Qatar’s schools tournament, which has run in various modes over the years is becoming an increasingly substantial presence. An U-14 Boys School Cricket Tournament has been running for six weeks, ending in May. 12 schools are taking part. Eight delegates from the Korea Cricket Associaton, Incheon Cricket Association, Incheon Sports Council and Incheon Asian Games Organising Committee were in Dhaka as guests of the Asian Cricket Council during the Micromax Asia Cup. “We invited them specifically so that they would be able to increase their understanding of all that happens on the field and behind the scenes of a major cricket event as Incheon prepares for the 2014 Asian Games,” says ACC Chief Executive Syed Ashraful Huq. Thailand has completed their third National Youth Cricket Championship, this time in the eastern province of Chanthaburi. Teams from twelve provinces took part this year, five more than last time. All players in the 21 teams, the coaches and officials were Thai. The Cricket Association of Thailand says that “the tournament will showcase some of the emerging talent from every province enabling them to pick target squads for national age group teams.” Six Chinese national cricketers are heading to London this year for a season of coaching and play. They will be coaching too. They will be in England as guests of Capital Kids Cricket (CKC), a charity dedicated to increasing cricketing opportunities for London’s inner-city and state school children. England’s Ravi Bopara is a former Capital Kids Cricketer as are a number of current county cricketers. The first of two University tournaments to be held this year was completed in Bangkok in February. Five universities: Assumption, Bangkok, Kasem Bundit, Mahidol and Siam played a 25-overs round-robin tournament at the Terdthai Cricket Ground. The universities all have cricket clubs representing them in the local league and it is hoped that the greater exposure this tournament will bring will encourage the universities to further support cricket activity. Brunei Darrussalam Cricket Association and Oman’s Kanak Khimji have been the Asian region’s winners at the tenth Pepsi ICC Development Programme Annual Awards. Brunei won Photo of the Year and Oman Cricket Chairman Kanak Khimji receives the Lifetime Service Award. Actually it’s a significant stride. The Asian Cricket Council has invited the 2014 Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee to attend the Micromax Asia Cup in Dhaka, and the Secretary General of IAGOC Kwon Kyung-Sang has accepted. “It’s a great opportunity for the Koreans to see all that happens when cricket is played at the highest level. There is no bigger stage for cricket in Asia than the Asia Cup with all its symbolism, its history and its passionately followed encounters and with the Asian Games Twenty20 matches just two and a half years away, this is the key time for the Incheon Games Organisers to experience just how Asian, just how special, cricket is,” says ACC Chief Executive Syed Ashraful Huq.