The recurring cry from expatriates of all denominations is the lack of cricket and cricket facilities in the UAE and it is true you do have to look into dark corners of Jumeirah or Jebel Ali to find a patch of concrete or compacted sand that make up our equivalent of Lords. But changes are afoot with new grass facilities being created at posh new schools and at Zabeel Park where you will see whites-clad individuals of various shapes and sizes chasing after a well timed piece of leather.

But if you want to watch cricket in the UAE, well that’s a whole new figurative ball game as the Abu Dhabi cricket stadium and the spanking oval at Dubai Sports City are set to host Pakistan and Australia in five one day internationals and a hit-and-giggle T20 match. The matches, which take place at the end of April and into May, are sure to be a sell-out and provide cricket fans in the UAE with some much needed action. With Pakistan set to play their home games here for the foreseeable future, cricket may well become part of the sporting and social calendar.

The second Pro-Arch Trophy has just finished in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, with six English counties taking on each other, Fly Emirates and the UAE national side, useful practice for the guys in grey prior to their World Cup qualifiers in South Africa. Well, not that good as they finished eight and lost to Fly Emirates in the wooden spoon play-offs. For the professionals from England, the Pro-Arch gives them great practice against like-for-like opposition as well as access to the sun, sea and everything Barasti has to offer. In case you are interested Essex beat Middlesex in the final of the Emirates sponsored event. I am not sure you won the off-field activities but will have to go a long way to beat a certain England all-rounder’s performance in 2008.

Finally and indeed it may be very final, Middle East Cricket – the region’s foremost (and only) cricket magazine has put together a motley crew of cricketers who used to be good in a different lifetime to take on the motley crew of Lashings, the celebrity side from the UK, who include Stuart Law, Damien Martyn and Courtney Walsh. The match is part of the cricket festival at Emirates Palace and should see a very competitive, if one-sided affair, with our hopes resting on ex-Leicestershire bowler and MEC editor Damien Brandy and young leg-spinning all-rounder George McCaffrey, son of beanpole footie presenter Rob, who has been training with the Yorkshire squad this week. Your correspondent is in the line-up and will be seeking to ensure that he is not humiliated by the members of the Lashings squad who also constitute part of Aces Middle East talent pool! Somehow I feel I am on a hiding to nothing and will be avoiding annoying Courtney Walsh at all times! Might see you next month.