Mohammad Nadeem will lead Saudi Arabia in the ACC Twenty20 Cricket Cup which will be held in the UAE from Nov. 22 to 30. Announcing the team of 16 players at a meeting here Tuesday Nadeem Nadwi, Chief Executive Officer, Saudi Cricket Center (SCC), said that 12 elite teams are taking part in the first-ever Twenty20 tourney to be conducted by Asian Cricket Council. The matches will be at three venues. The 12 elite teams are divided into two groups and Saudi Arabia figures in tough Group A. Group A: Afghanistan, UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and China. Group B: Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Nepal, Malaysia and Bahrain. The matches will be held on a league-cum knockout basis. After the preliminary league matches the top two teams from each group will qualify for semifinals. Nadeem said that the present team which has been picked after a long selection process under chief selector Qasim Naqvi, has undergone tough training under coach Baba Sarah Booso who is also accompanying the team along with manager Sameer Nidal Khan. Mohammed Asim will leave Pakistan Friday to join the team in Dubai to assist coach Booso. Saudi Arabia will take on Hong Kong in their first encounter at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 22 The team: Mohammed Nadeem (captain), Suhrab Kilisingatakam (vice captain), Hammad Saeed, Kashif Rashid Meher, Shoib Ali, Shafiq Ahmed, Zakaria Al-Nadwi, Hussain Anwar, Mohammad Abdullah, Abdul Waheed, Nasrullah Bhatti, Mohsin, Abdul Qadir, Rizwan Manzoor, Hassan Bukhari and Mohammad Zaheer. Coach: Baba Sarah Booso. Manager: Sameer Nidal Khan. Festival match Saudi Cricket Center has accepted an invitation from Dhahran Cricket Association (DCA), a group which is recognized by the Recreation Department of Saudi Aramco, to play festival matches. The day and night T20 matches will be played Thursday at the cricket facilities of DCA which is the only cricket ground with green outfield and flood lights in the Kingdom. SCC is pitching 8 Saudi players against DCA XI in its main event which also includes some talented players from Saudi Cricket Academy Jeddah (SACA), RCA, EPCA and YACA. A united team of SCC and the officials of affiliate regional associations will play a 10-over match against DCA President XI after the main event. __
