Maratha Arabians bowler Shiraz Ahmed celebrates the dismissal of Phil Salt during T10 league match against Lahore Qalandars at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.- Photo by Ryan Lim
Abu Dhabi - Maratha Arabians' coach Flower picked out young medium pacer Shiraz Ahmed as one of the standouts for his team. Captain Dwayne Bravo also lauds the left-arm pacer
Published: Sat 23 Nov 2019, 9:33 PM
Last updated: Sat 23 Nov 2019, 11:42 PM
Former England coach Andy Flower has said that playing in franchise leagues like the Aldar Properties Abu Dhabi T10 is a brilliant opportunity for the UAE players to learn from the best and added that the exposure will hold them in good stead.
The ongoing tournament has seen a number of UAE players impress and Flower, who spent 12 years with English cricket, first, as coach and then technical director, picked out young medium pacer Shiraz Ahmed as one of the standouts for his team - the Maratha Arabians.
"(Lasith) Malinga has been working with the youngster from the UAE Shiraz and you can see some of that learning coming out," Flower said of Shiraz's improvement under the wily Sri Lankan bowler's tutelage.
"I think it is a brilliant thing that the UAE players are playing such a part in the tournament. Shiraz, for us, has been pivotal. He struggled in one of the games but other than that, he's shown some great skills bowling yorkers. He bowled a great bouncer, I think was it at (Paul) Stirling? Hit him on the helmet, which is good to see," he added.
Flower, who has now entered the world of franchise cricket after his long stint as England coach, felt it was vital that the UAE players continue to get chances around the globe.
UAE players have been part of the T10 League since its inception and the League's regulation states that one UAE player is mandatory in each game.
Some of the UAE players have also played in the Global T20 League in Canada, earlier this year.
"But it is really important for this region that the UAE players get exposure in the media, but also the experience of playing in front of crowds, playing on TV and playing with some really great players. So, I think all the coaches that I've spoken to, have enjoyed having the UAE players play a part in this tournament," said Flower, who guided England to the 2010 T20 World Cup title as well as No.1 in the Test rankings, apart from a successful Ashes campaign in Australia in 2010-11.
Greenhorn Shiraz, a left-arm pacer, has shown guile and has taken three wickets, while being economical at the same time.
Bravo picks Shiraz for special praise
ABU DHABI - Maratha Arabians captain Dwayne Bravo too echoed his coach Andy Flower by saying that the UAE players are quite talented all they need is a guiding hand to walk them through their progression to the top.
And like Flower, Bravo too picked out his young teammate Shiraz Ahmed for special praise.
"Young Shiraz is a young bowler, who to me, is the standout bowler for us because his 12 balls is very crucial in every game and he always delivers," Bravo said of the UAE left-arm pacer.
"Talent is there everywhere. In the UAE, they don't have much exposure to play with international players so, they will make mistakes at times. It is important that you encourage them and keep backing them because they don't have that experience of playing in the outside world. They play against players who basically are the same level, talent-wise. So, you can see the talent that they have and you need to have good people to guide them, give them confidence," added the West Indian.
james@khaleejtimes.com
|
iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
