Saudi Arabia eye place at ‘centre of cricket in the Gulf’ after promising display in Oman

After Saudi Arabia’s cricketers beat Hong Kong in the ACC Premier Cup at a picturesque ground beneath the Hajjar Mountains in a suburb of Muscat on Sunday, there was no congratulatory message from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Neymar Jr was otherwise preoccupied with recuperation, as well as Al Hilal’s coming Champions League tie against Al Ain.

LIV’s golfers were probably too taken by speculation over whether Viktor Hovland or even Rory McIlroy might actually be on their way, to take notice.

And yet, just quietly, the result was a significant one for Saudi cricket. Hong Kong might be an inconsistent version of the side that once took a win off Bangladesh in a T20 World Cup. But they are still ranked 10 places above Saudi Arabia in the official ICC standings.

OK, so it was not exactly seismic, but it does represent incremental progress in Saudi Arabia’s vision to develop cricket from both outside and within.

And, according to Kabir Khan, the former Pakistan bowler who is the team’s coach, the result will have been appreciated by the right people.

“They have learnt,” Kabir said of the administrators who are overseeing the growth of the sport in the kingdom.

“Our chairman is a local prince. Our CEO if from there. They have studied cricket, so they know about the rankings, and they are supporting us fully. We have full support from the government and the [Saudi Arabian Cricket] federation.

“These matches will open their eyes to the fact the team is doing well. And when the team does well, extra support comes in.”

As yet, cricket has not had its own headline moment in Saudi Arabia of the like of Ronaldo, Neymar, et al in football, the LIV Tour in golf, or Tyson Fury prize fights in boxing.

Talk of the world’s richest cricket league