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This time we’ve got a bumper episode for you.

We hear from Tom Moody, the Desert Vipers Director of Cricket, about the franchise’s new players, acquired at the DP World ILT20’s first-ever player auction, which took place in Dubai on Wednesday October the 1st.

Tom runs the rule over the 12 players the Vipers picked up at that auction and, as ever with Tom, his opinions are always worth your time.

After that, we hear from Shimron Hetmyer, the Guyana and West Indies batter, who has switched from the Gulf Giants to the Vipers for season four.

Shimron chats about linking up with a team that he’s been playing against for the past three seasons, talks where he sees himself batting, his hairstyle, shirt number and the Vipers’ chances in the next edition of the tournament and it’s a great listen.

The Vipers will play the tournament’s opening match this term, against the Dubai Capitals in a repeat of last season’s final.

That match will be played at the Dubai International Stadium on the 2nd of December, the first of 10 league matches the Vipers will take part in ahead of the play-offs.

As soon as tickets go on sale then we’ll let you know here on Vipers Voices.

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On this episode, we get immediate reaction from Desert Vipers CEO Phil Oliver to the inaugural DP World ILT20 auction, that took place in Dubai on Wednesday 1 October.

The auction saw the Vipers complete their roster by signing 12 players, and in our chat with Phil he explains the thinking behind the picks made by the franchise.

Phil also discusses what went into a successful auction and chats about the players the Vipers missed out on.

As ever, it's well worth your time.

A reminder that the Vipers will play the first match of season four of the DP World ILT20 in a repeat of the previous season's final, against the Dubai Capitals, on 2 December at the Dubai International Stadium. Once ticket details are released, we'll pass on those details to you.

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Coming up in this episode is part two of our chat with Head Coach James Foster, and this time around we get James’s take on the personnel already retained and signed by the franchise for season four that gets underway at the start of December, as well as his perspective on the upcoming auction, the first in the history of the DP World ILT20.

That auction is set to take place on October the 1st and it’s all part of progress the Vipers, and all other franchises, are making towards that fourth season, which is set to get underway on December the 2nd with the side playing the opening match against the reigning champions the Dubai Capitals, a repeat of last season’s thrilling final.

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In this episode, we have the first of a two-part chat with Vipers head coach James Foster.

In part two we get James’s take on the personnel already retained and signed by the franchise for season four, that gets underway at the start of December, as well as his perspective on the upcoming auction, the first in the history of the DP World ILT20.

But this time we find out what James has been up to since season three ended in early February, hear about his perspective on the recently-concluded ILT20 Development Tournament and we discuss the fixture list for the new term, with several potentially significant changes for the Vipers in that collection of matches.

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This time we wrap up the ILT20 Development Tournament in company with Head Coach Jack Luffman after the Desert Vipers Development Team fell to an agonising four-run loss in the final to the Sharjah Warriors at the ICC Academy on Wednesday evening, the 4th of September.

The Vipers team had fought its way to the final thanks to a superb come-from-behind five-run win against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders side the previous evening and looked on course to take the title when they bowled out Sharjah Warriorz for 134 and then reached 60 for one inside the seventh over in reply.

But a superb fightback by the Sharjah bowlers shut down the Vipers batters and in the end the side couldn’t get across the line.

That was the negative, but the positive was some outstanding performances across the tournament by Vipers players – and coming up Jack Luffman talks us through them and the benefits that have come to both the Vipers and UAE cricket as a result.

The Development Tournament featured sides from all six DP World ILT20 franchises and for all the players involved it was a chance to showcase their talent with a view to being picked up in the main tournament’s first-ever auction, which is set to take place in late September ahead of season four in December and January.

Taking part in the tournament was all part of the Desert Vipers’ progress towards that fourth season, which is set to get underway on December the 2nd with the Vipers playing the opening match against the reigning champions the Dubai Capitals, a repeat of last season’s thrilling final.

Remember the Vipers have reached the final twice in the three previous editions, also playing in the ultimate match of the first season, in 2023, as well as in February against the Capitals, and in season four the aim – of course – is to go one better this time and finally lift the silverware.

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With the ILT20 Development Tournament in full swing, we caught up with fast bowler Khuzaima bin Tanveer and wicketkeeper-batter Tanish Suri (pictured in the thumbnail for this episode), two players who are part of the Desert Vipers squad in that competition.

All six DP World ILT20 franchises have teams in the Development Tournament and with three wins in their five matches in the group stage, the Vipers team has given a very good account of itself.

As we recorded this podcast on Sunday night, the 31st of August, immediately after the Vipers’ final group match, a 22-run win against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, the side looked set to contest the semi-finals on Tuesday the 2nd of September with the final taking place the following evening – all matches in the tournament are taking place at the ICC Academy at Dubai Sports City.

The players across all six teams are playing for not only the chance of being part of the winning team but also to put themselves forward to be considered for the DP World ILT20 player auction that is scheduled to take place at the end of September – so there’s a lot at stake.

Khuzaima reflects upon his time with the Vipers last season, his role for the Dubai Capitals in the Global T20 tournament in the Caribbean in mid-year and his ambitions for both the Vipers and the UAE - once he becomes available - and Tanish speaks about not only the Development Tournament, but also there help he's received from the Vipers coaching staff and his ambitions for the years to come.

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Coming up we hear from wicketkeeper-batter Tanish Suri, all-rounder Ali Naseer and left-arm spinner Nilansh Keswani, with the trio set to feature for the Vipers’ Development team at the ICC Academy.

All six DP World ILT20 franchises have teams in the Development Tournament that is taking place in the last week of August and the first week of September and for all the players involved it’s a chance to showcase their talent with a view to being picked up in the main tournament’s first-ever auction, which is set to take place in late September ahead of season four in December and January.

We spoke with the trio at RAW Coffee in Al Quoz on the eve of the Development Tournament and for the three of them, the matches to come hold real significance.

For Nilansh, there’s the desire to be part of a tournament in which he featured for the Sharjah Warriorz in season two. For Ali, the aim is to once again be involved in a tournament he’s played in since the very first edition, while for Tanish, who was called up by the Vipers as cover late in season two before taking over behind the stumps at the start of season three, there’s the wish to show how much his game has developed since he was handed that chance in last term.

And for all three of them, this is a terrific platform to try and impress not only DP World ILT20 franchises but also the UAE selectors as, after the upcoming T20I tri-series against Pakistan and Afghanistan that serves a prelude to the Asia Cup, there’s qualifiers for next year’s ICC men’s T20 World Cup.

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As the summer heat starts to fade in the UAE, it’s time to focus on on-field action again and specifically the ILT20 Development Tournament.

It’s a tournament for UAE players to put themselves in the shop window for the DP World ILT20’s first-ever auction, which is scheduled to take place in late September, and so there is a lot riding on events at the ICC Academy during the last week of August and the first week of September.

To talk to us about the Vipers’ squad for the Development Tournament is Jack Luffman, the Vipers’ Development Lead and someone who will also work as coach to the side during the upcoming action.

We spoke with Jack the morning after the Development Tournament draft, which took place on the evening of Monday the 18th of August at the Dubai International Stadium.

Representatives of the six franchises were in attendance to select their players for the Development Tournament, and coming up Jack gives us an insight into the players he’s helped select for the Vipers squad.

He talks to us about some of the familiar names in the line-up, including pace bowler Khuzaima bin Tanveer, who went from the 2024 Development Tournament to becoming a break-out star of last year’s ILT20, and also some names who might not be well-known at this stage but who hope to become more so, with this tournament being the start of that journey for them.

Khuzaima has already been retained by the Vipers for season four, but that still leaves three spots for UAE players up for grabs in the auction and so there is plenty of incentive for impressing during the upcoming action.

Jack explains how Director of Cricket Tom Moody, Head Coach James Foster and Vipers CEO Phil Oliver will stay across the details during the Development Tournament and also what he expects from the 18-match event that will culminate with a final on Wednesday the 3rd of September.

It’s a fascinating insight into what goes on behind the scenes to put together a key building block of the Vipers’ strategy for season four of the DP World ILT20.

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