Oman Cricket Academy opening to mark 48th National Day celebrations

MUSCAT, OCT 31 - The Sultanate’s 48th National Day celebrations will be made more special on November 5 by the grand inauguration ceremony of the iconic Oman Cricket Academy (OCA) building that also houses Oman Cricket’s headquarters in Al Amerat. His Highness Sayyid Haitham bin Tareq al Said, Minister of Heritage and Culture, and Patron-in-Chief of Oman Cricket, will be the chief guest while Sayyid Khalid bin Hilal al Busaidy, Minister of the Diwan of Royal Court, will be the Guest of Honour at the high profile ceremony which is also going to see the presence of Shaikh Saad bin Mohammed al Saadi, Minister of Sports Affairs and a host of ministers, high-ranking government officials, foreign diplomats, leading figures from the private sector, top management of Oman Cricket and members of cricket fraternity in the Sultanate. Pankaj Khimji, Senior Board Member, Oman Cricket, will brief the gathering on the latest cricket developments as well as the salient features of OCA followed by a video presentation highlighting Oman’s achievements in world cricket. “The hour-long ceremony, which will start at 4 pm, will begin with Oman’s National Anthem, followed by the unveiling of the OCA building plaque by the chief guest who will be accompanied by the guest of honour, VVIP guests and Oman Cricket Chairman Kanak Khimji,” said Madhu Jesrani, Secretary, Oman Cricket. Explaining the details, he said: “The guests will then be taken around the academy building for a view of the facilities and services on offer where they will be able to meet the men’s and women’s national teams undergoing training and net practice. They will also be taken to the balcony for a wonderful view of the grounds followed by presentation of special mementos.” OCA, perched on the edges of the two floodlit cricket grounds in Amerat’s picturesque setting, offers world-class facilities for training, net practice and coaching. The state-of-the-art academy building also has a gym, meeting rooms, restaurant, prayer room, players’ dressing rooms and VIP sitting area. The indoor net practice arena, constructed by Gabba Nets of Australia, consists of two fast pitches, two spin pitches and three normal pitches with lights and air-conditioning and dedicated dressing room facilities. With Oman attracting tourists from all parts of the world every year, OCA will go a long way in promoting Muscat as the ultimate cricket training hub in the region. The Oman Cricket turf ground 1 is equipped with flood lights, digital scoreboard, as many as ten turf pitches and high quality grass which is watered by OCA’s own reverse osmosis plant. The OC ground 2 offers similar facilities in addition to 5 astro-turf and 5 turf pitches with floodlights for fielding drills. The nets facility is constructed by Gabba Nets of Australia. OCA is also equipped to offer teams and players a number of net bowlers and bowling machines to help them prepare for different playing conditions. Shahzad Raza