Saudi Arabia’s senior side haven’t quite lived up to expectations generated by their barnstorming performance in the 2006 ACC Trophy in recent senior ACC competitions, nevertheless they beat the defending champions UAE in the 2008 ACC Trophy (UAE’s first defeat in eight years in the biennial competition).

Future stellar performances look likely based on the abilities of their U-19 cricketers. They won the 2008 ACC U-19 Challenge Cup playing superb all-round cricket and were good enough to beat eventual tournament winners Hong Kong in the 2009 ACC U-19 Elite Cup. This, coming from cricketers who do not go anywhere near turf in Saudi Arabia. Should they manage to hold on to this current generation of teenagers, Saudi Arabia will be a force to reckon with.

Finishing in the top 10 of the ACC Rankings after the tournament seasons of 2007 and 2008, had their Chief Executive Officer Nadeem Nadwi say that, “It will definitely energize our efforts to promote cricket in the Kingdom. This will give our team an extra boost and strength to believe that, with honest efforts and hard work we have every possibility to go even higher on the ladder and improve our ranking further in the next two years.”

Cricket is receiving active royal patronage in the kingdom and the Saudi Cricket Centre are active in reaching out to as many as possible who wish to play the game. The intention of the Saudi Cricket Centre (SCC) is to develop the kingdom’s infrastructure, youth and competition programs. “Youth development is the prime objective,” says Mr. Nadwi, “the targets are primary and secondary schools, where we hope to introduce the children to the basics of the game by way of inter-active and video demonstrations.”

A tournament structure for age-groups for U-13, U-15, U-17 up to U-19 as well as regional competitions for the seniors is proposed with particular emphasis being put on investing in turf surfaces at all the new academies and grounds.

To that end, the kingdom is being divided into six regional bodies for the purposes of development: Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Medina, Abha and Yanbu. The expectation is that by 2013 at least 180 schools will be competing in nationally-managed competitions. “We have set a target of increasing each age-groups schools per region by five a year from 60 in 2009,” added Mr. Nadwi.

The intention is to create a focussed pathway for talented players to progress. Structured training programs and scholarships for the most promising players are proposed with full support being given to the new generation of coaches, curators and umpires that will be needed.