Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium
Encyclopedia
The Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium (Urdu:) (Arabic:لشارقة جمعية ملعب الكريكيت) is in the emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates
. It was originally constructed in the early 1980s and has been much improved over the years. In 2010, at the behest of local cricketing patron Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, the Sharjah Cricket Stadium became the home ground for the Afghanistan cricket team for One Day International and First-Class matches.
has been played not involving a home country participant (and the only one in a non Test playing country) Sharjah was the venue for four Test matches in 2002. Because of security and safety concerns in Pakistan (following the September 11th attacks and its aftermath) the ground was chosen as a neutral venue to host two Test matches between Pakistan and the West Indies in February and two Test matches between Pakistan and Australia in October.
. The tournaments were organised by "The Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS)" which had been established in 1981 by Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, and whose main aim was to honour cricketers of the past and present generations from India and Pakistan, with benefit purses in recognition of their services to the game of cricket. The stadium initially started with a few limited seats and very modest facilities but by 2002 had a 27,000 capacity and floodlights.
Since 2003 the increasingly crowded cricket calendar has precluded the holding of any major international matches at Sharjah although the stadium has been the venue for certain other matches, for example in the 2004 ICC Intercontinental Cup
. It has also been used by the Afghanistan national team since 2010. A significant reason for the decline of Sharjah as an international cricketing venue is match fixing allegations. This led to the Indian government banning the national cricket team from playing at Sharjah. Since then, the new 20,000 seat Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium
in Abu Dhabi
has become the preferred venue for cricket in the UAE.. The Guinness Book of Records acknowledged the achievement of Sharjah cricket stadium for hosting the most number of one-day matches during the Pakistan and Sri Lanka encounter on Sunday 20th November 2011.
Cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew
said in 2001 : “Sharjah has been pinpointed as being the centre of this activity [match fixing] and, again, this is entirely plausible. I would swear under oath that two of the dozen or so matches I have witnessed on that desert ground over the years were fixed”.On the other hand Sharjah tournament organiser, and former Pakistan cricketer, Asif Iqbal
denied this strongly:”To my mind, all the matches in Sharjah were fair and honest cricketing encounters”.
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
. It was originally constructed in the early 1980s and has been much improved over the years. In 2010, at the behest of local cricketing patron Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, the Sharjah Cricket Stadium became the home ground for the Afghanistan cricket team for One Day International and First-Class matches.
Test matches
One of the few Test Cricket Grounds at which a Test matchTest cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
has been played not involving a home country participant (and the only one in a non Test playing country) Sharjah was the venue for four Test matches in 2002. Because of security and safety concerns in Pakistan (following the September 11th attacks and its aftermath) the ground was chosen as a neutral venue to host two Test matches between Pakistan and the West Indies in February and two Test matches between Pakistan and Australia in October.
One Day Internationals
Between 1984 and 2003 the Sharjah ground was the venue for 198 One Day Internationals held as part of commercially sponsored one day tournaments involving three or four international teams. Sharjah was a popular venue attracting good crowds mostly from the South Asian population of the United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
. The tournaments were organised by "The Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS)" which had been established in 1981 by Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, and whose main aim was to honour cricketers of the past and present generations from India and Pakistan, with benefit purses in recognition of their services to the game of cricket. The stadium initially started with a few limited seats and very modest facilities but by 2002 had a 27,000 capacity and floodlights.
Since 2003 the increasingly crowded cricket calendar has precluded the holding of any major international matches at Sharjah although the stadium has been the venue for certain other matches, for example in the 2004 ICC Intercontinental Cup
2004 ICC Intercontinental Cup
The 2004 ICC Intercontinental Cup was the inaugural edition of the ICC Intercontinental Cup first class cricket tournament, an international cricket tournament between nations who have not been awarded Test status by the International Cricket Council. The tournament took place last from 25 March to...
. It has also been used by the Afghanistan national team since 2010. A significant reason for the decline of Sharjah as an international cricketing venue is match fixing allegations. This led to the Indian government banning the national cricket team from playing at Sharjah. Since then, the new 20,000 seat Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium
Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium
The Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi Arabic ملعب الكريكيت الشيخ زايد cost $22 million to build and is arguably one of the world's finest cricket grounds...
in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
has become the preferred venue for cricket in the UAE.. The Guinness Book of Records acknowledged the achievement of Sharjah cricket stadium for hosting the most number of one-day matches during the Pakistan and Sri Lanka encounter on Sunday 20th November 2011.
Match fixing
Sharjah was at the centre of Sir Paul Condon’s investigations into corruption in cricket. Although the report did not conclusively single out the venue much controversy raged. BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew
Jonathan Agnew
Jonathan Philip Agnew is an English cricket broadcaster and former professional cricketer. He was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire and educated at Uppingham School. He is nicknamed "Aggers", and, less commonly, "Spiro"....
said in 2001 : “Sharjah has been pinpointed as being the centre of this activity [match fixing] and, again, this is entirely plausible. I would swear under oath that two of the dozen or so matches I have witnessed on that desert ground over the years were fixed”.On the other hand Sharjah tournament organiser, and former Pakistan cricketer, Asif Iqbal
Asif Iqbal (cricketer)
Asif Iqbal Razvi is a Pakistani cricketer who captained Pakistan and Kent CCC. He is now an ICC Match Referee....
denied this strongly:”To my mind, all the matches in Sharjah were fair and honest cricketing encounters”.