The new International League T20 competition (ILT20) will be held across three venues in the UAE – Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah.
Since 2020, until the start of the ILT20, these grounds have hosted 148 T20s.
These matches encompass the 2020 and (part of) the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL), the 2021 Men’s T20 World Cup, the 2022 Asia Cup, and two bilateral series.
So, what can we expect from the ILT20? There’s been a lot of T20 cricket in the UAE in the last two and a half years. With the ILT20 in its debut season, there will be 34 more matches by 12 February.
A variety of teams contested, and will contest, these games – Rajasthan Royals, Namibia, Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders.
This is a common theme when comparing these grounds. Across various metrics, these variations add up.
But the multitude of teams are the main flavour of T20 cricket in the UAE in recent years. The three ILT20 venues are similar in many respects. There are, however, slight differences in how runs are scored and how wickets fall that suggest key distinctions overall.
ILT20 venues in the first innings
In T20s since 2020, for example, the average first innings scores at all grounds are, at most, within a couple of runs of each other.
The slight differences between their boundary percentages suggest hits to the fence constitute a similar proportion of runs at all grounds.
However, two of the venues – Sharjah and Abu Dhabi – are neck and neck while the third, Dubai, is slightly ahead.
This is a common theme when comparing these grounds. Across various metrics, these variations add up.
The resulting picture is one of three grounds similar in the broad strokes yet distinct enough to not be called clones of each other.
While Sharjah’s reputation as a batting paradise due to its small size is not unfounded, it appears somewhat inflated in the company of its siblings in the UAE.
Dubai, for example, has actually seen a slightly higher proportion of runs accumulated from hits to the fence in the first innings.
Fours v Sixes
Where Sharjah’s size has really counted is in the nature of these boundaries.
On average, the ground sees an eye-popping 6.5 sixes in the first innings – clear of the other ILT20 venues.
Shots went along the turf rather than up and over; Abu Dhabi has the highest average fours and the fewest average sixes.
It also has the smallest difference of the three between the average number of fours and sixes.
When you bat first at Sharjah, it’s all or nothing.
Also check out: Wicky’s T20 Match Simulator for the ILT20
It might also explain the average first innings score here – the lowest of the three ILT20 venues.
Grounds of that size literally don’t leave much room for running twos and threes. Of course, that also means you can make up the difference by going over the top.
But, as recent games at Sharjah suggest, you tend not to make it up by that much.
Who knew hitting sixes wasn’t easy?
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The middle phase
Games unfolded at Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Stadium somewhat differently from Dubai and Sharjah. The ground leads the way for first innings runs in the middle overs among the ILT20 venues.
Compared to the other two grounds, these excess middle overs runs at Abu Dhabi came out of the death overs.
With the scoring concentrated in the middle phase, Sheikh Zayed Stadium saw on average under 40 runs in the final phase of the innings.
Things are still, by and large, on brand for the ILT20 venues in the opening stages.
Shots went along the turf rather than up and over; it has the highest average fours and the fewest average sixes.
These key differences most clearly express the varying ground dimensions of the three ILT20 venues.
ILT20 venues in the second innings
By and large, the UAE is the place to field first.
The 2021 Men’s T20 World Cup is the most prominent recent example of how the conditions advantage the side batting second.
Fewer wickets fall on average in the second dig than in the first at all three ILT20 venues, with the greatest disparity at Abu Dhabi.
It’s a small sign that Sheikh Zayed Stadium might offer the biggest advantage to chasing teams relative to the first innings of the game.
By disparity between average fours and sixes, the gap remains widest at Abu Dhabi.
Interestingly, the fours at Sharjah fell sharply in the second dig compared to the first.
Unlike the other two grounds, this intensified the relationship of the first innings rather than simply continued it.
Runs scored by phase of game
In the second innings, Dubai proved to be the most frontloaded – and backloaded – of the ILT20 venues.
In the second innings, the average scores here in the powerplay and death overs are the highest of the three grounds.
Dubai retains its lead from the first innings. The venue had the highest average scores of the three in the first and last phase of games.
Abu Dhabi dominates through the middle, as in the first dig.
By contrast, Sharjah moved up the ladder only in the final four overs. Again, this was the case in the first innings as well.
However, the gap between middle overs scores at Abu Dhabi and Sharjah is much greater in the second innings.
This is more due to the scores at Sharjah falling away than scores at Abu Dhabi rocketing out of reach.
So far in the ILT20, after two games at Abu Dhabi, the average first innings score is 159.
Dubai, after a couple of high scoring first digs, is at 161. From two games at Sharjah, as of this writing, the figure is 163.
Five of the eight games so far in the ILT20 were won chasing.
Things are still, by and large, on brand for the ILT20 venues in the opening stages.
It will be interesting to see if these patterns, from the plentiful T20 cricket played at these grounds since 2020, hold over the length of the tournament.
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