Saudi Cricket Center (SCC) will have to double up its efforts in developing the game in the Kingdom, says an Asian Cricket Council (ACC) official. Iqbal Sikander, Development Officer of ACC, who was here recently to supervise the progress of SCC and its activities underlined the fact again that Saudi Arabia is an affiliated member of International Cricket Council (ICC) and SCC is its legitimate body which is recognized by the General Presidency of Youth Welfare (GPYW) here. Hence, ACC is committed to develop the game in Saudi Arabia. While talking to Saudi Gazette Sikander said: “We are working very closely with the SCC and we appeal to all local cricket organizations to join hands and work alongside SCC for a common cause.” “I have been visiting Saudi Arabia to see the progress and achievement of SCC for the last five years. The SCC teams have been participating in various tournaments which are organized by ACC, and they perform reasonably well. The U-19 team also won a championship. “But frankly speaking, we are not satisfied with the progress and feel that the cricket body here has not come up to our expectations. “We need infrastructure for the progress of the game. The two academies are doing well but we lack natural turf grounds and turf pitches in the Kingdom. Once they have ground on lease basis at least the ACC will invest funds to develop them like we did in Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, UAE and Bahrain. “Kuwait has four grass grounds with turf pitches, and the fifth one will be ready by the end of 2008. Qatar has 8, Bahrain 3 and Oman one. “We also need to establish more academies in other cities of the Kingdom. There are talented players here. All we require is to develop the basic infrastructure. I also hope that the sports ministry will take serious steps to improve the game in this region.” __
