Emirates shares ICC WC 2011 trophy with Dubai’s street players

Wednesday, 19 January 2011 00:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Emirates airline - an Official ICC Partner – shared the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 trophy with street players in Dubai to celebrate the final countdown to the start of event.

With just a month until the cricket carnival gets under way on 19th February, a group of lucky cricket fans got to see the trophy that the likes of England’s Andrew Strauss and India’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni dream of lifting in Mumbai on 2nd April.

The airline’s cricket team – Fly Emirates – took the trophy to a makeshift pitch in Jumeirah, just one of the hundreds that spring up on patches of desert across Dubai every week, and played a challenge match against a group of local players.

Against the backdrop of the iconic Sheikh Zayed Road skyline, Fly Emirates, a team of talented employees of the Emirates Group who juggle busy jobs with a packed cricket schedule, ran out winners after a closely contested game.

It was an unforgettable day for the street players who posed for pictures with the trophy, while the man of the match was presented a shirt and bat signed by Kings XI Punjab, the IPL side which Emirates is the title sponsor of.

“An everlasting image of Dubai is seeing thousands of cricketers playing on desert pitches every week,” said Sir Maurice Flanagan, Executive Vice Chairman, Emirates Airline & Group. “A heavy ball – the same size as a tennis ball - makeshift stumps and an old bat transform almost every spare plot of land in Dubai into a meeting place where friends gather to get their cricket fix. It is a way of life for them and captures the spirit of the game perfectly.

“Emirates shares their passion for the sport – sponsoring the ICC and many other properties on both a global and grassroots level - and thought bringing the ICC World Cup trophy to them would be a great way to mark the countdown to the opening match on the 19th of February.

“Emirates is an Official Partner of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and - with 184 weekly flights to 10 Indian destinations, as well as flights serving Bangladesh and Sri Lanka – we look forward to flying in the teams, as well as thousands of fans.”