Afridi ‘just one of the boys’ at Emirates Airline Twenty20
11th March 2010Fading form, an uncontrollable ego or murky scandal have stripped many a good leader of their team’s captaincy over the years, but Nigel Fernandes – skipper of Fly Emirates XI – is no Younis Khan, Sourav Ganguly or John Terry.
Fernandes is in the form of his life, hugely popular with his team-mates and his salary – from his day job as an Airport Services Supervisor at the Emirates Group – would not get him near the kind of parties which drag many of sport’s filthy rich stars on to the front pages.
Even Shahid Afridi – the explosive all-rounder who has signed up to play for Fly Emirates XI in the inaugural Emirates Airline Twenty20 – was unable to wrest the captaincy from the 32-year-old Indian batsman.
Fernandes, to the delight of his team-mates, will still be calling the shots, with Afridi – the Pakistani superstar who steered his nation to victory in the World Twenty20 in London last year – joining the rank and file in the side made up of talented employees of the Emirates Group.
"It is a real privilege to have Shahid on board. He is one of the finest Twenty20 players on the planet, though cricket is a team game and if we are to succeed, every one of the players will have to contribute," said Fernandes, who last week ripped through the all-star charity side Lord’s Taverners with a devastating burst, taking six wickets for nine runs, including Australia’s Michael Bevan, widely regarded as one of the greatest one-day batsmen to have graced the game.
"We are taking this tournament very seriously and will be looking to Shahid deliver something special when we come up against the experienced pros, but he will just be one of the boys.
"He is an amazing talent who can win matches on his own, though working together as a team was the key to our success against the Lord’s Taverners last week and we will keep the same approach for this tournament.
"All the players are very excited. It will be a tremendous learning experience for us. We have been training very hard and confidence is high. I am sure that we will surprise a few of the pros and put up a strong challenge."
They will be facing up to English County sides Sussex and Surrey, as well as a development team from South Africa’s Cape Cobras, in the two-day festival of cricket this Friday and Saturday at the new cricket facilities which recently opened at 7he Sevens.
Sussex are England’s Twenty20 Cup holders and NatWest Pro40 champions and, with England players Monty Panesar, Ed Joyce and James Kirtley in their ranks, they should prove stern test for the Fly Emirates XI, even with four members of the UAE team which reached the last four of the recent ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers in Dubai.
Surrey Lions will have England stars Mark Ramprakash, Steven Davies and Chris Tremlett competing at 7he Sevens, while the Cape Cobras will have emerging stars earmarked to follow in the footsteps of Graeme Smith and JP Duminy.
Matthew Jackson, the tournament director and founder of ARCH, the organisers, said: "I saw Fly Emirates XI in action against the Lord’s Taverners and there is no doubt they have some very talented players. To outplay a team featuring the likes of Geraint Jones, Michael Bevan, Chris Adams and Andrew Caddick is no mean feat and I would not be surprised if they cause an upset."
In addition to the Emirates Airline Twenty20, ARCH will be hosting the Emirates Airline Forty40, featuring Surrey and Sussex and two other English County clubs, in the week following the Twenty20 event.
The development of grassroots cricket is a key objective of both ARCH and Emirates and they will also be running the Emirates Airline ARCH Trophy for schools, which will feature under-19 pupils from the UAE, New Zealand and the UK.
Tickets to the Emirates Airline Twenty20 (18th and 19th March) are on sale at 7he Sevens venue, Emirates Headquarters, Promoseven Sports Marketing offices (Emarat Atrium Building, Sheikh Zayed Rd) and will also be available at the gate on the day of the tournament.
Daily admission costs Dhs 25, while a ticket for both days costs Dhs 40. Children 12 and under can enter free of charge, provided they are accompanied by an adult or guardian.