Dubai International Stadium set for 10th anniversary in style

It's a case of history repeating itself for the Dubai International Stadium as both Pakistan and Australia are welcomed back for the ongoing ODI Series this Friday, in an exact rematch of the Stadium's first-ever fixture, which took place back in April 2009.

In another strange coincidence, the match-referee from that first-ever match, Jeff Crowe, will once again be the man in charge of affairs this Friday.

The ongoing five-match ODI series between Pakistan and Australia will climax at Dubai International Stadium with the final two matches on Friday, March 29 and Sunday, March 31.

To finally confirm that this Friday's ODI match has come full circle from a decade ago, the fixture is also set to feature the only two survivors from that first series in 2009-Pakistan's captain for the series Shoaib Malik and Shaun Marsh.

Khalid Al Zarooni, President, Dubai Sports City and Vice-Chairman of ECB said: "The past decade has been enormously successful and I'd like to thank the multiple cricket boards who have played such a major part in our collective journey, including the ICC, ACC, PCB and BCCI amongst others."

Dubai International Stadium now holds several world records of its own, including having hosted the most number of Test sides as well as the most amount of T20 international matches at a stadium.

Other iconic and renowned cricket events to have taken place at Dubai International Stadium include the IPL, PSL, Asia Cup, ICC U19 World Cup and numerous other bilateral international matches.

Vijay Sajjanhar, Chief Financial Officer of Dubai Sports City said: "Ten years ago we had a vision to bring the finest sports entertainment the world has to offer to Dubai Sports City. I am proud that a decade later we are still here and that Dubai International Stadium continues to embody the passion of sport."

Salman Hanif, Senior Manager of Venues and Events, Dubai Sports City said: "It is a fantastic achievement of hosting 19 international teams with over 100 international matches in just a span of 10 years. It is a happy coincidence that we are hosting the same teams who played the inaugural match in April 2009. We'll be marking this anniversary on Friday with the toss with a special gold coin to commemorate a decade of Dubai International Stadium."

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