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In this episode we look back at the final of the ILT20 Development Tournament, that wrapped up at the ICC Academy at Dubai Sports City on Thursday evening, the 24th of September.

Sadly, it was a step too far for Vriitya Aravind’s side as they lost by four wickets to the Gulf Giants, but it was a terrific match to cap a fantastic competition that showcased the very best of UAE talent ahead of the DP World ILT20 player auction at the start of October.

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In this episode we look back on the Vipers’ team’s semi-final against the Sharjah Warriorz, at the ICC Academy at Dubai Sports City on Wednesday evening, the 23th of September. And it was another back-from-the-dead victory for Vriitya Aravind’s side, by 25 runs, which means they are in Thursday night’s final against the Gulf Giants.

We hear from head coach Jack Luffman, the Desert Vipers' Development Lead, who gives us his perspective on another remarkable night of action.

The Gulf Giants team, the Vipers’ op...

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In this episode we look back on an incredible victory for the Vipers side in their final league match of the tournament – a must win game against the Dubai Capitals at the ICC Academy at Dubai Sports City on Monday evening, the 21th of September – and that includes hearing from the Vipers’ Development Lead and Head Coach for this tournament, Jack Luffman.

The Vipers scored 191 for nine batting first only for the Capitals to fly out of the traps in response, racing to 93 without loss in just the eighth over an...

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In this episode we look back on a defeat for the Vipers side, at the hands of the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders team, by 88 runs at the ICC Academy at Dubai Sports City on Sunday evening, the 20th of September.

The ADKR side raced to 196 for eight batting first and the Vipers replied with 108 all out from 15.5 overs.

It’s a result that leaves the Vipers outside the top four places on net run-rate – and with the top four going into the semi-finals, it means the ne...

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In this episode we reflect upon the Vipers side’s third match of the Development Tournament, this time against Gulf Giants, and it’s produced a second Vipers victory, this time by four wickets with three overs in hand. We hear from the Desert Vipers’ Development Lead, Jack Luffman, the Vipers’ head coach for these matches, as he gives us his take on the game.

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In this episode we continue our coverage of the ILT20 Development Tournament.

And after the Vipers side’s win against MI Emirates in match one, this time Vriitya Aravind’s team came up short, losing by two wickets to the Sharjah Warriorz side in a repeat of the final of the previous Development Tournament, 12 months ago.

Coming up, we hear from Vriitya as he gives us his perspective on the loss.

All six franchises have sides in the Development Tournament at the ICC...

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This episode of Vipers Voices is our first one covering this year's ILT20 Development Tournament, a major marker ahead of season 5 of the DP World ILT20.

And the good news is that the Desert Vipers side are off to a winning start with a four-wicket success against the MI Emirates team at the ICC Academy on Monday evening.

Coming up we hear from Desert Vipers’ Development Lead Jack Luffman, who’s coaching the Vipers for this tournament, as he did last season when the team finish...

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We’re back with news of the Desert Vipers squad for the Development Tournament that takes place later on in September.

The Development Tournament is an event involving representative sides from all six DP World ILT20 franchises and features UAE qualified players. It is those players’ shop window to be noticed and ultimately picked up by the franchises when the auction for Season 5 of the main event happens, in early October.

Coming up we speak with the Vipers’ head coach for the Development Tournament, Jack Luffman...

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This time we can confirm the players who have been retained and signed by the Vipers for Season 5 of the league.

The organisers have allowed a maximum of four retentions and direct signings ahead of a player auction in October and the players that are now on the Vipers books for a tilt at back-to-back titles are Andries Gous, Dan Lawrence, Shimron Hetmyer and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, the latter, the Afghanistan mystery spinner being the franchise’s direct signing.

Coming up we hear from Vipers Dire...

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This time we wrap up the Vipers’ participation in the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League (GSL) – both on and off the field.

We speak with Vipers CEO Phil Oliver about the successes and disappointments of the side’s campaign and we also hear from Alan Smith of NatureWave, one of the Vipers’ key partners in activities away from the tournament action.

The GSL was a five-team event that also featured the hosts and defending champions the Guyana Amazon Warriors from the Caribbean Premier League...

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In this episode we hear how the Vipers were knocked out of the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League.

In Friday night's Qualifier for the Grand Final at Providence Stadium, the Vipers suffered an eight wicket loss to the San Francisco Unicorns, meaning that it’s the USA side that goes forward to Saturday’s ultimate match against the hosts and defending champions the Guyana Amazon Warriors.

The Vipers made 122 for seven after being put into bat and the Unicorns replied with 126 for two, winning with 23 balls...

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Ahead of the Vipers’ Qualifier in the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League against the San Francisco Unicorns on Friday night, the match to decide which team goes forward to face the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Grand Final on Saturday, we hear from teenage spin sensation Vitel Lawes.

The 19 year-old, a late call-up for the squad, has featured in every match of the tournament for the franchise, bowling with impressive maturity and control but it was his batting that helped secure the latest win for Shadab Khan’s side, again...

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It’s back-to-back wins for the Vipers in the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League, this time beating the Perth Scorchers XI – but this win was by the narrowest margin, just one wicket.

Shadab Khan’s side restricted the Australian team to 112 for six but really struggled to chase that score down and it took last man Vitel Lawes in partnership with Nathan Smith to add 12 runs for the 10th wicket to get the side over the line.

Coming up we hear from assistant coach Shane Dowrich...

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The Vipers have kept themselves alive in the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League.

Needing a win against the San Francisco Unicorns to retain a chance of reaching the play-offs, the Vipers achieved just that – and in emphatic fashion too, securing a victory by nine wickets, chasing down 152 with 23 balls to spare thanks to four wickets from captain Shadab Khan and fifties by Zachary Carter and Saiteja Mukkamalla.

Coming up we hear from Saiteja on the importance of the win, his innings and also the chance to b...

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This time we look back at a heartbreaking two-wicket loss at the hands of the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League, including a chat with one of the Vipers’ standout performers of the match, wicketkeeper-batter Vriitya Aravind.

The Vipers set a record for the tournament by posting a score of 205 for six after being put into bat, with that batting effort anchored by Rilee Rossouw’s 61 from 48 balls, but the record score only lasted a couple of hours as the Warriors chased it down in the f...

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it’s time to recap on the first match for the side in the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League – a 38-run loss to the Lahore Qalandars.

Coming up we hear from one of the stars of the day for the Vipers, left-arm spinner Khary Pierre, who was the pick of the attack with 2 for 14 from three overs.

The Qalandars won an important toss, made 176 for four, with 67 coming from the final five overs, and then the Vipers responded with 138 for nine.

There’s...

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On the eve of the Vipers’ first match in the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League, against the Lahore Qalanders on Friday the 24th of July, we speak with captain Shadab Khan.

Shadab talks us through the build-up, the possible selection permutations, the opposition, the role of the UAE players and the mood in the Vipers camp ahead of match one – and if you’re a Vipers fan then you’ll be left smiling at the end of our chat, such is his positivity.

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As the clock ticks down to the start of the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League and the Vipers’ first match of that tournament, against the Lahore Qalandars on Friday the 24th of July, this time we catch up with the side’s Head Coach Azhar Mahmood.

Azhar talks to us about the squad coming together in Georgetown ahead of that first match, the challenges that have been thrown the way of the franchise with multiple player changes being forced upon it through injury and unavailability, and plenty more besides. It’s...

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With us just three days from the Vipers' first match of the upcoming ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League, against the Lahore Qalandars, we speak with wicketkeeper-batter Andries Gous.

The fact we’re speaking with him in Georgetown, as the squad gets together in the tournament city, is one indicator of how close we are to the start of the tournament and given Andries has arrived off the back of a superb season in Major League Cricket in the USA there’s plenty for us to catch up about.

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In this episode we thought it would be interesting to just take a step back from the upcoming ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League and catch up on what’s happened over the past year with one of the Desert Vipers’ local, UAE initiatives, the franchise’s Talent Pathway Programme for young, up and coming boys and girls.

Jack Luffman is the lead for the programme and coming up we speak with him about the operation, which wrapped up with the Apex Cricket Festival in the UK in late June and ear...

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This time we speak with new recruit Nathan Smith. The New Zealand fast bowling all-rounder has been drafted into the squad for the upcoming ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League following the withdrawal of fellow Black Caps player Kyle Jamieson, and he offers the Vipers a precious commodity – first-hand knowledge of conditions.

That’s because Nathan is part of the New Zealand One-Day International squad that’s currently in action in Guyana for a series against the West Indies, and so he’s experiencing the same conditions at Providence Stadium that the...

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In this episode we catch up with the player who has just been confirmed as the Vipers’ captain for the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League, Pakistan spin-bowling all-rounder Shadab Khan.

Shadab will lead the side for the GSL after Chris Green, the player originally named as captain, had to pull out of the tournament with a hand injury.

We speak with Shadab about his captaincy background, his leadership style and his role models, his superb form in the latest edition of the Pakistan Super League, and...

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This time we catch up with an up-and-coming star who’s linking up with the Vipers for the first time – New Zealand middle-order batter Bevon Jacobs.

Bevon has enjoyed a breakthrough past 12 months, making his international debut for New Zealand in the Twenty20 International format, and now he’s all set to take his bow for the Vipers in the upcoming ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League that’s due to take place in late July and early August.

Observant Vipers fans will remember he played fo...

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This time we’ve got a very special episode for you - and something a bit different.

Coming up we hear from Mickey Arthur, the decorated coach who’s been in charge of four different national teams, and also Tom Bruce, who was part of the Vipers squad in Season 4, the side’s first title success.

And why have we brought these two together for this podcast? Well, they have one thing in common and that is that they both have first-hand experience of the ExxonMob...

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This time we catch up with a new recruit for the Vipers, South Africa top-order batter Rilee Rossouw.

Rilee is linking up with the Vipers for the upcoming ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League that is set to take place in late July and early August, replacing off-spinning all-rounder Chris Green in the squad after Chris was ruled out through injury.

There are few players currently playing who can boast the range of experience that Rilee possesses.

He’s played for at l...

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On this occasion we hear from Azhar Mahmood, the former Pakistan all-rounder who is the Vipers’ Head Coach for the upcoming ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League that is set to take place in late July and early August.

Azhar has plenty to say on the Vipers squad, the build-up to the tournament and the tournament itself – and he also talks about a major piece of news which is that Chris Green, the Australian off-spinning all-rounder, has been ruled out of the upcoming action because of a hand injury suffered playi...

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This time we hear from Barbados all-rounder Kyle Mayers, one of a Caribbean contingent joining the Vipers for the upcoming ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League that is set to take place in late July and early August.

Kyle brings with him a vast amount of experience in short-form cricket, including in the DP World ILT20 where, over the past two seasons he’s played for the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and the Gulf Giants.

When you add to that the fact he’s played in th...

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This time we hear from New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson. Kyle is a new addition to the squad for the upcoming ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League that is set to take place in late July and early August, replacing Australia left-arm paceman Jason Behrendorff, who has sadly had to drop out through injury.

When we caught up with Kyle he’d just arrived in the UK for a three-match Test series for the Black Caps against England following on from a stint at the Indian Premier League and it’...

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In this episode we speak with one of the heartbeats of the Vipers line-up last season, wicketkeeper-batter Vriitya Aravind.

We speak about his recollections from that title-winning campaign, his reaction to being picked up by the Vipers again, alongside fellow UAE players Matiullah Khan and Sanjay Pahal, for the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League and what he is expecting from conditions in Guyana.

Vriitya also tells us what he’s been up to since the DP World ILT20 wrapped up in January, what his bui...

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In this episode we’ve got double the usual content for you. First-up, we’ve got a chat with USA wicketkeeper-batter Andries Gous, one of the heroes of the side’s success in season 4 and a player who’s back with the Vipers for the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League.

And then once we’ve wrapped up with Andries, we hear from Ben Hardy-Jones, the Vipers’ Sustainability Lead, who tells us all about how the franchise will be looking to promote its green agenda during the tournament on the South America...

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It’s time for the second installment of our two-part chat with Chris Green, the Australian off-spinning all-rounder who’s captaining the team in the upcoming ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League in late July and early August.

The crux of our conversation this time centred around the tournament to come.

We discussed how many of the Vipers squad for the Global Super League Chris knew ahead of the team assembling in Guyana and he told us about his vast experience of playing in the Carib...

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This episode features the first part of our two-part chat with Chris Green, the Australian off-spinning all-rounder who's been named as Vipers captain for the upcoming ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League, the Twenty20 tournament at Providence Stadium from 23 July to 1 August.

Chris spoke with us during a break in the ongoing Pakistan Super League, where he is playing with the Islamabad franchise, and we covered a wide range of subjects, including the Vipers captaincy and how the job offer to him came about; Chris’s captaincy mentors and wh...

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In this episode we hear from the franchise’s CEO Phil Oliver.

Phil talks to us about what it means to invited to take part in the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League in Guyana in July and August – both from a prestige and a commercial perspective – he walks us through the challenges of putting together a squad at a time of year when the Vipers are not normally in action and he also looks ahead to Season 5 of the DP World ILT20, including discussing the dates of that tournament, which w...

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We are back for a new season of the podcast a little earlier than in past years and the reason for that is simple: the Vipers have been invited to play in the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League, a T20 tournament in Guyana at the end of July.

It’s meant Tom Moody, the Desert Vipers Director of Cricket, Phil Oliver, the CEO, and others behind the scenes have had to swing into action to put together a squad for that tournament, and in this episode we hear from Tom...

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In this episode we present the second installment  of our Season 4 review. Desert Vipers Director of Cricket Tom Moody reflects on all the highlights and challenges faced during an action-packed tournament which saw the Vipers winning the trophy in their third final in four seasons. 

Tom has confirmed his commitment to the Vipers in Season 5 and he is eager to start laying the groundwork for another successful year, and keeping the winning momentum going.

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In this episode we have the first part of our Season 4 wrap-up. Desert Vipers CEO Phil Oliver reflects on the team’s maiden DP World ILT20 title, talking us through the work that went on behind the scenes to help ensure the ultimate success of the franchise.

Phil also looks ahead to Season 5 - the planning starts now for the team to try and become the first to retain the title!

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In this episode we celebrate the Desert Vipers winning the DP World ILT20 for the first time!

After two runners-up finishes, the Vipers won this time with an emphatic 46-run success against MI Emirates.

We hear from Head Coach James Foster, bowlers Khuzaima bin Tanveer, Usman Tariq and David Payne, batter Max Holden and CEO Phil Oliver as all of them reflect on what this triumph means to them and to the team.

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In this episode we hear from Vipers captain Sam Curran ahead of the final of the DP World ILT20, against MI Emirates at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday the 4th of January.

Sam gives us his thoughts on the threat that MI Emirates pose, talks us through his captaincy style and what he expects from the big game as the Vipers, having reached their third final in four seasons, look to secure a maiden title.

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In this episode we hear from the Vipers' Pakistani mystery spinner Usman Tariq, who announced himself with three wickets in Qualifier 1 against MI Emirates to help propel the side to the final.

Usman tells us about how he ended up at the Vipers, his unique bowling style, his meteoric rise over the past year or so, including a stellar spell in the Caribbean Premier League, his international aspirations and much more. It's well worth your time!

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In this episode we speak with Andries Gous, one of the heroes for the team in a 45-run win over MI Emirates in Qualifier 1 in Abu Dhabi.

Andries scored 120 not out as the Vipers, put into bat, scorched their way to 233 for one, with Fahkar Zaman making 69 and Sam Curran an unbeaten 38 from only 12 balls. Andries and Fakhar added 157, a new tournament first wicket record, while Andries' individual score is the highest in tournament history.

MI Emirates responded with 188 for seven to give...