Dubai, Nov 17: The inaugural edition of the ‘Thumbay Premier T20 League’ launched by the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee of Dubai-based international conglomerate Thumbay Group, concluded on November 15, 2018. During the tournament, eight teams played a total of 16 matches for 15 days.

The tournament was conducted with the aim of encouraging community engagement among corporates, in line with the values of the ‘Year of Zayed’, and was launched under Thumbay Foundation, the charitable arm that supports the CSR activities of Thumbay Group.

Mr. Akram Moideen Thumbay – Director Operations - Construction & amp; Renovation Division and Director - Thumbay Technologies, also the Chairman of Thumbay Group’s CSR Committee, was the chief guest of the closing ceremony that was held at the Ajman Oval Cricket Ground. UAE cricketer Imran Haider was a special guest.

OMA Emirates emerged the winners of the tournament, defeating the runners-up Sharjah Electricity& Water Authority (SEWA) in the strongly contested final match. Mr. Akram Moideen Thumbay presented the trophies and certificates to the winning and runners-up teams as well as to individual achievers.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Mr. Akram Moideen Thumbay said: “This tournament

has achieved all its objectives. We thank the participating companies for their support. On behalf of Thumbay Group’s CSR Committee, I congratulate all of you for all your achievements during the past fortnight of exciting cricket.”

Stressing that the primary goal of the tournament was to promote humanitarian causes, Mr. Akram added, “We are glad to announce that the proceeds from this tournament by way of registration fees will be spent exclusively on humanitarian initiatives under Thumbay Group’s CSR Committee,” amidst loud cheers and applause. Mr. Akram promised that the next edition, in 2019, would be bigger and more exciting.

This year’s teams included: Novo Health Care, GECO IPL, Thumbay Group, Zulekha Hospital, SEWA, Emirates NBD, AW Rostamani and the OMA Emirates.

About Thumbay Group’s CSR Committee

The CSR Committee oversees the CSR activities and programs of Thumbay Group. It discusses and decides on practices relating to the company’s corporate social responsibility on a global basis, including matters related to education, health and safety, environment and community welfare.

The committee has successfully carried out several CSR programs at various parts of the country, promoting causes and activities benefiting low-income groups, women, children, various professional groups etc. Free medical and health camps for the public led by Thumbay hospitals and clinics are a regular activity conducted under the committee’s guidance and supervision, benefiting thousands of people, especially blue-collar workers. The committee also facilitates scholarships and financial assistance for academically bright and financially backward students desirous of pursuing professional medical courses.

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London (AP): England is not sacking anybody following the 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia.

A review of the tour by the England and Wales Cricket Board, announced within hours of the final match in January, was concluded on Monday. Firing people would “be the easy thing to do,” ECB chief executive Richard Gould said but he insisted, "This is not the time to throw everything out."

Managing director Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes kept their jobs after the best England side to go to Australia in 14 years lost the Ashes in 11 days with two games to spare.

“Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That's not the route that we're going to take,” Gould said. “I've seen the driving ambition and determination that we're lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.”

Gould previously was the chief executive of Bristol City soccer club and said the ECB would not follow the same route as soccer's hire-and-fire culture.

“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it takes a team of leadership ... it's not like football where there's a single point of failure or success with a manager," he said. He added the ECB would not “select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign.”

The main criticisms of England's tour were poor preparation, player misbehavior, and selection mistakes.

At a press conference at Lord's, Gould and Key said McCullum and Stokes have not had a “bust up,” they did not want McCullum to “completely change” but “to evolve,” the behavior of some players was “unprofessional,” there will be more consequences for underperforming, and a commitment to “better long-term planning” ahead of major test series.

Some changes were already implemented for the Twenty20 World Cup, where England reached the semifinals. Gould implied that performance saved McCullum.

Key acknowledged that England supporters would be disappointed to see the management team go unpunished.

“I know people want punishment and that people then should be sacked for that,” Key said. “That doesn't mean we don't feel like we've gone through some serious pain: Brendon, myself, Ben. It's been as tough a time as I think I've had.”