This is the home of The Desert Vipers, the Twenty20 franchise side competing in the ILT20, the shortform tournament in the United Arab Emirates with its fourth edition in December 2025 and January 2026. For exclusive interviews and insight from the Desert Vipers camp, this is the place to be. This i
Send us Fan Mail This time, in the wake of the Season 5 auction that took place at the ICC Academy at Dubai Sports City on the 1st of October, we speak with Vipers Analyst Freddie Wilde as he takes us behind the curtain of what auction preparations and the event itself look like from the perspective of a franchise looking to secure the best talent available. It’s a terrific insight into what goes on within a set-up both before and during an auction and it’s well worth your time. ...
Send us Fan Mail Straight after the player auction for Season 5 off the DP World ILT20, we were joined by Desert Vipers CEO Phil Oliver and Director of Cricket Tom Moody with their reaction to the squad assembled for the defense of the title. It includes three of the four UAE players were played a role in that Season 4 success, plus Pakistan stars Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Naseem Shah and Fakhar Zaman. Season 5 starts in mid-November. https://www.thedesertvipers.com https://twitter.com/The...
Send us Fan Mail This time we have a bumper episode for you as we wrap up the ILT20 Development Tournament, the event that saw UAE players given the opportunity to showcase their talent before next month’s DP World ILT20 auction ahead of Season 5. The side representing the Desert Vipers finished as runners-up for the second successive season, losing out in the final to the Gulf Giants team by four wickets. Coming up we hear from Jack Luffman, the Desert Vipers’ Development Lead,...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode we look back at the final of the ILT20 Development Tournament, that wrapped up at the ICC Academy at Dubai Sports City on Thursday evening, the 24th of September. Sadly, it was a step too far for Vriitya Aravind’s side as they lost by four wickets to the Gulf Giants, but it was a terrific match to cap a fantastic competition that showcased the very best of UAE talent ahead of the DP World ILT20 player auction at the start of October. After we rec...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode we look back on the Vipers’ team’s semi-final against the Sharjah Warriorz, at the ICC Academy at Dubai Sports City on Wednesday evening, the 23th of September. And it was another back-from-the-dead victory for Vriitya Aravind’s side, by 25 runs, which means they are in Thursday night’s final against the Gulf Giants. We hear from head coach Jack Luffman, the Desert Vipers' Development Lead, who gives us his perspective on another remarkable night of act...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode we look back on an incredible victory for the Vipers side in their final league match of the tournament – a must win game against the Dubai Capitals at the ICC Academy at Dubai Sports City on Monday evening, the 21th of September – and that includes hearing from the Vipers’ Development Lead and Head Coach for this tournament, Jack Luffman. The Vipers scored 191 for nine batting first only for the Capitals to fly out of the traps in response, racing to 9...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode we look back on a defeat for the Vipers side, at the hands of the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders team, by 88 runs at the ICC Academy at Dubai Sports City on Sunday evening, the 20th of September. The ADKR side raced to 196 for eight batting first and the Vipers replied with 108 all out from 15.5 overs. It’s a result that leaves the Vipers outside the top four places on net run-rate – and with the top four going into the semi-finals, it means the next ma...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode we reflect upon the Vipers side’s third match of the Development Tournament, this time against Gulf Giants, and it’s produced a second Vipers victory, this time by four wickets with three overs in hand. We hear from the Desert Vipers’ Development Lead, Jack Luffman, the Vipers’ head coach for these matches, as he gives us his take on the game. https://www.thedesertvipers.com https://twitter.com/TheDesertVipers https://www.instagram.com/thedesertvipers/ https...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode we continue our coverage of the ILT20 Development Tournament. And after the Vipers side’s win against MI Emirates in match one, this time Vriitya Aravind’s team came up short, losing by two wickets to the Sharjah Warriorz side in a repeat of the final of the previous Development Tournament, 12 months ago. Coming up, we hear from Vriitya as he gives us his perspective on the loss. All six franchises have sides in the Development Tournament ...
Send us Fan Mail This episode of Vipers Voices is our first one covering this year's ILT20 Development Tournament, a major marker ahead of season 5 of the DP World ILT20. And the good news is that the Desert Vipers side are off to a winning start with a four-wicket success against the MI Emirates team at the ICC Academy on Monday evening. Coming up we hear from Desert Vipers’ Development Lead Jack Luffman, who’s coaching the Vipers for this tournament, as he did last season when...
Send us Fan Mail We’re back with news of the Desert Vipers squad for the Development Tournament that takes place later on in September. The Development Tournament is an event involving representative sides from all six DP World ILT20 franchises and features UAE qualified players. It is those players’ shop window to be noticed and ultimately picked up by the franchises when the auction for Season 5 of the main event happens, in early October. Coming up we speak with the Vipers’ h...
Send us Fan Mail This time we can confirm the players who have been retained and signed by the Vipers for Season 5 of the league. The organisers have allowed a maximum of four retentions and direct signings ahead of a player auction in October and the players that are now on the Vipers books for a tilt at back-to-back titles are Andries Gous, Dan Lawrence, Shimron Hetmyer and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, the latter, the Afghanistan mystery spinner being the franchise’s direct signing. Comi...
Send us Fan Mail This time we wrap up the Vipers’ participation in the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League (GSL) – both on and off the field. We speak with Vipers CEO Phil Oliver about the successes and disappointments of the side’s campaign and we also hear from Alan Smith of NatureWave, one of the Vipers’ key partners in activities away from the tournament action. The GSL was a five-team event that also featured the hosts and defending champions the Guyana Amazon Warriors from the Car...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode we hear how the Vipers were knocked out of the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League. In Friday night's Qualifier for the Grand Final at Providence Stadium, the Vipers suffered an eight wicket loss to the San Francisco Unicorns, meaning that it’s the USA side that goes forward to Saturday’s ultimate match against the hosts and defending champions the Guyana Amazon Warriors. The Vipers made 122 for seven after being put into bat and the Unicorns r...
Send us Fan Mail Ahead of the Vipers’ Qualifier in the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League against the San Francisco Unicorns on Friday night, the match to decide which team goes forward to face the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Grand Final on Saturday, we hear from teenage spin sensation Vitel Lawes. The 19 year-old, a late call-up for the squad, has featured in every match of the tournament for the franchise, bowling with impressive maturity and control but it was his batting that ...
Send us Fan Mail It’s back-to-back wins for the Vipers in the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League, this time beating the Perth Scorchers XI – but this win was by the narrowest margin, just one wicket. Shadab Khan’s side restricted the Australian team to 112 for six but really struggled to chase that score down and it took last man Vitel Lawes in partnership with Nathan Smith to add 12 runs for the 10th wicket to get the side over the line. Coming up we hear from assistant coac...
Send us Fan Mail The Vipers have kept themselves alive in the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League. Needing a win against the San Francisco Unicorns to retain a chance of reaching the play-offs, the Vipers achieved just that – and in emphatic fashion too, securing a victory by nine wickets, chasing down 152 with 23 balls to spare thanks to four wickets from captain Shadab Khan and fifties by Zachary Carter and Saiteja Mukkamalla. Coming up we hear from Saiteja on the importance...
Send us Fan Mail This time we look back at a heartbreaking two-wicket loss at the hands of the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League, including a chat with one of the Vipers’ standout performers of the match, wicketkeeper-batter Vriitya Aravind. The Vipers set a record for the tournament by posting a score of 205 for six after being put into bat, with that batting effort anchored by Rilee Rossouw’s 61 from 48 balls, but the record score only lasted a coupl...
Send us Fan Mail it’s time to recap on the first match for the side in the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League – a 38-run loss to the Lahore Qalandars. Coming up we hear from one of the stars of the day for the Vipers, left-arm spinner Khary Pierre, who was the pick of the attack with 2 for 14 from three overs. The Qalandars won an important toss, made 176 for four, with 67 coming from the final five overs, and then the Vipers responded with 138 for nine. There’s no tim...
Send us Fan Mail On the eve of the Vipers’ first match in the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League, against the Lahore Qalanders on Friday the 24th of July, we speak with captain Shadab Khan. Shadab talks us through the build-up, the possible selection permutations, the opposition, the role of the UAE players and the mood in the Vipers camp ahead of match one – and if you’re a Vipers fan then you’ll be left smiling at the end of our chat, such is his positivity. https://www.the...
Send us Fan Mail As the clock ticks down to the start of the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League and the Vipers’ first match of that tournament, against the Lahore Qalandars on Friday the 24th of July, this time we catch up with the side’s Head Coach Azhar Mahmood. Azhar talks to us about the squad coming together in Georgetown ahead of that first match, the challenges that have been thrown the way of the franchise with multiple player changes being forced upon it through injury and ...
Send us Fan Mail With us just three days from the Vipers' first match of the upcoming ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League, against the Lahore Qalandars, we speak with wicketkeeper-batter Andries Gous. The fact we’re speaking with him in Georgetown, as the squad gets together in the tournament city, is one indicator of how close we are to the start of the tournament and given Andries has arrived off the back of a superb season in Major League Cricket in the USA there’s plenty for us t...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode we thought it would be interesting to just take a step back from the upcoming ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League and catch up on what’s happened over the past year with one of the Desert Vipers’ local, UAE initiatives, the franchise’s Talent Pathway Programme for young, up and coming boys and girls. Jack Luffman is the lead for the programme and coming up we speak with him about the operation, which wrapped up with the Apex Cricket Festival in the UK...
Send us Fan Mail This time we speak with new recruit Nathan Smith. The New Zealand fast bowling all-rounder has been drafted into the squad for the upcoming ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League following the withdrawal of fellow Black Caps player Kyle Jamieson, and he offers the Vipers a precious commodity – first-hand knowledge of conditions. That’s because Nathan is part of the New Zealand One-Day International squad that’s currently in action in Guyana for a series against the West...
Send us Fan Mail In this episode we catch up with the player who has just been confirmed as the Vipers’ captain for the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League, Pakistan spin-bowling all-rounder Shadab Khan. Shadab will lead the side for the GSL after Chris Green, the player originally named as captain, had to pull out of the tournament with a hand injury. We speak with Shadab about his captaincy background, his leadership style and his role models, his superb form in the latest e...
Send us Fan Mail This time we catch up with an up-and-coming star who’s linking up with the Vipers for the first time – New Zealand middle-order batter Bevon Jacobs. Bevon has enjoyed a breakthrough past 12 months, making his international debut for New Zealand in the Twenty20 International format, and now he’s all set to take his bow for the Vipers in the upcoming ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League that’s due to take place in late July and early August. Observant Vipers fans will...
Send us Fan Mail This time we’ve got a very special episode for you - and something a bit different. Coming up we hear from Mickey Arthur, the decorated coach who’s been in charge of four different national teams, and also Tom Bruce, who was part of the Vipers squad in Season 4, the side’s first title success. And why have we brought these two together for this podcast? Well, they have one thing in common and that is that they both have first-hand experience of the ExxonMobil Gu...
Send us Fan Mail This time we catch up with a new recruit for the Vipers, South Africa top-order batter Rilee Rossouw. Rilee is linking up with the Vipers for the upcoming ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League that is set to take place in late July and early August, replacing off-spinning all-rounder Chris Green in the squad after Chris was ruled out through injury. There are few players currently playing who can boast the range of experience that Rilee possesses. He’s played ...
Send us Fan Mail On this occasion we hear from Azhar Mahmood, the former Pakistan all-rounder who is the Vipers’ Head Coach for the upcoming ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League that is set to take place in late July and early August. Azhar has plenty to say on the Vipers squad, the build-up to the tournament and the tournament itself – and he also talks about a major piece of news which is that Chris Green, the Australian off-spinning all-rounder, has been ruled out of the upcoming a...
Send us Fan Mail This time we hear from Barbados all-rounder Kyle Mayers, one of a Caribbean contingent joining the Vipers for the upcoming ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League that is set to take place in late July and early August. Kyle brings with him a vast amount of experience in short-form cricket, including in the DP World ILT20 where, over the past two seasons he’s played for the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and the Gulf Giants. When you add to that the fact he’s played in the In...
About Vipers Voices
This is the home of The Desert Vipers, the Twenty20 franchise side competing in the ILT20, the shortform tournament in the United Arab Emirates with its fourth edition in December 2025 and January 2026. For exclusive interviews and insight from the Desert Vipers camp, this is the place to be. This i
Vipers Voices is a English sport podcast from Brian Murgatroyd. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.
The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.
