Osman Samiuddin finds that night cricket in Abu Dhabi is big during Ramzan. He talks to several Sri Lankan and Pakistani first-class cricketers who turned up for the club competition during the festive period. More in the National.

It is serious stuff, as Azeem Ghumman, recently an Under 19 Pakistan and Hyderabad captain, explains. "I actually left a league in England to come and play here. There were a couple of players from Hyderabad who played here last season and I saw the improvement in them through the season back home." ...

The standards here, he says, have been good enough to provide a useful warm-up for a big season. The financial incentives, he adds, have not been bad either.

Mazhar Khan, the chief administrator of the Emirates Cricket Board, says UAE's aim is to qualify for the 2011 World Cup in an interview to Gulf News. Khan, also the manager of UAE's national team, suggests the game is no longer dominated by those from the subcontinent, with more home-grown players as well as Australians and South Africans showing interest.