Vipers Voices

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we look back on another win for the team, this time by four wickets against the Sharjah Warriorz at the Dubai International Stadium.   We’ll do that looking back in the company of fast bowler Khuzaima bin Tanveer, who celebrated his birthday in style by taking two wickets, as well as Tom Bruce and Vriitya Aravind, who were together at the crease when the winning ru...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we speak with Pakistan opening bat Fakhar Zaman as he gives us a terrific insight into his mindset and what he expects from himself as a player.   Fakhar also speaks at length about how the side will look to bounce back from a first defeat of the season, in the previous match against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders; what it has been like batting with his two opening pa...

Send us Fan Mail This time we hear from captain Lockie Ferguson as he reflects on defeat by the narrowest of margins, one run, against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi. The loss is the Vipers' first of this campaign after starting off with six successive victories, but the consolation is that the side is still comfortably top of the league stadings and has already qualified for the en...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we hear from Head Coach James Foster as he reflects on the Vipers making it six wins from six starts this season, courtesy of a five-wicket victory against the Dubai Capitals at the Dubai International Stadium. The success ensures the Vipers have qualified for the end-of-season play-offs but there is still work to be done to make sure of a top-two berth that would...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we hear from Max Holden, who made an unbeaten 64 from 41 balls to help the Vipers to a fifth win in five matches, this time against the Gulf Giants at the Dubai International Stadium. Max shared an unbroken stand of 123 for the third wicket with Sam Curran (67 not out) as the Vipers won eight wickets with 3.1 overs in hand. Earlier, Khuzaima Bin Tanveer produced a...

Send us Fan Mail This time we chat with the Desert Vipers Sustainability Lead, Ben Hardy-Jones as we look forward to the Sustainability Match which this season will see the team face the Dubai Capitals at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday the 14th of December, a 6.30pm start.   Ben talks to us about the significance of the match, why it is so important and what activities will be taking pl...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we chat with Director of Cricket Tom Moody who reflects on the campaign so far and looks ahead to the team’s next match, against the Gulf Giants, at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday the 12th of December, a 6.30pm start. Tom talks about what’s pleased him and what hasn’t so far. There’s plenty of good stuff to look back on, of course, off the back of four w...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we hear from fast bowler David Payne off the back of another thrilling match involving the Vipers - this time a one-run win against MI Emirates in Abu Dhabi. David was player of the match after taking four for 29 as the Vipers defended 159, sealing the win off the final delivery as wicketkeeper Vriitya Aravind ran out AM Ghazanfar as he sought the run that would ha...

Send us Fan Mail This time we reflect on a great result for the Vipers, who made it three wins from three starts in thrilling fashion against the Gulf Giants at the Dubai International Stadium.   The Vipers, set 180 to win by the Giants, reached 179 for nine to set up a super over, the first in the history of the tournament, and after Dan Lawrence and Shimron Hetmyer scored 13, Naseem Shah then bo...

Send us Fan Mail This time we speak with the Vipers Analyst Freddie Wilde, who gives us a peak behind the curtain at what his job entails.   It really is a fascinating conversation about a role within teams these days that is widely acknowledged but rarely, if ever, spoken about. Our chat covers all aspects of what Freddie does – how he goes about his business, how he interacts with the players an...

Send us Fan Mail The Desert Vipers have made it two wins from two matches at the start of Season 4 of the DP World ILT20, this time beating the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders by two wickets with three balls in hand at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. In this episode we hear from Dan Lawrence, who made 35 from 32 balls and also took the key wicket of ex-Vipers batter Sherfane Rutherford. The Vipers restricted...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we hear from left-arm swing and seam bowler David Payne, who was so influential with two wickets in the opening victory over the Dubai Capitals. David talks us through that win and discusses the conditions encountered in the match, he speaks about the mood within the squad and also looks ahead to the challenge of facing the batting power of Abu Dhabi Knight Riders...

Send us Fan Mail The tournament is underway and the Vipers are off the mark with two points, courtesy of a four-wicket win against the Dubai Capitals at the Dubai International Stadium. The match was a repeat of February's final but this time with a different result! In this episode we hear from Andries Gous, who's 58 from 36 balls was key to the successful run-chase, as well as left-arm...

Send us Fan Mail The waiting is almost over! It's almost time for the first match of DP World ILT20 Season 4, with the Vipers set to go head-to-head with the Dubai Capitals, and ahead of that encounter, we caught up with Head Coach James Foster after the side's final practice session at the ICC Academy at Dubai Sports City. James talks us through the squad's build-up to the game and...

Send us Fan Mail This time, with the clock ticking down towards the season-opener against the Dubai Capitals on Tuesday the 2nd of December, we speak with all-rounder Sam Curran.   Sam was the player of the tournament in Season 3 when the Vipers narrowly failed to lift the trophy, and coming up we have a relaxed and fascinating chat with a player who, off the back of his stellar season with the Vi...

Send us Fan Mail With the season-opener against the Dubai Capitals on Tuesday the 2nd of December racing towards us, we speak with captain Lockie Ferguson.   Lockie is back in charge for a second season after taking the Vipers so close to success last time out and so he’s got plenty to reflect upon, as well as plenty to look forward to, in our chat, a chat that’s well worth your time. Lockie did a...

Send us Fan Mail The episodes are coming thick and fast as the tournament draws ever nearer and this time we speak with returning fast bowling coach Azhar Mahmood.   Azhar was with the franchise for the first two seasons of the tournament before switching to working with the Pakistan men’s team, but now he’s back and we caught up with him after he arrived at the team’s base at JA the Resort in Jeb...

Send us Fan Mail Coming up we speak with Vipers Director of Cricket Tom Moody as players and staff start to assemble at the JA Resort in Jebel Ali ahead of the tournament.   Tom was in great form when we chatted, covering off a range of topics and it really is a chat that – as ever with Tom – is well worth your time. There’s his take on the process of planning for the auction that happened at the...

Send us Fan Mail This time we speak with English batter Dan Lawrence, one of the seven players retained by the Vipers for season four of the tournament, as we get ever closer to the first ball of the next edition.   Dan was one of the squad’s earliest overseas arrivals into the UAE as he opted to play in the Abu Dhabi T10 beforehand, and he took a break from the action at the Zayed Cricket Stadium...

Send us Fan Mail With season four just two weeks away, we’ve got a bumper episode for you. We hear from Khuzaima bin Tanveer, the UAE fast bowler who made such a sensational start to life with the Vipers in the previous edition of the tournament. And we also catch up with Phil Oliver, the Desert Vipers CEO, who talks us through off-field preparations for the start of the action. Very few people ou...

Send us Fan Mail This time we speak with English batter Max Holden, one of the breakout stars of the DP World ILT20 in season three. Max had to be patient at the start of his first season with the Vipers and wasn’t initially able to break into the line-up in the first half of the last campaign.   But rather than sulk, he used his time to work on his game with batting coach Neil McKenzie and so whe...

Send us Fan Mail This time we hear from Tom Bruce, the New Zealand-born batter who’s now qualified to play for the country of his father’s birth, Scotland.   Like Vriitya Aravind, the subject of our previous show, he’s a Vipers new boy and so, coming up, you’ll get the chance to hear all about a player who is sure to be a terrific addition to the franchise’s roster of top talent. Tom was picked up...

Send us Fan Mail Coming up we hear from one of the Vipers’ new boys, UAE wicketkeeper-batter Vriitya Aravind.   Vriitya was the first player to be picked up at the recent auction and we hear all about his reaction to that, plus plenty more. Vriitya is no stranger to the DP World ILT20, having been on the books of two franchises already, spending time at both MI Emirates and the Dubai Capitals.   F...

Send us Fan Mail This time it’s a step away from the elite level to something the Vipers are doing at community level.   The Vipers have set up their own Talent Pathway Programme for boys and girls aged 13 to 19 within the UAE powered by Balqis Capital, and in this episode we hear from coaches and players at one of the first sessions of the new initiative.   It’s all part of the Vipers’ commitment...

Send us Fan Mail It’s another busy episode for you.   We hear from Vipers new signing Andries Gous, the USA wicketkeeper-batter who has been drafted in after previously impressing with the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders.   Andries talks us through his journey to this point in his career, his ambitions for this season’s DP World ILT20, what the future holds for him and USA Cricket – and that, in itself, i...