History
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2016) |
The Oman national men's team debuted at the 2002 ACC Trophy, [1] while the national women's team debuted in 2009, at a regional tournament. [2]
Cricket was introduced to Oman during the time when it was a British protectorate. The sport is popular amongst Oman's South Asian expatriate population, and has more recently been taken up by native Omanis. The governing body of cricket in the country is Oman Cricket. The Oman Cricket chairman, Pankaj Khimji, was appointed as the vice-president of the Asian Cricket Council for 2022-23
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2016) |
The Oman national men's team debuted at the 2002 ACC Trophy, [1] while the national women's team debuted in 2009, at a regional tournament. [2]
A 2016 ESPNcricinfo article noted that cricket in Oman "has mostly been played on grassless, utterly brown outfields, on concrete strips covered with artificial turf". [3] At the time of the establishment of the Oman Cricket Board in 1979, there was only a single ground regularly used for cricket, which was maintained by the Petroleum Development Oman and thus known as the PDO Ground. Within a few a few years, however, several other grounds had been acquired, included one at Sultan Qaboos University and one maintained by Oman Air. [4] Beginning in the 1980s, two venues mainly used for football – the Royal Oman Police Stadium and the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex – hosted occasional exhibition matches, sometimes featuring international players. [5]
In July 2008, Oman Cricket announced plans to construct an international-standard facility at Al Emarat, inland from the city Muscat. The cost of the project was initially estimated at 2 million Omani rials (US$5.2 million), with the land donated by the Ministry of Sports Affairs and the rest of the funding to be raised through corporate sponsorship. [6] The venue, known as the Al Emarat Cricket Stadium, was inaugurated in October 2012, by Ashraful Haque, the chief executive of the Asian Cricket Council. It held its first match – a club game – two months later. [7] Floodlights were installed at the venue in 2015, [8] and there are plans for an indoor academy to be built, to complement the existing academy at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. [3]
The majority of cricket players in Oman are expatriates from other cricket-playing countries – Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In 2010, fewer than 100 of the 780 players in the senior national league were Omani nationals. [9] This number had increased to 400 by 2016, although there was also an increase in the number of overall players. [10] Teams competing in the Omani league system are subject to a quota, being required to field a set number of Omani nationals in their playing line-ups. [11] At a national level, only a few native Omanis have broken through into the team. For instance, at the 2016 ICC World Twenty20, only one of Oman's players, Sufyan Mehmood, was an Omani national (although another Omani national, Yousuf Mahmood, was named as a standby player). [12]
Muscat is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was 1.72 million as of September 2022. The metropolitan area spans approximately 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi) and includes six provinces called wilayats, making it the largest city in the Arabian Peninsula by area. Known since the early 1st century AD as an important trading port between the west and the east, Muscat was ruled by various indigenous tribes as well as foreign powers such as the Persians, the Portuguese Empire and the Ottoman Empire at various points in its history. A regional military power in the 18th century, Muscat's influence extended as far as East Africa and Zanzibar. As an important port-town in the Gulf of Oman, Muscat attracted foreign traders and settlers such as the Persians, Balochs and Sindhis. Since the accession of Qaboos bin Said as Sultan of Oman in 1970, Muscat has experienced rapid infrastructural development that has led to the growth of a vibrant economy and a multi-ethnic society. Muscat is termed as a Beta - Global City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
Qaboos bin Said Al Said was Sultan of Oman from 23 July 1970 until his death in 2020. A fifteenth-generation descendant of the founder of the House of Al Said, he was the longest-serving leader in the Middle East and Arab world at the time of his death, having ruled for almost half a century.
Salalah is the capital and largest city of the southern Omani governorate of Dhofar. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 331,949.
The United Arab Emirates men's national cricket team is the team that represents the United Arab Emirates in international cricket. They are governed by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) which became an Affiliate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1989 and an Associate Member the following year. Since 2005, the ICC's headquarters have been located in Dubai.
The Oman men's national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Oman in international matches and is governed by Oman Cricket, which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2000, and gained associate status in 2014. The national side has played matches at the Twenty20 International level. On 24 April 2019, Oman achieved One-Day International status for the first time until 2023, after they beat tournament hosts Namibia by four wickets in 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two.
The Kuwait national cricket team is the team that represents Kuwait in international cricket. The team is organised by Cricket Kuwait, which has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 2005, having previously been an affiliate member since 1998. Kuwait made its international debut in 1979, but has only played regularly at international level since the early 2000s, appearing regularly in Asian Cricket Council tournaments since then. Beginning in the early 2010s, the side appeared in several World Cricket League events, although it was relegated back to regional level after the 2013 Division Six tournament.
The Bahrain national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Bahrain in international cricket. The team is organised by the Bahrain Cricket Association (BCA), which became an ICC affiliate member in 2001 and an associate member in 2017.
The Maldives national cricket team represents the country of Maldives in international cricket. Although they did not become an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) until 2001, they have taken part in the ACC Trophy on every occasion since its inception in 1996. They have never progressed beyond the first round of the tournament. They became an associate member in 2017.
The Qatar national cricket team is the team that represents Qatar in international cricket. The team is organised by the Qatar Cricket Association, which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1999 and an associate member in 2017.
The United Arab Emirates women's national cricket team represents the United Arab Emirates in international women's cricket and is organised by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB).
The 19th Arabian Gulf Cup was the nineteenth edition of the biannual Gulf Cup competition. It took place in Muscat, Oman, from 4 to 17 January 2009, with Omanemerging as the winner for the first time in its history, following a penalty shootout against regional rivals Saudi Arabia.
The 2011 Omani protests were a series of protests in the Persian Gulf country of Oman that occurred as part of the revolutionary wave popularly known as the "Arab Spring".
The 2013 AFC U-22 Championship was the first edition of the AFC U-22 Championship. The hosting rights for the tournament was awarded to Oman. It was set to take place between 23 June and 7 July 2013 but was postponed to be held between 11 and 26 January 2014 due to the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup.
The 2015 Oman Super Cup was the 13th edition of the Oman Super Cup, an annual football match between Al-Oruba SC, the champions of the 2014-15 Oman Professional League and the 2014-15 Sultan Qaboos Cup and Fanja SC, the runners-up of the 2014-15 Oman Professional League. The match was played at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat, Oman.
The Oman women's national cricket team represents the country of Oman in international women's cricket. The team is organised by Oman Cricket, which has been a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 2000.
The Qatar women's national cricket team represents the country of Qatar in international women's cricket. The team is organised by the Qatar Cricket Association, which has been a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1999.
The Kuwait women's national cricket team represents the country of Kuwait in international women's cricket. The team is organised by Cricket Kuwait, which has been a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1998.
Oman Cricket Academy Ground, also known as the Al Amerat Cricket Stadium, is a cricket ground in Al Amarat, south of Muscat, Oman. The ground is owned by the Oman Cricket Board. In January 2021, the International Cricket Council (ICC) gave accreditation for the Ministry Turf 1 at the stadium to host Test cricket.
Ayaan Khan is an Indian-born cricketer who plays for the Oman cricket team.
The 2016–17 Sultan Qaboos Cup was the 44th edition of the Sultan Qaboos Cup, the premier knockout tournament for football teams in Oman.