Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium

The Sheikh Zayed Stadium (Arabic: ملعب الكريكيت الشيخ زايد‎) is a cricket ground located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The stadium cost $23 million to build and was opened in May 2004,[1] with its inaugural first-class match being an Intercontinental Cup fixture between Scotland and Kenya in November of that year.

Not to be confused with Zayed Sports City Stadium.
Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium
ملعب الكريكيت الشيخ زايد
Ground information
LocationAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Coordinates24°23′47″N 54°32′26″E
Establishment2004
Capacity20,000
OperatorPakistan Cricket Board
TenantsPakistan national cricket team
End names
North End
Pavilion End
International information
First Test20–24 November 2010:
 Pakistan v  South Africa
Last Test3–7 December 2018:
 Pakistan v  New Zealand
First ODI18 April 2006:
 Pakistan v  India
Last ODI27 March 2019:
 Pakistan v  Australia
First T20I10 February 2010:
 Afghanistan v  Scotland
Last T20I27 October 2019:
 United Arab Emirates v  Canada
As of 27 October 2019
Source: Cricinfo

The stadium has a large stand at either end, with the areas square of the wicket offering grass banks for additional seating.[2] It can hold 20,000 people.

International fixtures

IPL (Indian Premier League)

The first half of the 2014 Indian Premier League was held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium.

Friendship Series (Pakistan vs India)
Pakistan playing against India at Abu Dhabi

Among the stadium's most memorable events were the back-to-back charity matches between rivals Pakistan and India in April 2006. These matches were significant as the arch-rivals put aside their differences to support the victims of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake. The series was expected to raise $10 million for earthquake relief. B. R. Shetty, of the Abu Dhabi Cricket Council, said: "Of the total money raised, 75 percent will go to Pakistan and the rest to India".[3]

Other competitions

Many international series have been played there. Following the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Pakistan was unable to host home matches at the stadium. However, Zimbabwe successfully toured Pakistan from May 19–31, 2015, playing five matches in Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Pakistan has hosted series against Australia, England, West Indies, New Zealand and South Africa at this stadium. Because of the Indian general election, the first leg of the 2014 Indian Premier League was played there, as well as in DSC Cricket Stadium and Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium.

Domestic fixtures

In 2009, the stadium hosted numerous cricket games, mostly fixtures in the Nissan Gulf Cup, where domestic teams from England and India competed against each other for the title. In March 2009, Sussex, Lancashire, Middlesex and Surrey played pre-season friendlies there.

Football fixtures
Date Team 1 Score Team 2 Competition
2 January 2019 Thailand0-2 OmanFriendly

Nursery grounds

The stadium complex also features a pair of smaller grounds called Nursery 1 (also known as Tolerance Oval) and Nursery 2. Tolerance Oval was used for a Twenty20 International between United Arab Emirates and Australia in October 2018.[4] In September 2019, Tolerance Oval was named as one of the venues to host cricket matches for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament.[5]

Tolerance Oval
First T20I22 October 2018:
 United Arab Emirates v  Australia
Last T20I27 October 2019:
 Hong Kong v  Nigeria
As of 27 October 2019
Source: Cricinfo
Nursery 2
As of 20 October 2019
Source: Cricinfo

See also

References
  1. "Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium- Abu Dhabi Cricket Club". AdCricketClub.ae. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  2. "Sheikh Zayed Stadium | United Arab Emirates | Cricket Grounds | ESPNcricinfo". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  3. "India bat in Abu Dhabi charity match against Pakistan". Web.archive.org. 10 June 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  4. "Sheikh Zayed Stadium Nursery 1 | United Arab Emirates | Cricket Grounds | ESPNcricinfo". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  5. "ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019 schedule announced". International Cricket Council. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
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