Jack Luffman & Vriitya Aravind wrap up the Development Tournament!

The ILT20 development tournament was an incredibly intense event, with the Vipers side playing a total of seven matches in 11 days.

Many of those matches involved late starts and even later finishes, with some matches running across two days, starting late at night and ending early the following morning.

There were also three sets of back-to-back matches for the Vipers, including playing the second late semi-final Wednesday the 23rd of September and then having to front up for the final less than 18 hours after the last ball and if that sounds straightforward then you also need to factor in the high humidity that's always a factor in Dubai and the UAE more generally in August and September as well as the fact that for all the players involved there was so much at stake Of all the players within the six teams, it's likely that only 24, a minimum of four per franchise, will be picked up at the player auction on October 1st.

And the chance to impress with that type of reward at stake meant every player gave everything in every match.

Certainly, as an advertisement for UAE domestic cricket, it was absolutely superb.

For the Vipers, of course, there was frustration at being beaten in the final by the golf giant's side.

but there was also an acknowledgement that the best side won the tournament.

After all, the Giants had topped the league stage of the competition with four wins from five matches and then won both the semi-final and final meaning six victories in seven outings.

Aside from that, the Vipers could be proud of creating a fantastic team spirit in a short space of time, led by Coach Luffman and his assistants, and also the Vipers' veterans from last season's DP World ILT20 winning campaign, Vitya Aravind, Sanjay Pahal, Matyula Khan and Kuzema Bintanvir.

And they were able to expose three players from the Vipers Talent Pathway Programme, Ayan Misbah, Punya Bhatia and Angad Nehru to a senior tournament, which represented valuable experience for that trio, giving them an idea of where they were on their journey to higher honours.

And let's not forget too, that by reaching the final of the development tournament, The Vipers made it four successive finals in domestic action as they featured in the ultimate match in successive DP World ILT20s and now successive development tournaments.

That is perhaps the best indicator that the Vipers are getting things right on and off the field.