Emirates Cricket Board’s attempts to get more players battle ready for UAE duty look set to continue with plans of expanding the Inter-Emirates tournament with men’s and women’s categories.

The competition has been a permanent fixture on the UAE cricket domestic calendar since 2015 when the Under-19 event was first held followed by the Under-16 tournament 12 months later.

Representing their respective emirate – Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Ajman in a round-robin league, it is the first stage of getting noticed by the national team selectors of a potential.

And following the success at youth level, Mazhar Khan, general manager of Sharjah Cricket Stadium and ECB administrator, believes it’s a good move to open the doors to adults.

“Domestic cricket has to be strong for any teams to develop and this is a big move forward,” he said. “We know that there are many domestic competitions being held but this is a different way of choosing the best players from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman. By having a regional inter-emirate tournament, it’s a very good idea and this will be an elite tournament that will give ECB the opportunity to pick the players for the national team hopefully.”

Although plans are yet to be finalised, the men’s category will be played in a 50-over competition which will involve members of the national team, while the women’s event is set to be a 20-over tournament.

In previous years, the ECB have identified the best bunch of players who have impressed and shortlisted them for a training camp ahead of representing the national team at upcoming U-16 and U-19 tournaments. The formula has been a success, with the U-19s qualifying for the Asia Cup last year.

The U-16s were also crowned Asian Western Region champions in December, on home soil.

This weekend, Dubai and Sharjah will be among the two Emirates that will host their trials for hopefuls. The U-16 and U-19 competitions will continue to run and with previous trials attracting big numbers, Khan believes 2018 will be no different.

“There is a lot of excitement with parents, schools and academies as it’s a new Inter-Emirate tournament,” he said.

“All of them are supporting this initiative and I’m sure all the matches will be closely-fought. Since it’s a Emirate tournament organised by the Emirates Cricket Board, I’m sure every person and every team will want to put on a good show.”