Dubai Basketball star says he feels at home as UAE celebrates National Day

Latvian star Davis Bertons of Dubai Basketball. (SUPPLIED)
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Updated 02 December 2024
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Dubai Basketball star says he feels at home as UAE celebrates National Day

  • The Latvian player previously played for NBA teams San Antonio Spurs, Washington Wizards, Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder and Charlotte Hornets

DUBAI: Dubai Basketball star Davis Bertans, has expressed his deep admiration for the UAE, saying that since he and his family moved to Dubai earlier this year it is a place that has truly captured their hearts.

As the UAE marks the 53rd Eid Al-Etihad (UAE National Day) on Dec. 2, the Latvian is experiencing the celebrations for the first time since moving to the country. This follows an eight-year stint in the NBA, where he played for San Antonio Spurs, Washington Wizards, Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Charlotte Hornets.

Eid Al-Etihad represents a historic moment for the UAE, founded through the unification of the seven emirates and now home to people from around the world.

After four months in Dubai, Bertans has special praise for the country and the warm welcome he has received. He said: “The number one thing that I enjoy about the UAE is the safety. I feel so safe being here with my family and walking the streets. All the people are amazing and they’re really polite and they make sure that everyone around them is feeling great.

“The way they take care of you is special and it’s a country represented by different nationalities, so you get to find a wide selection of cuisine from anywhere in the world. It’s also sunny every day, which we all like. We haven’t tried Emirati cuisine yet but it’s one that is on my list for sure.”

He added: “The country also has great attractions. One of the first places that we visited since we arrived was the Green Planet and that was unbelievable because it was an indoor forest. The kids had a lot of fun and met the snakes and reptiles — it was new for them and they loved it.”

Bertans is part of a strong roster that is making history during Dubai Basketball’s inaugural season in Europe’s prestigious ABA League, with home games played at Coca-Cola Arena. The 32-year-old has been one of Dubai Basketball’s key players, scoring 64 points in six games. He said it was an honor to be among the first players to represent the club and he is eager to inspire the next generation.

He said: “We will always be remembered as the first players of Dubai Basketball and we’re definitely enjoying the experience. Although it’s a new team, we have had a strong attendance at Coca-Cola Arena and hopefully throughout the season we’ll get more people to enjoy the sport and become huge fans of Dubai Basketball.

“Basketball has become such a global sport and if you look at the NBA and EuroLeague, there are so many players from different countries. If one country has one player who has reached the highest level, it can inspire so many young kids to play and that would have a snowball effect where people would have dreams of being a professional. I think we can do that here at Dubai Basketball and show how much fun it is and make them fall in love with the game, just like we did when we were younger.”

As for the season ahead, Davis has set his sights on winning the ABA League Championship. His team is in a strong position, with a 7-2 record and sitting two points off the top spot.

He said: “Our number one goal is to win the ABA League. To bring the championship to Dubai would be something incredible and a historic moment for all.”


‘Block that noise,’ ex-captain Sarfaraz advises Pakistan to hold nerves during India clash 

Updated 13 February 2025
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‘Block that noise,’ ex-captain Sarfaraz advises Pakistan to hold nerves during India clash 

  • Pakistan face India on Feb. 23 in Dubai for Champions Trophy 2025 Group A clash 
  • Under Sarfaraz Ahmed’s leadership in 2017, Pakistan beat India to win Champions Trophy

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan cricket captain Sarfaraz Ahmed advised the green shirts to head into their highly anticipated Champions Trophy clash against India by keeping their nerves in check and avoiding the added pressure, the International Cricket Council (ICC) reported on Thursday. 

India and Pakistan will take the field against each other in Dubai on Feb. 23 for their Champions Trophy Group A clash. One of the fiercest rivalries in sport, cricket matches between the two countries draw thousands to stadiums across the world, and millions to TV sets. 

Pakistan will begin their title defense against New Zealand on Feb. 19 in Karachi. Under Ahmed’s leadership in 2017, Pakistan beat India to lift the Champions Trophy that year in a one-sided clash. 

“Whenever we meet, it is a special occasion and there is so much hype and pressure around it,” Ahmed wrote in a column for the ICC.

“But as players, you need to stay calm, try and block that noise out, and just play with the same intensity as you would play Australia or any other team.”

Ahmed said Pakistan have a strong team and a really good chance of successfully defending the trophy. 

“Some of the boys from 2017 are still there and we’re talking about some of the best – especially Babar Azam,” he said, referring to Pakistan’s most prolific ODI batter. 

Ahmed noted that Azam was more mature and formidable than he was in 2017. 

“His batting will be so important for Pakistan and so will Fakhar Zaman’s,” he said, referring to Pakistan’s left-handed aggressive opening batter. 

He said left-armer Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf are both “brilliant bowlers.”

“The captain, Mohammad Rizwan, is also a wicketkeeper-batter, which worked pretty well for me back in 2017!” he said. 

The green shirts will face New Zealand in the final of an ongoing tri-nation series involving South Africa on Friday in Karachi. 

The tri-nation series is a warm-up before the Champions Trophy kicks off next week. 


Sale of The Hundred hits the jackpot

Updated 13 February 2025
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Sale of The Hundred hits the jackpot

  • Rancor over The Hundred concept mitigated as 8 clubs paid eye-watering sums by investors for stakes in the tournament

It feels like the end of the beginning for The Hundred. Eye-watering sums were paid between Feb. 6 and 12 for shares in the eight “franchises” that constitute the tournament.

There is no denying that it has been a divisive and polarizing concept. However, in what has been described as the Indian Premier League moment for cricket in England and Wales, there is partial closure on this rancor because of the amount of money that has been raised. The next concern is how it will be spent by the beneficiaries.

In first place are the seven County Cricket Clubs, plus the Marylebone Cricket Club, which hold the franchises, the so-called hosts. It has always been something of a misnomer to term them franchisees since the tournament has been owned by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The ECB footed the start-up costs, a significant part of which were payments of £1.3 million ($1.6 million) per year to the 18 counties to secure the necessary two-thirds majority. Eleven of them are non-hosting and were not in favor of The Hundred because it provided them no benefit. The funding, termed a dividend, overcame objections.

In 2024, the counties supported the ECB in its wish to open up The Hundred to private investment. Eight new companies were to be created, with the ECB gifting each one 51 percent of its equity, which the holders can either keep, sell partially or wholly. The balance of 49 percent retained by the ECB would be offered to the market. This process is now complete.

First to be sold was the Oval Invincibles at Surrey, where the Reliance Group paid £60 million for the ECB’s 49 percent stake. Reliance is led by Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man, who counts the Mumbai Indians, MI Emirates, MI Cape Town and MI New York within his franchise portfolio. Surrey CCC will retain its 51 percent share.

Similarly, Warwickshire CCC retained its 51 percent share in Birmingham Phoenix, with the ECB’s 49 percent share bought by the American owners of Birmingham City Football Club, Knighthead Capital, for £40 million. This may not please supporters of Aston Villa, the rival soccer club in the city.

Then, the ECB’s 49 percent share in the Welsh Fire was bought by IT entrepreneur Sanjay Govil, founder and chairman of Infinite Computer Solutions, for £40 million, with Glamorgan CCC retaining its 51 percent share.

These sums were eclipsed by the £145 million which was paid by a Silicon Valley consortium for 49 percent of the Lord’s-based London Spirit. It is believed that this stake was the subject of intense bidding between interested parties, including Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG Group. The attraction of this prestige stake lies in the access that it provides to Lord’s and its owners, the MCC.

Nikesh Arora, CEO of the security firm, Palo Alto Networks, led the consortium, called Cricket Investor Networks Ltd. It is believed to comprise “11 high net-worth individuals,” who profess a shared love of cricket. Amongst them are Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft; Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google; Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe; Egon Durban, CEO of Silver Lake Management; and Satyan Gajwani, vice-chairman of Times Internet. He is also co-founder of Major League Cricket in the US and co-owner of the Seattle Orcas team.

Any disappointment experienced by Goenka in losing the battle for the stake in the London Spirit was put to one side, as it acquired a 70 percent stake in Lancashire CCC. The county became the first one to sell a part, 21 percent, of its share in the Manchester Originals. RPSG, owners of the IPL’s Lucknow Super Giants, agreed to pay around £81 million for the 70 percent stake.

Across the Pennines, Yorkshire CCC, Lancashire’s historic and greatest rivals, has well-publicized financial issues. It now has the opportunity to deal with them. The ECB’s 49 percent stake in the Leeds-based Northern Superchargers, plus Yorkshire’s 51 percent stake, has all been sold to Kalanithi Maran’s Sun Group, owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad and Sunrisers Eastern Cape for around £100 million.

A little further south, it was Nottingham-based Trent Rockets’ turn in the spotlight. This sale had originally been scheduled for Feb. 3 but was delayed as the ECB sought to keep investors, who had failed with earlier bids, involved in the process. This may have caused some nervousness in Nottingham CCC, as they watched potentially preferred bidders place their money elsewhere.

Ultimately, Cain International, which had bid for the London Spirit, topped the live auction on Feb. 11, acquiring the ECB’s 49 percent stake for around £40 million in competition with the owners of Kolkata Knight Riders and Indian investor Amit Jain, who was working with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

The Cain Group is led by Chelsea FC director Jonathan Goldstein and backed by Chelsea’s co-owner Todd Boehly, who, in addition to Chelsea, has co-ownership of Strasbourg FC and the LA Dodgers baseball team. Nottingham Forest FC may feel uncomfortable seeing Chelsea parked on an adjacent lawn.

The final sale of the ECB’s equity focused on the Southern Brave team of Hampshire CCC. In late September 2024, the company that owns Hampshire CCC announced a takeover by the GMR Group, which co-owns the Delhi Capitals in the IPL, plus franchises in the UAE and South Africa. The £120 million deal was for the control of Hampshire CCC and its infrastructure. Plans to acquire the Brave would wait until the ECB’s sale process was revealed.

A key concern of the ECB was that its equity share should not be acquired by GMR at below-market value. Since that value would only emerge once bidding started, it made sense for the ECB to leave the Hampshire sale until last. On Feb. 12, it was reported that GMR had paid around £48 million for the ECB’s stake, paving the way for GMR to acquire total control of the Southern Brave. The value of Hampshire’s 51 percent share is unclear.

There is more clarity around the funds raised by the sale of the ECB’s equity. Based on data so far released, it appears that almost £500 million has been raised. This will be music to the ears of the second and third groups of potential beneficiaries, the 11 non-hosting counties and grassroots cricket.

Ninety percent of funds from the sale of the ECB’s 49 percent stake will go to the 18 counties and the MCC, with 10 percent going to the recreational game. Eighty percent of funds raised from sales of the 51 percent stakes go to the host county, with 10 percent split between the 18 counties and MCC and 10 percent going to the recreational game.

Over the next eight weeks, the four IPL and four non-IPL owners will finalize their agreements with the host counties. This is too late to have a significant impact on the 2025 season, regarded as a transitional one. No doubt, at the top of discussions, will be re-branding, attracting players, and their salaries, alongside the distribution of responsibilities between the hosts and the new investors.

Whilst not a new beginning, it seems clear that English and Welsh cricket will never be the same again.


Pakistan hopeful Champions Trophy will bring more big events

Updated 13 February 2025
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Pakistan hopeful Champions Trophy will bring more big events

  • Top teams shunned Pakistan after 2009 attack on bus carrying Sri Lankan cricket players in Lahore 
  • Pakistan last hosted ICC event in 1996 when that year’s 50-over-World Cup was played in sub continent 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will host a first major multi-country cricket tournament in nearly three decades next week and its cricket chief is hopeful that a successful Champions Trophy will bring a flood of other such events.
Top teams shunned Pakistan after the 2009 attack on a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore, forcing them to relocate home matches, mostly to the United Arab Emirates.
It took the Pakistan Cricket Board years to convince foreign counterparts that it was safe to visit. Touring sides began returning after the board successfully staged its own T20 league, with several foreign players, on home soil in 2017.
“The ICC (International Cricket Council) Champions Trophy 2025 is a culmination of those efforts,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told Reuters.
“Our successful hosting of this event will further enhance Pakistan’s credentials, positioning us as a strong contender for more ICC events in the next events cycle.”
Pakistan staged the 1996 World Cup after winning the previous edition of cricket’s marquee event but the country’s fortunes crumbled with the rise of militancy following war in neighboring Afghanistan.

’SECURE AND WELL-MANAGED’
“Security has long ceased to be a concern for visiting teams as we have consistently demonstrated our ability to provide a safe, secure and well-managed environment for international cricket,” said Naqvi, who also doubles as the country’s internal security chief.
“Once we successfully staged home international series and consistently delivered PSL (Pakistan Super League) editions at world-class standards, the ICC accepted and recognized Pakistan’s readiness to host a global event,” he said.
“Since 2019, all major Test-playing nations — except India — have toured Pakistan, some multiple times.”
Naqvi said multiple visits by England and New Zealand and the growing number of international players in the PSL were an endorsement. “As a result, they are already familiar with Pakistan’s world-class playing conditions, operational efficiency and robust security measures.”
But he acknowledged that staging a multi-team event was tougher than hosting a single team.
“The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 has been a monumental task, requiring extensive preparations in a limited timeframe. Our stadiums last underwent significant renovations for the 1996 World Cup, and since then, the global cricketing landscape has evolved tremendously.”
The PCB has upgraded two main grounds in Karachi and Lahore for the event in an 11th-hour facelift.


Afridi among 3 Pakistan players fined for conduct breaches in win over South Africa

Updated 13 February 2025
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Afridi among 3 Pakistan players fined for conduct breaches in win over South Africa

  • Afridi was fined 25 percent of his match fee by the ICC for deliberately obstructing batter Matthew Breetzke when he ran a single in the 28th over
  • Saud Shakeel and substitute fielder Kamran Ghulam were fined 10 percent of their match fees after they celebrated too closely to South Africa captain

DUBAI: Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was among three Pakistan cricketers fined for breaching the ICC code of conduct during the record run chase against South Africa in Karachi.
Afridi was fined 25 percent of his match fee by the ICC for deliberately obstructing batter Matthew Breetzke when he ran a single in the 28th over, resulting in physical contact and a heated exchange between them in the tri-nations match on Wednesday.
Saud Shakeel and substitute fielder Kamran Ghulam were fined 10 percent of their match fees after they celebrated too closely to South Africa captain Temba Bavuma after he was run out in the 29th over.
In addition, all three players received one demerit point each on their disciplinary records, and accepted the sanctions, the ICC said.
Pakistan recorded its highest ever successful one-day international run chase of 355-4 and will play New Zealand on Friday in the final, a warmup for the Champions Trophy.


Desert Vipers back extra opportunities for UAE players in future editions of DP World ILT20

Updated 13 February 2025
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Desert Vipers back extra opportunities for UAE players in future editions of DP World ILT20

  • Team’s CEO Phil Oliver says there is enough local talent to have 2 UAE players in the starting 11s and ‘potentially increase it’

DUBAI: The Desert Vipers’ CEO Phil Oliver says the franchise would support an increase in the number of UAE players from two to three in the starting 11s of sides in future editions of the DP World ILT20.

Speaking during the Vipers Voices podcast, Oliver reflected on the 2025 tournament that ended on Sunday when the Vipers lost to the Dubai Capitals in a thrilling final in front of a capacity crowd at the Dubai International Stadium.

On the status of UAE players, he said: “I think it is very apparent that the talent is there to sustain two players in the starting 11s and potentially increase it.”

He said there were “some nuances around it in the super-sub rule. My view is that the introduction of the super sub, something that usually happens at the end of the first innings of matches, often means an international-quality player coming in.”

This was “something that often seems to reduce the opportunity to contribute for one of the two UAE players so there is a bigger picture for the franchises and the league to discuss.”

He added: “We could go to three UAE players or perhaps a player from one of the other Associate countries instead, as there is the requirement to have two Associates in the 18-man matchday squad.

“So maybe there is something on that Associate angle too, because we are really developing these Associate players, not only UAE players, through them having this exposure to fantastic coaches and players for the period of the tournament.

“I think options could be looking at the super-sub rule and asking could that be a UAE player who has to come in, or perhaps a third UAE player (in the starting 11).

“We would be supportive of any of these sorts of moves to be discussed and properly looked at because it is very apparent that the quality is there.

“We have had a fantastic group of UAE players throughout the first three years of this tournament. And the fact we had Khuzaima bin Tanveer break through this year and become a genuine frontline bowling option for us, I think, says it all, so the talent is there.

“We need to give the pathway for these players to develop so we very much look forward to introducing more opportunities for UAE players.”

The tournament may be over for this year, but the Vipers’ presence in the UAE will continue with a growing number of initiatives, including the franchise’s schools outreach program that began in the second half of 2023.

The program, which combines coaching and an introduction to the Vipers’ sustainability agenda that references recycling, sustainability and the ongoing climate emergency, has exposed more than 12,000 children to the sport.

Oliver said it would continue over the coming months. “It is great that the schools program has been ticking along in the background,” he said.

“During the tournament the coaches were working hard and we were able to get a group of the players to go in and join a couple of sessions, so that was great for the kids to see the heroes up close and for the players to see what we do behind the scenes.”