Oman prepares for cricket’s restart

Cricketers across Oman will be starting to repack their kit bags with the news that the sport will be resuming in the country. Whilst there is no set date yet for the resumption Oman’s cricketing governing body, Oman Cricket, has opened up registration for the 2020-21 season.

The season is thought to be starting sometime during September but no official date is able to be announced with Oman Cricket waiting for official government approval. When cricket does restart, players and fans will see cricketing action resume in the country for the first time since March after all cricket-related activity was stopped due to the effects of the ongoing pandemic. 

Oman Cricket has initially invited male senior teams to enrol for the season, with registration for all women’s and junior teams scheduled to open on the 16th of August. The deadline for the registration and fee payment to participate in the male senior league has been stated to be the 23rd of August, with the women and junior sides having their deadline the day after. 

When speaking about the registration the Cheif Administration Officer of Oman Cricket, Iqbal Ariwala, was quoted by the Oman Times stating that “The teams must complete the registration process by logging in to our website www.omancricket.org as there will be no extension in the entry deadlines. Team groupings for all the divisions will be finalised after the deadlines and announced during the captains and managers meetings”. 

Oman is a nation with a real passion for cricket and the country has developed fantastic talents including Aqib Illyas and Zeeshan Maqsood. Whilst the return of the sport is likely to include a number of COVID regulations to ensure player safety, it is fantastic to see cricket’s suspension being lifted in another country.

One exciting aspect to consider is due to the postponement of the ICC T20 World Cup, this may allow Oman Cricket to place an increased focus on the countries domestic system. This increased focus creates ample opportunity to plan and introduce new aspects to the domestic system to aid the growth and prosperity of the sport in the nation.

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