Why is Sharjah’s first match of the World Cup special and another feather on its cap?
By K.R. Nayar
It was the first World Cup match at a venue from where cricket began in the UAE. It was Abdulrehman Bukhatir's dream to bring international cricket to the UAE when he built the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Every format of the game has been played here, including Test matches, at this oldest cricket venue in the UAE. And now, World Cup matches too are being held here
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| A blue carpet welcome to Sharjah Cricket Stadium |
Sharjah’s first match of the ICC Twenty20World Cup 2021 when Namibia played Ireland in the 11th match of this edition on Friday (October 22, 2012) was special in many ways. It is from this venue that international cricket began in the UAE. That is why one cannot miss these words at the entrance to this stadium: “Welcome to the Home of Cricket in the UAE… “IT All STARTED HERE”
It all started here...
For this venue to go on to stage
a World Cup is a big achievement and a special moment. From the early eighties,
it has played a huge role in popularising all formats of the game. In an
interview with this reporter in 2002, Aburehman Bukhatir had remarked that
Sharjah will one day be ready to host the World Cup, and it has happened now.
During that interview, Bukhatir, who was then the president of the Emirates
Cricket Board had also mentioned that it was his dream to see the UAE emerge as
a Test-playing nation. This too may not be far away since the UAE has already
played in the World Cup, both in the 50 over as well as T20 formats. It has
been a great journey for this venue, from entering the Guinness Book of
World Records for hosting the maximum number of One Day Internationals to
staging matches in all formats of the game including the shortest T10 format.
All leading franchise league tournaments and some Test matches have been held
at this venue, which is among the busiest alongside the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket
Stadium and the Dubai International Stadium.
Abdulrehman Bukhatir
The Sharjah Stadium was beautifully dressed up for the World Cup with a
blue-carpet welcome into the stadium. The venue has staged 241 One Day
Internationals, and the Namibia-Ireland match was the 15th Twenty20
International to be held here. It was from here that all the
excitement of the India-Pakistan matches commenced. Fans would make it special
by turning out in large numbers. Mazhar Khan, the General Manager of the stadium
says: “This stadium has always been for the cricket fans and of the cricket
fans.”
The Sharjah Cricket Stadium has a
reputation for producing thrillers. No match in Sharjah can be declared as a
sure win for any team, especially if one looks at the numerous edge-of-the-seat
matches played here. It was revamped just before the Indian Premier
League.
Since Coca Cola is one of the sponsors for the ICC Twenty20 World, the giant
scoreboard displayed the name of this drink repeatedly. It reminded me of
reporting the Coca Cola Cup tri-nation tournament held at this venue in 1998.
That was the first cricket tournament in Sharjah to be sponsored by Coca Cola
and the tournament was held under the aegis of the Cricketers Benefit Fund
Series. India, Australia, and New Zealand had competed in it. Sachin
Tendulkar’s famous sandstorm knock was played during this tournament. Over
24,000 spectators had watched the final live which Indian won by six
wickets beating Australia by 26 runs.
On Friday Namibia created history
by beating Ireland, a Test-playing nation, to enter the Super 12 stage of the
Twenty20 World Cup. The venue’s reputation of underdogs stunning the
favorites thus continued.
MY memory about Sharja Cricket Stadium is the last ball bowled by Chethan Sharma andMiandad hitting it for a six to seal Victory for Pak.
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