India's Sourav Ganguly, right, and Harbhajan Singh had a decent outing in the first Test against Australia and the off-spinner Singh, in particular, would be hoping to inflict further damage with the bat.
India's Sourav Ganguly, right, and Harbhajan Singh had a decent outing in the first Test against Australia and the off-spinner Singh, in particular, would be hoping to inflict further damage with the Show more

UAE run out of qualifiers by the ICC



DUBAI // The UAE's chances of reaching the 2011 Cricket World Cup have been dealt a major blow after the game's ruling body confirmed the Emirates Cricket Board have lost the right to stage the qualifying event. The ICC World Cup Qualifier 2009, which will decide the final four places at cricket's showpiece event, was due to be held here in April.

However, the delay in constructing two academy ovals at Dubai Sports City (DSC) has led the ICC to relocate the event to South Africa. Haroon Lorgat, the chief executive of the Dubai-based ICC, said: "It has been decided it will be moved to South Africa, on account of communications we have from the Emirates Cricket Board that they were concerned. "They requested us to postpone the event until later in the year, but that does not fit with our scheduling. We were forced to move it to South Africa."

Six international standard venues are required to stage the 12-nation competition, which will settle which non-Test playing countries play at the next World Cup. Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, and Al Dhaid all have established cricket grounds, and the new 25,000 capacity stadium at DSC is also scheduled to be ready for April. However, the two adjacent fields, which are being constructed as part of the ICC's Global Cricket Academy, have been hindered by delays.

In an ambitious bid to replicate the batting conditions faced around the world, DSC are planning to fly in different types of soil from Pakistan, Australia and England. Five of the 10 batting pitches on each oval have already been prepared using the Pakistan soil. However, the academy's bosses are still awaiting the delivery of the Australian clay, which they plan to have in the ground by Jan 2009 at the latest.

Construction has been hampered further by the difficulties faced in irrigating the newly seeded fields. Marc Archer, the general manager of the academy, said: "The last thing we want to do is get on the pitches too early and ruin the advantage we have of having these international-type conditions by over-use. "Pakistan are touring Australia next year. They may want to come and prepare on the Australia style wicket on the way down there."

The news could have a substantial impact on the UAE's chances of qualifying for the 2011 finals, which will be staged on the subcontinent. Form suggests they are a long way behind the qualifying tournament favourites, namely Kenya, Ireland, the Netherlands and Canada. They were hoping their knowledge of the home conditions was going to be a considerable advantage to their bid to close the gap on those sides. pradley@thenational.ae

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre, six-cylinder

Transmission: six-speed manual

Power: 395bhp

Torque: 420Nm

Price: from Dh321,200

On sale: now

The specs

Engine: 3.8-litre V6

Power: 295hp at 6,000rpm

Torque: 355Nm at 5,200rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km

Price: Dh179,999-plus

On sale: now 

The biog

Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives. 

The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast. 

As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau

He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker. 

If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah

 

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

TRAP

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue

Director: M Night Shyamalan

Rating: 3/5

Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Power: 268bhp / 536bhp
Torque: 343Nm / 686Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
On sale: Later this year

Middle East Today

The must read newsletter for the region

      By signing up, I agree to The National's privacy policy
      Middle East Today