Sunday, May 25, 2014
Sharjah: Gems Modern Academy school’s cricketers showed their talent with a clean sweep of titles in the UAE’s biggest inter-school tournament.
The Gems boys won the under-13 and under-17 titles and the girls claimed the under-17 championship in the eighth edition of the Maxtalent Global Sports Vision Cup at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Their triumphs were made possible by the school’s initiative of grooming cricketers from a very young age and making sure that students are given enough time to sharpen their skills.
The school’s cricket coach, Shafiq Ahmad, told Gulf News: “We have created history due to our systematic approach to become the most consistent school cricket team in the UAE. We groom players from grade four, provide them with training and shape them to be the best to represent the school. Once these players are spotted, then the school management allows these cricketers to train even during PE [physical education] periods.”
In the boys’ under-17 final, Gems beat Our Own English High School, Sharjah, by 39 runs.
Gems posted a challenging total of 151 for six, with Sushain Thapar top-scoring with 33, before Our Own were bowled out for 112, with Shorye Chopra, Aswin Narayan and P K Ashay taking two wickets each. Aaron George’s knock of 33 for Our Own went in vain.
UAE under-19 player Chopra, who played a huge role in Gems dominating inter-school cricket with his all-round performances, received a big send-off in his last appearance for the school. He won the UAE’s best schools cricketer of the year award on numerous occasions.
“We have also won the Sandeep Bhatavia inter-school cricket tournament six out of the nine times we played and seven times we reached its final,” said Ahmad, who himself hit 100 centuries in UAE domestic cricket and has been the school’s cricket coach for 11 years. “In Maxtalent it is our second consecutive win by the boys, but all three titles is reward for their hard work.”
Mazhar Khan, Chief Administrator of Emirates Cricket Board, gave away the trophies and individual medals.
Sudhakar Shetty, Managing Director of Maxtalent Global Sports, said: “We witnessed unbelievable scoring in this edition, with some IPL-style batting, as we had a 32-ball hundred and a 16-ball half-century and three centuries in all. We are glad that this tournament has provided the platform for young cricketers to showcase their skills.”
By K.R. Nayar Chief Cricket Writer
Gulf News 2014. All rights reserved.
