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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.

It's also worth reminding you of the final Vipers squad for the Global Super League, as there have been several changes due to injury and unavailability since the line-up was first announced.

So, the squad is:

Shadab Khan, who is captain, taking over that role from the injured Chris Green 

Andries Gous
Kyle Mayers
Rilee Rossouw, the South African batter who’s taken Chris Green’s place in the squad
Vitel Lawes, a West Indies under-19 batter, who has replaced New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell after Daryl suffered a hip injury during the One-Day International series against the West Indies that’s taking place immediately before the Global Super League
Zachary Carter, another West Indies under-19 player
Bevon Jacobs
Vriitya Aravind 
Saiteja Mukkamalla, the USA wicketkeeper-batter who has replaced Khuzaima bin Tanveer, with the UAE fast bowler ruled out through national commitments 
Nathan Smith, the New Zealand bowling all-rounder, who’s replaced fellow Black Caps fast bowler Kyle Jamieson, who himself replaced Australia left-arm quick Jason Behrendorff
Sanjay Pahal
Khary Pierre
Ramon Simmonds
and Matiullah Khan

Matiullah, Vriitya and Sanjay are the three UAE players on duty in this tournament.

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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 early July.

Jack tells us about what makes the Vipers Talent Pathway Programme different from other coaching offerings in the UAE and he looks ahead to what the second year, starting in September, has in store. It’s a great insight into an area of the Vipers work that, while it doesn’t receive the same coverage as the headline-making performances in the DP World ILT20, is nevertheless a key building block for the franchise in its efforts to lay down long-term roots in the country and the region.

The Vipers’ Talent Pathway Programme powered by Balqis Capital, was launched in September and October of 2025 and has been designed to identify, nurture and develop elite young cricketers in the UAE.

It’s about scouting and selecting high-potential boys and girls at under-14, 16 and 19 levels and then providing them with top-level coaching, facilities and support systems, as well as analysis.

There’s also game exposure of course, most recently exemplified by the Apex Cricket Festival in the UK, plus, ultimately, the chance to be part of what the Vipers hope will be a pathway of talent from the programme through to the DP World ILT20 Development Tournament, which is itself a feeder for UAE players to the senior squads that take place in the DP World ILT20.

The programme is for girls and boys and the Vipers are hopeful that the role they’re playing with girls cricket means that whenever the ILT20 expands to include a women’s tournament, the Vipers have already created a pipeline and a route map for local talent to be part of the franchise.

if you or a child of yours wants to be a part of the Talent Pathway Programme going forward then you can find out more information by contacting Jack at [email protected] or calling or messaging Jack on +971 50511 8526. 

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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 Vipers will come up against when the Global Super League gets underway.

Nathan comes into the Global Super League very much as a player on the rise in international cricket.

He has arrived in the Caribbean off the back of a player of the series performance for New Zealand in their three-Test series against England, taking 16 wickets and also contributing handy runs in the lower-middle order.

The GSL will be his first experience of franchise cricket, and during our chat he explains why that is, but he’s not short of T20 experience as, during the past two years, he’s appeared for first Worcestershire and then Surrey in the T20 Blast in England and Wales.

He talks us through those two stints in county cricket and also discusses that England Test series which saw him operate with wicketkeeper Tom Blundell up at the stumps, an unusual situation for a bowler of Nathan’s pace.

We discuss whether that approach, designed to keep batters in their crease and inhibit their movements, has any potential mileage in the GSL and we also discuss conditions in Guyana – the heat, the humidity, the dew factor and the potential for big crowds to be making lots of noise.

Nathan explains how he thinks the Vipers can come together quickly as a unit to give themselves the best opportunity to be successful and he also gives us his thoughts on the two other New Zealand players in the squad – Bevon Jacobs and Daryl Mitchell, with Daryl coming into the GSL off the back of a fantastic, match-winning hundred in the deciding Test of the series against England at Trent Bridge, when he took numerous blows to the body but refused to back down. That will be the sort of attitude the Vipers will need to show to give themselves the best chance of success at Providence Stadium in Guyana.

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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 his experience of playing in the Caribbean and Guyana in particular, something that will be of vital importance for the upcoming action. He also talks us through the impact a recent shoulder surgery has had on him and the positive way it has affected his cricket.

It’s another terrific conversation and it’s one you’ll definitely enjoy.

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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 for MI Emirates in the third season of the DP World ILT20 and, off the back of that, he got to spend a season with Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. Coming up Bevon talks us through those experiences.

He made his international debut in Zimbabwe against the country of his birth, South Africa, in the middle of last year and made an immediate impact, with an unbeaten 44 from 30 balls, as he helped rescue the Black Caps and put them on the road to victory, and he has gone from strength to strength after that impressive start.

Bevon played in the Caribbean Premier League for the Antigua and Barbuda franchise and was then the breakout star of the New Zealand Super Smash which helped earn him a spot in this year’s Pakistan Super League.

On top of that, after the PSL, Bevon made his maiden international fifty, against Bangladesh in Mirpur, and now’s he’s all set for the Global Super League – a year after he looked set to play in the tournament for the Dubai Capitals, only for other commitments to prevent that from happening.

Within our chat, Bevon talks of the role of the finisher in the T20 format – the mindset required and also the type of practice that a player such as him has to do to ensure he is best prepared for what’s required. He also speaks with us about his background, as well as his aspirations for the future. All in all, it’s a terrific conversation. 

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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 ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League that the Vipers are set to take part in at the end of July.

Mickey has been coach for Rangpur Riders, the side from Bangladesh that won the first edition and was runners-up last season; and Tom was part of the New Zealand team the Central Stags, which was part of that second season, in 2025.

On that basis they can offer valuable perspectives into what the tournament is like and what it takes to be successful there. It’s a terrific chat with the duo and hopefully you’ll find it a fascinating insight into the event the Vipers are set to be part of for the first time later this year.

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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 least 20 teams and franchises on the Twenty20 circuit, plus the Oval Invincibles in the men’s Hundred in England and Wales – and that activity has taken him way beyond his native South Africa, to the Caribbean, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the USA and Australia amongst other locations – as well as, most recently, Belgium!

Rilee tells us all about that Belgian experience in our chat, a chat that took place just after he arrived in Dallas ahead of Major League Cricket in the USA, where he is all set to star for the Texas Super Kings, a side captained by his former South Africa team-mate Faf du Plessis.

Rilee’s breadth of experience is impressive in itself but, on top of that, this year he also became a member of a very select batting club, reaching 10,000 runs in T20 cricket, only the 20th player in the history of the game to reach that mark.

He also has an impressive international pedigree in white ball cricket, with five hundreds for the Proteas in One-Day International and Twenty20 International action, and he has featured for his country in fifty-over and T20 World Cups.

Earlier this year, Rilee topped the run aggregates for the Quetta franchise in the Pakistan Super League and he captained his team in that Belgian T20 competition – so he brings good form and also great knowledge of the format to the Vipers for the Global Super League

And with two years of experience in the Caribbean Premier League with the St Kitts and Nevis franchise, he also brings experience of the conditions the Vipers will be confronted with during the GSL.

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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 playing for Lancashire in the T20 Blast in England.

It’s definitely a blow for the Vipers given Chris’s skillset and the fact he was lined up to captain the team, but Azhar talks us through the situation and his expectations that the Vipers can still impress and lift the silverware in Guyana.

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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 the Indian Premier League, the Pakistan Super League, the Bangladesh Premier League, South Africa’s SA20, the T20 Blast in England and Wales, Major League Cricket in the USA and, of course, the Caribbean Premier League for more than a decade, it’s plain to see the franchise has secured the services of a player who knows his way around the Twenty20 landscape.

Kyle talks to us about his experiences, including playing in the Global Super League last year for Rangpur Riders, and he gives us some fantastic background on the other players from the West Indies who are linking up with the Vipers in this tournament – left-arm spinner Khary Pierre, left-arm fast bowler Ramon Simmonds and young top-order batter Zachary Carter.

Kyle also explains what the conditions are likely to be in Guyana for the tournament and he reminisces about his unbeaten Test double-hundred on debut as part of a historic run-chase for the West Indies in Bangladesh – one of the greatest individual feats in Test history.

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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’s fair to say he’s looking forward to the cricket he’s got ahead of him over the next couple of months.

Kyle has played plenty of Twenty20 cricket over the past eight months as he’s returned to action following a back injury and so he’s in a great space to talk to us about short-form cricket.

He discusses the value of his stint at the Indian Premier League with the Delhi Capitals as well as how much he’s looking forward to the Test series in England and he takes us on a trip down memory lane too, reminiscing about a real career highpoint when he was named player of the match in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship against India in 2021.

For Kyle, the Global Super League – and, potentially, a five-match One-Day International series against the West Indies beforehand – will be his first time playing cricket in the Caribbean and he discusses the possible challenges that will throw his way.

He also chats about his entry into the history books thanks to his scarcely-believable figures of 6 for 7 in a T20 match for Canterbury against Auckland in 2019 and about what he sees as his best role as a bowler in the shortest international format.

There’s also Kyle’s thoughts on how players can come together in a short space of time and gel into a team capable of winning a tournament like the Global Super League, as the Vipers players have to do in Guyana.

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