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It’s three games and three wins for the Vipers after an excellent five wicket success against the defending champions, MI Emirates, under the Ring of Fire lights at the Dubai International Stadium, a victory achieved with five balls to spare.

Coming up we hear from Director of Cricket Tom Moody, captain Lockie Ferguson and player of the match Fakhar Zaman, and they give us their perspective on the triumph.

If you want tickets for any of the Vipers' matches this year then you can purchase them using the link below the podcast description for this episode or at the DP World ILT20’s own website.

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In this episode we do something different – it’s time to hear from the Desert Vipers’ Sustainability Lead, Ben Hardy-Jones, as we approach the annual Sustainability Match, this year against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday the 18th of January.

Ben talks us through what the day will involve from a Vipers perspective and also gives us an insight into the Vipers' actions in tackling the issues of plastic pollution and the ongoing climate emergency – and it’s a fascinating and engaging conversation.

If you would like to buy tickets for the Vipers’ Sustainability Match, or any of the team’s matches for this season, you can do so via a link at the ILT20 website or by using the link that you’ll find beneath the podcast description for this episode.

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It’s two from two for the Vipers as we can look back on another victory for Lockie Ferguson’s side – this time by six wickets with 14 balls to spare at the Dubai International Stadium against the Gulf Giants, the side that beat the Vipers in the inaugural final in 2023.

We hear from two key contributors for the side – opening batter Alex Hales, who had to battle some really testing bowling from the Giants seam attack, and left-arm fast bowler Luke Wood, who was one of the Vipers’ bowlers to impress in an excellent display in the field.

The Vipers' next match is on Thursday the 16th of January at the same venue against the defending champions MI Emirates.

If you want tickets for that match, or any the Vipers are playing this year then you can purchase them using the link below the podcast description for this episode or at the DP World ILT20’s own website.

https://www.thedesertvipers.com
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We hear from Sam Curran, who was a key part of an opening match win for the Vipers against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi.

Sam made 50 not out from 37 balls, and with Dan Lawrence making 70 in 39 deliveries, the duo added 95 in 10 overs as the side ultimately made light of a potentially tricky chase after ADKR made 166 for four in their 20 overs, winning with eight balls in hand.

Buy tickets for all Vipers matches this season either using the link below or at the ILT20's official website.

https://www.thedesertvipers.com
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It’s almost time! In this episode, recorded around 24 hours before the Vipers’ first match of season three, against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi, we check in with new captain Lockie Ferguson. 

Lockie’s had a whirlwind introduction to the Vipers having arrived from Australia, where he was playing for the Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League, on Thursday afternoon.

We chat with the captain about how he’s getting his feet under the table with his new team-mates, how he’s preparing for the action to come, what he thinks about the side’s first opponents – and plenty more. It’s a fantastic interview and one you’ll thoroughly enjoy.

Tickets for all Vipers matches are now on sale and you can purchase them using the link below the podcast description for this episode or at the DP World ILT20’s own website.

The match against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders is the first of 10 group games in 23 days for the team ahead of the finals series. The Vipers are playing matches at all three tournament venues, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, so get your tickets to ensure you can catch the action in person.

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In this edition we hear from Tom Moody, the Vipers’ Director of Cricket, two days out from the side’s opening match of season three, against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi on Sunday the 12th of January.

We spoke with Tom to reflect upon the Vipers encouraging warm-up match against the Gulf Giants and Tom reflects on that performance and what it means for the days ahead.

He also discusses the arrivals of several of the team’s big guns, including new captain Lockie Ferguson, batters Dan Lawrence, Sherfane Rutherford, and Alex Hales and all-rounders Kusal Malla and Wanindu Hasaranga and what that means for selection and for the team dynamic.

And Tom speaks at length about the value he believes the league is providing for UAE players to develop their games alongside some of the world’s best talents.

There’s a hint of three about the make-up of the side for that opening match in Abu Dhabi and his assessment of the opposition for that first match of the tournament for the Vipers.

As ever with Tom, it’s thoroughly engaging stuff and well worth your time.

And for Vipers tickets, please use the link below this podcast description.

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This time we’ve got some cricket to reflect upon as the Vipers have played their one and only warm-up match ahead of the tournament, against the Gulf Giants at the ICC Academy.

And as a build-up to the main event, it couldn’t have gone much better.

The Vipers bowled out the Giants for 125 in only 16.1 overs, then cruised towards that target to such an extent that both head coaches, James Foster of the Vipers, and the Giants’ Andy Flower, agreed to a revised target of 186, 60 more runs than the original requirement.

The Vipers fell short by just three runs of reaching that goal but it was still a match filled with positives and coming up we’ll reflect on those with two of the stars of the day from a Vipers perspective, leg-spinner Nathan Sowter and batter Adam Hose.

Nathan took four for eight in a superb spell of bowling, while Adam found the middle of the bat in a stunning display of hitting, making 47 from only 23 balls before he retired out to give others a chance of time in the middle.

Tickets for all Vipers matches in the DP World ILT20 are available via the link below this podcast description or at the official tournament website.

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This time we hear from one of the Vipers’ new boys, Pakistan batter Fakhar Zaman.

Fakhar has signed on to become the latest Pakistan star to join the franchise following on from Shaheen Shah Afridi, Azam Khan, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Aamir and he linked up with his new team-mates for the first time at the ICC Academy on Monday the 6th of January, six days ahead of the side’s first match, against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi on Sunday the 12th of January.

Fakhar has proved himself to be an exceptional talent at international and domestic levels over a number of years and he arrives at the DP World ILT20 with 11 white-ball hundreds for his country, including a double-hundred in One-Day Internationals, something that underlines his talent and emphasizes what a great signing he has the potential to be for the Vipers this season.

He has arrived in Dubai off the back of a successful domestic tournament in Pakistan, something that should provide him with a lot of confidence going into this campaign – and he talks about his recent action in our upcoming interview.

The left-hander also talks about what attracted him to play for the Vipers and his excitement at linking up with the star-studded group of team-mates around him, as well as the coaching staff. 

During our chat, Fakhar talks about the player he’s most looking forward to lining up alongside this season and, on top of that, he speaks about where he stands in terms of his international future – something that’s especially pertinent given Pakistan is all set to host the ICC Champions Trophy, a tournament in which he exploded onto the international stage in 2017 when his hundred in the final against India helped propel the side to victory.

He also reflects on his time in the UAE in the past, including when he played club cricket here, and what he expects from conditions during the tournament.

And if you want to watch Fakhar and his Vipers team-mates this season, you can buy tickets for all Vipers matches at the link below this podcast description.

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With the tournament just days away, we hear from England all-rounder Sam Curran.

Sam has been one of the first overseas players to arrive at the JA Resort as the squad starts to assemble in Dubai, and we caught up with him after the team’s first training session at the ICC Academy at Sports City.

It’s a case of many happy returns to the Vipers for Sam as he joined the side for the latter stages of season two twelve months ago, and now he’s back – this time for the whole thing.

He’s a player who’s been a star for England in all three formats and was player of the tournament when England won the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022, before going on to captain the Punjab Kings in the most recent edition of the Indian Premier League.

Credentials like that mean he’s a highly respected and very much in-demand talent, so it really is a coup for the Vipers to secure his services for this tournament, especially with so many others taking place at the same time in different parts of the world.

Coming up, Sam explains his thinking behind his decision to go all-in for the Vipers this season and how he hopes he can bring his winning mentality to the team after being part of trophy successes for both his county Surrey and the Oval Invincibles in England in 2024.

He also speaks about where he would like to see himself batting and bowling in the side and about the prospect of facing his older brother Tom, the former Vipers all-rounder, who’s now all set to line up against him for the Gulf Giants.

Sam provides us with his opinion on the impact substitute rule, which is being used for a second consecutive year in this season’s tournament and discusses where he sees himself in terms of his future with the England team.

And on top of that, there’s also chat about his brother Ben, who has now made his international debut for Zimbabwe, the country of their father Kevin’s birth, in Tests and One-Day Internationals.

It's a fascinating chat covering a range of topics - and it’s a chat that’s well worth your time.

And remember you can buy your tickets for all Vipers matches using the link below or by visiting the DP World ILT20's official website.

https://www.thedesertvipers.com
https://twitter.com/TheDesertVipers
https://www.instagram.com/thedesertvipers/

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This time we catch up with the team’s Head Coach, James Foster.

We chat with James about what he’s been up to since last season, his reflections on the previous campaign, his assessment of a host of players – some new and some returning from last term – and we get his assessment of where the squad stands ahead of the first match.

James talks about the rationale behind the choice of New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson as captain, and he also speaks of all four UAE players engaged by the Vipers – all-rounder Ali Naseer and wicketkeeper-batter Tanish Suri, who were retained from last season, as well as fast bowler Khuzaima Bin Tanveer and off-spinning all-rounder Dhruv Parashar, who were picked up the UAE player draft that followed the ILT20 Development Tournament late last year.

It's James Foster looking back at last season, looking at the strength of the current squad and looking ahead to the challenges that lie ahead.

And a reminder you can now buy tickets for all Desert Vipers matches via the link below this podcast description or at the DP World ILT20 website.

https://www.thedesertvipers.com
https://twitter.com/TheDesertVipers
https://www.instagram.com/thedesertvipers/

https://balqiscapital.com