the rest of the squad are all seasoned campaigners. What Kuwait's players do have is familiarity with playing on turf, being the only Gulf country outside the UAE to have grass wickets. It could be a critical advantage.
Much rests on Kuwait's batsmen but given enough to work with, their slow-bowlers just may ultimately dictate the course of each match.....
...
