Post Card from Sharjah:
`Surfing, shopping and horseracing'
Neil McKenzie - 26
March 2000
I have enjoyed my stay in Dubai so far as there is more
entertainment available to keep us
busy and going out for a meal is a lot easier than when
we were in India.
It is my fourth game and the cricket has been a good
learning curve. I've only had two knocks and have not
done anything substantial yet but hopefully things will
fall into place with the next one. Playing against the
Indians and Paki's is always a challenge especially with
the 4 quick Paki's, Wasim and his gang, reversing it
towards the middle and end of the innings, just when we
are trying to push the score along.
The hospitality and facilities here in Sharjah are very
good. The nets are always true and it's
great to have 4 nets available, where we can have
throw-downs after our sessions of facing
the bowlers.
The wickets here in Sharjah suit my style of play more
than the Indian wickets did as the ball
seems to be coming onto the bat a little quicker which
negates the slow-turners of the
sub-continent.
The Dubai Shopping Festival is on at the moment and
shopping and general sightseeing is
the order of the day for most of the guys. The prices of
goods here vary according to where
you shop, the modern centres being more expensive than
the older souks. If you happen to
find your way down here one day, a tip I have for you
is...take the price on offer, half it and
then negotiate another 20% discount and you've probably
got yourself a reasonable deal.
We have had a few enjoyable evenings out and have
frequented a few restaurants and
watering holes with the super-sixers. These are the
fellas who are unfortunate not to have
their better halves with them.
Last night a few of us went to the Dubai World Cup horse
race and socialized with the who's
who of the horseracing world. It was a formal dinner-suit
function and mixing it with the
race-goers in the members' enclosure meant we had to
string a few of our finest threads
together to look the part. Hopefully we did not
disappoint.
Formal betting is prohibited but I managed to lose myself
10 dirums to Richard Snell but
made it back on the Fizz who managed to bet on a horse in
the penultimate race that wasn't
even featured in the starting line-up, let alone being
scratched.
Today we went down to the Kempinski hotel complex and
mellowed out on the beach. Striker
and myself tested our hand at windsurfing and were taught
some valuable lessons. One,
balance is definitely essential, calm water is better
than the choppy waves and wind is
necessary too. The resort has only been open for 18
months but is a great venue for holiday
to relax with a great beach, loads of water sports and a
pool-side bar area which generally
lends itself to a good chill-out time.
Time to hit the sack, enjoy the rest of the cricket. I'll
leave you with our racing chant; Go you good thing, go!