Sharjah Young Talents Cricket Academy emerged supreme in the Sharjah Cricket Council-organised Inter-Academy cricket tournament.

Young Talents won the under-13 and the under-16 titles at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. In the under-13 final they defeated Al Ain Sportplex Cricket Academy by 10 runs while in the under-16 they beat Zayed Cricket Academy by 50 runs.

Speaking to Gulf News, Shehzad Altaf, the head coach and the founder of the Young Talents Cricket Academy, said: “It is a superb achievement by our budding youngsters. This is the result of our consistent coaching camps throughout the year and individual attention to every player. “We provide coaching categorising the players into different groups, starting from beginners based on their abilities.”

Altaf also attributed the teams’ victories to extensive planning. “We picked a group of 20 for under-13 and under-16 categories and gave them intense training. We flew in renowned coaches like Dave Whatmore, Geoff Cook, Madan Lal, Naveed Anjum to provide tips,” added Altaf.

Young Talents Academy camps are now spread all over the UAE. “We have our coaching centres now in Dubai — Mirdiff, Al Qusais, and Jebel Ali Delhi Private School — and Sharjah. Our coaches are available any time according to the convenience of the players and we are grateful to Dubai Cricket Council for providing us with all the help,” said Altaf.

In the under-13 final, Young Talents rode to victory on Sparsh Hegde’s fine spell of three wickets for just eight runs after his team had posted an impressive 116 for 9.

Young Talent’s main scorers were Sanjose Sathya (31 not out) and Asad Boghani (26). For Al Ain, Naseem Hassan’s 45 runs and Muqeet Sikander fighting 32 went in vain.

The best batsman award went to Abdullah Kamil of Young Talents while Osama Hassan of Al Ain Sportplex bagged the best bowler award. Liam Rory Azher of G. Force Cricket Academy won the coveted player of the tournament award.