Emirates D10 to feature women's match as curtain-raiser for final

Second season of tournament begins in Sharjah on Wednesday

The Emirates Cricket Board is looking to promote women's cricket during the Emirates D10. Reem Mohammed / The National

The second season of the Emirates D10 will include a women’s fixture as a curtain-raiser for the final.

The Emirates Cricket Board have confirmed the 10-over competition, which was launched just after lockdown last year, will return, starting on Wednesday, March 24, in Sharjah.

The tournament will be livestreamed on Facebook, and will involve six teams from across the Emirates.

ECB Blues, the inaugural winners last summer, will start the campaign with a fixture against Dubai at 5pm on Wednesday. The final on Monday, April 5, will be preceded by a women’s “exhibition” match.

“Emirates Cricket and [commercial partners] ITW are firmly focused on developing women’s cricket across the region with this being the first such initiative toward building a strong UAE women’s team for the future,” the ECB said in a statement.

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“This initiative dovetails well into ICC’s recently launched ‘100 per cent Cricket’ programme and their pledge to build interest and bring 1million new women and girls to the game.”

Khalid Al Zarooni, the vice chairman of the ECB, added that “we are extremely excited to bring our talented women’s players into our flagship tournament.”

Dr Tayeb Kamali, the chairman of selectors for the UAE, hopes the competition will provide a platform for talented young players.

“We are delighted that our efforts in conceptualising and delivering D10 and D20 tournaments have helped discover unique home-grown talent,” Kamali said in a statement.

“We have high expectations for these players to develop and perform at both national and international tournaments.

“We are also very keen to see women in the UAE participate and compete in the inaugural tournament as it provides an excellent platform to continue to fine-tune their skills.”