DESC Diamonds team manager Mike Randall insists team spirit will be key if they want to go far in the Sport360 Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) National School League.

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The Dubai school open their account against Winchester Cobras in the Under-15 category at 7he Sevens Stadium on Saturday, looking to improve on their group stage exit in last season’s tournament.

Diamonds have put in many hours of practice in the lead-up to their opener, and Randall has been impressed by what he’s seen.

“Our boys have put in a lot of hours on the training field because this is a tournament of the highest quality,” he said. “It’s very rare that you find tournaments like this anywhere in the world and we are happy to be part of this.

“Our fielding, batting and bowling has been very good but the most important thing is the team spirit. They have the self-belief and they can go a long way.”

He added: “The boys know they are in for a hard game because the opening game is never easy.”

Elsewhere, DPS Falcons coach Prosanta Chanda is hoping his batsmen can recreate last season’s form when they meet JC Heat. His team advanced from last season’s group having scored 481 runs, and Chanda is confident of another good show.

“Our batting is strong and I’m hoping we can score some big totals beginning against JC Heat. The wicket at 7he Sevens is very good but we hope the conditions can favour the batsmen. If it does then we have enough quality in our attack.”

Completing the line up is Repton Royals’ clash with Modern Heros, while defending champions DPS Sharjah play their first game next weekend.