UAE's budding cricketers to play at Galle

More than 50 budding cricketers in the UAE will get the rare opportunity

to train at Lord's cricket ground in England and also play at the Galle international stadium in Sri Lanka.

The Desert Cubs Cricket Academy (DCCA), which trains over 140 youngsters in the UAE, will embark on a one-month-long twin tour.

"We want the children to experience the aura of being at Lord's and also train there with a Test star. We have also scheduled 12, 30-over matches for our under-16 and under-14 teams against various teams in England," Presley Polonnowita, head coach of the DCCA said.

"In Sri Lanka, we have scheduled matches for under-15 and under-13 boys and the players will also get the opportunity to interact with Sri Lankan Test star Mahela Jayewardene."

Matches have been arranged against some top teams in Sri Lanka like Trinity College, which produced players like Kumar Sangakkara, and St Anthony's College that produced Muttiah Muralitharan. "Our aim is not only to give exposure but also inspire them to become international cricketers," added Polonnowita, who is a qualified Asian Cricket Council and Australia level-2 coach.

In Sri Lanka the DCCA teams will also play in Kandy and Colombo.

As part of preparations for the tour, DCCA has organized a coaching camp from June 25 at the Sharjah stadium.

"We will cover all aspects of training including batting, bowling, fielding and fitness training.

We are thankful to International Cricket Council Global Cricket Academy coaches Rod Marsh, Dayle Hadlee and Mudassar Nazar for providing their expert skills to organize our coaching structure from time to time," said Polonnowita who set up the DCCA in 2007.

The DCCA boys will also train at the famous Lord's indoor nets and experience how to handle extra swing and bounce.