It is very rare to find that associates cricket creates a splash on either the front or back pages of major newspapers. Imagine then my amazement at seeing a headline about Russian cricket as the lead sport article in a Dubai based broadsheet.

Cricket in the UAE is popular, what with a large indian and pakistani ex-pat community and a growing number of UAE hosted international fixtures, but generally it is limited to test teams and star players. To lead with a story about a lesser team, outside of the Gulf region is unprecedented and suggests that the editors at least feel that there is a considerable level of interest and intrigue in the growth of the global game.

According to the report an Indian businessman has ambitious plans for a newly formulated Russia United Cricket League (RUCL) with one of the prime objectives being to develop a successful national team. Ashvani Chopra, the man behind the initiative, has even stipulated that each of leagues seven teams must field a Russian player.

Russia are one of the teams currently seeking official ‘affiliate’ status of the ICC and the report says the ICC have given their endorsement to the competition. Fixtures were first organised in 1995 and the first tournament in Russia was held in 2001.