DSC Ramadan Twenty20 tourney from August 24

Featuring eight top teams, the tournament will provide a great opportunity to local players to experience the thrill of playing matches at the state-of-the-art facility which was opened with the Australia-Pakistan series on April 22, 2009.

Since that series, it has successfully hosted many international matches, getting rave reviews both from players and officials. Called the ‘Ring of Fire’ because! of a unique lighting system, the stadium will wear a festive look when the Ramadan event is conducted by Dubai Sports City under the auspices of the Dubai Cricket Council.

The eight teams will be divided in two groups and a total of 15 matches will be played before the champions are crowned. Matches will start at 8pm and 11pm every day and each team will play a minimum of three matches. Elegant trophies, accompanied by attractive cash prizes, will be presented to the top teams and the players.” “We are delighted to host the first Ramadan Cup at Dubai International Cricket stadium. Such events will go a long way in development of cricket in UAE”, said Khalid Zarooni, president of Dubai Sports City.

“The very intension behind organizing this tournament is to try and create healthy playing opportunities for local players. I am sure there will be that extra enthusiasm when the teams walk on to the pitch,” said Abdul Rehman Falaknaz, Chairman Dubai Cricket Council.

Mohammed Redha Abbas, vice-chairman of DCC and chief selector ECB, said: “There is no dearth of interest for the game and tournaments like this will certainly add an extra bit of spice to the atmosphere.”

Teams: Group A: ECB Blues, Phoenix Medicines, Pack 2 Go and Seven Seas Strikers; Group B: Yogi Group, Gyan Steel, Interface Transworld & Sharjah Club.