Upon arriving at the Emirates Palace ground for the afternoon fixture vs Emirates Palace staff XI, it was quickly pointed out to the captain by a few of his team mates that this will be the third time he will captain ADGCC vs the Emirates Palace staff XI, and so far has not had a victory. The pressure was intense.

ADGCC won the toss and batted first. Jason and Nick got the team off to a flying start scoring 52 and 35 respectively. At one stage the Gents looked on track for a score well in excess of 200, however the innings faltered slightly during the middle stages to be revived by some good late hitting by Etienne (25*) for the team to post a competitive total score of 196.

The early season hot weather conditions made it slightly difficult to get volunteers to bowl during the ADGCC stint in the field, especially those that could bowl a spell of more than one consecutive over.... The palace staff got off to a strong start, however the Gents managed to chip out a wicket at just the right times to keep the opposition innings in check. Etienne completed a very good all round performance by taking 3 wickets, Fahad also took 3, while Graeme chipped in with 2 and eventually the palace staff were bowled out for 158, giving the ADGCC a victory by 38 runs.