Dubai, 13 January 2024: The Winchester School will battle it out with GEMS Modern for the top honours in the ILT20 Schools Cup Final to be played on Sunday, 14 January. Six teams made the Final round after winning in their respective pools in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah where 36 schools competed in the first round.
More than 500 teenagers took part in the first-round matches, 90 out of these 500 now feature in the final round being played at the ICC Academy Ovals, in Dubai. In the final round, the six teams named after the six franchises in the DP World ILT20 are divided into two pools of three teams each.
The finalists Winchester School are named after Dubai Capitals while GEMS Modern are named after defending champions Gulf Giants. The other teams in the fray were The Cambridge High School Abu Dhabi named after MI Emirates, GEMS Cambridge named after Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Our Own English Sharjah named after Sharjah Warriors and DIA Emirates Hill named after Desert Vipers.
In pool 1, Dubai Capitals, MI Emirates and Sharjah Warriors battled with each other for a place in the final while pool 2 saw stiff competition between ADKR, Gulf Giants and Desert Vipers. Both Dubai Capitals and Gulf Giants topped their respective pools comfortably to make it to the final.
Tournament Director ILT20 Schools Cup Andy Russell: “Over the past week, we have witnessed some very exciting cricket at the final round of ILT20 Schools Cup. The International League T20 is committed to providing grassroot opportunities and school cricketers are the future of the game. This tournament has given a great platform for over 500 aspiring cricketers to showcase their skills and it was interesting to see these young players uphold the spirit of sportsmanship.
The growth of the game in the schools also helps creating a strong bond between the DP World ILT20 competition, the franchises and the young generation of UAE cricketers, which is why this initiative is so important. I wish the finalists of the ILT20 Schools Cup the very best.”
