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In this episode we reflect on the Desert Vipers confirming their place in the top two of the DP World ILT20 with a 22-run victory over the Dubai Capitals at the Dubai International Stadium.

The win means that after the side’s final group match against the Gulf Giants on Saturday the 4th of February, the Vipers will line up four days later against the other side that finishes in the top two – either the Giants or MI Emirates – for a place in the final on February the 12th.

And even if they lose that match on February the 8th, finishing in the top two means a second bite at the cherry with a play-off against the winner of the third and fourth-placed teams for a berth in the final. 

We hear from captain Colin Munro and also Sherfane Rutherford, who was player of the match against the Dubai Capitals as he scored 50 from only 23 balls, including five sixes in one over from Yusuf Pathan. As a match, it really did turn on that match-up.

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Coming up we hear how the Desert Vipers got back on track in the DP World ILT20 with a 22-run victory over the Sharjah Warriors at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

It followed on from the 157-run loss to MI Emirates at the same venue only 48 hours earlier and the win, the side’s sixth in eight outings in the tournament, cements its position at the top of the points table.

We’ll hear from Benny Howell and Sam Billings, two of the heroes with the bat in a relatively low-scoring encounter, and we also drop in on the post-match media conference of Head Coach James Foster.

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In this episode we reflect upon the Desert Vipers suffering a setback in their pursuit of a place in the finals series of the DP World ILT20 thanks to a crushing 157-run loss to MI Emirates at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

We hear from Director of Cricket Tom Moody, who explains the reasons behind a comprehensive defeat and he also looks forward to the Vipers’ next match, at the same venue in two days’ time, against the Sharjah Warriors.

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In this episode we reflect upon the Desert Vipers moving back to the top of the table in the DP World ILT20, ahead of the Gulf Giants on net run-rate having played one match fewer, after a fifth win in six matches, following a 12-run success against the Dubai Capitals at the Dubai International Stadium.

We’ll hear from head coach James Foster who reflects on a really gutsy win, and also UAE off-spinner Rohan Mustafa, who picked up two wickets as part of the victory effort.


This latest victory was down to some incredible death bowling by Tom Curran and Matheesha Pathirana, who performed exceptionally after the Capitals appeared to have the match in the bag as they required 33 from the final four overs with two set batsmen, captain Rovman Powell and Yusuf Pathan at the crease.

Tom and Matheesha conceded only 20 runs in those four overs and it meant the Vipers got across the line defending 149 for nine, something that looked unlikely when 58 runs came in the five overs between overs 12 and 16.

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In this episode we speak with new arrival Luke Wood.

The Lancashire left-arm fast bowler was fresh off the plane from Melbourne, Australia when we caught up with him, linking up with his new team-mates as a replacement for the injured Tymal Mills ahead of the Vipers’ next match in the DP World ILT20, the clash with the Dubai Capitals at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday the 28th of January.

Luke - who finished the Big Bash League as the leading wicket-taker for the Melbourne Stars - headed to training with his new team-mates at the ICC Academy at Dubai Sports City on Friday afternoon but the session the squad had was at the indoor nets, as was the case the previous day, because of persistent rain in the UAE. Thankfully the forecast for game-day on Saturday is for better weather.

It's been a terrific 12 months for Luke with England debuts in T20I and ODI action as well as a winner's medal for the Trent Rockets in The men's Hundred alongside fellow Vipers Alex Hales and Colin Munro and we reflected on that and more in this chat.

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In this episode we look back on a result that meant the Desert Vipers moved to the top of the table in the DP World ILT20, ahead of the Gulf Giants on net run-rate, after a fourth win in five matches.

This latest victory was ultimately a very convincing one, by seven wickets with 3.3 overs in hand over MI Emirates in Abu Dhabi, but the players still had to work hard for the two points.

Coming up we’ll hear from player of the match Sherfane Rutherford, whose classy unbeaten half-century steered the side home in company with Alex Hales, and also captain Colin Munro, who reflects on both this match and the first half of the Desert Vipers campaign in the group stage of the tournament.

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In this episode we’re looking ahead to the Desert Vipers’ next match of the DP World ILT20, against MI Emirates in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday the 24th of January.

To do that we’re in the company of UAE all-rounder Rohan Mustafa who’s already made a real impact on this tournament with his buccaneering batting at the top of the order alongside Alex Hales.

Rohan will also be looking back at the side's first loss, against the Gulf Giants on Sunday, and reflecting on his time in the Vipers set-up, and it’s safe to say he’s enjoying every moment of it!

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In this episode we're reflecting on the Desert Vipers’ first loss of this DP World ILT20, a five-wicket reverse in a high-scoring match against the Gulf Giants at the Dubai International Stadium.

The loss came despite yet another outstanding effort from Alex Hales, who made 99 from 57 balls to give himself a total of 356 runs in the tournament so far.

The Vipers made 195 for four after being put into bat but, thanks to explosive hitting from Chris Lynn and Shimron Hetmyer, the Gulf Giants chased it down with three balls to spare.
 

We’ve got reaction from Director of Cricket Tom Moody and also we hear from Head Coach James Foster.

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In this episode we’re looking ahead to the Desert Vipers’ next match of the DP World ILT20, against the Gulf Giants at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday 22nd of January, the Vipers' only day game in the tournament.


We’re also reflecting on the latest news from inside the Vipers camp, with England left-arm fast bowler Luke Wood securing a call-up in place of the injured Tymal Mills.

The meeting with the Gulf Giants involves two sides with perfect records thus far, so something has got to give.

We get an explanation on the squad change from Director of Cricket Tom Moody, while James Foster, the Head Coach, gives us a peek behind the curtain at preparations for Sunday afternoon’s game.

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In this episode we reflect upon a third victory in succession for the Desert Vipers in the DP World ILT20, maintaining their one hundred per cent record in the tournament.

This win, the second in a row against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, came at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi and was by the convincing margin of 111 runs.

Coming up we’ve got reaction from Alex Hales after he scored the first individual hundred of the tournament, plus we hear from captain Colin Munro, who weighed in with a fifty of his own, and batting coach Neil McKenzie.

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