Desert Vipers fast bowler Luke Wood has promised there will be no let-up from the side in the final league match of the season against the Dubai Capitals – despite already qualifying for the play-offs.

The Vipers go into that match, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday, assured of top spot in the six-team table following seven wins in nine previous matches.

But despite that situation, Wood told the Vipers Voices podcast the players would still be going all-out to secure another victory.

“You can never get complacent,” he said. “I know we have already qualified (for the play-offs) but sometimes it is about momentum and peaking at the right time.

“If you take your foot off the gas now, then you are having to gear yourself back up and make up for a poor performance in the game to come.

“You never know, we may face the Dubai Capitals further down the line (in the play-offs) and (if they were to win this game), they would have the wood over us from the game before.

“Also, I do not know how the table stands but if they (the Dubai Capitals) do not beat us, they might not qualify, so it is a big game.”

Wood has missed the past five matches and after a full-on practice session at the ICC Academy on Friday afternoon where he bowled off his full run, batted and fielded, he explained why.

“One morning I woke up with a trapped nerve in my neck and it affected my (left) arm a little bit,” he said.

“It has been a shame for me to miss a few games, but at the same time it has been important for me to get it right so it does not take me out any longer.

“It has been a case of getting back to full flow. I am glad it is on the mend and we are pretty much there now. I am available to play and that is a nice place to be.”

Before his enforced absence, Luke made headlines and collected the Player of the Match award for his sensational fielding against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the Vipers’ Sustainability Match at the Dubai International Stadium.

He took three catches of his own and combined with David Payne for a spectacular relay boundary catch to dismiss the ever-dangerous Andre Russell.

“I have done some (boundary catching practice) at training today, and before the (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders) game I did some with (Assistant Coach) Simon Helmot – that exact nature of catch,” said Wood.

“The key is that you get into the right positions to allow you to do that because a lot of it is natural reaction. Being quite light and athletic helps (me too), as I am not too heavy on the ground.

“You catch it first and then you let your body do the rest,” he added.

The match against the Capitals is likely to bring with it a clash with two batters who have recently arrived from the Big Bash League in Australia – former Viper Sam Billings and ex-Australia opener David Warner.

And that was a prospect Wood said he and his team-mates were relishing.

“Everyone knows they (Warner and Billings) are both quality players but, at the same time, no-one is guaranteed to do well,” he said.

“We have got equally good players, and the game is not necessarily won by two batters; it also takes others to do well.

“Also, the wickets (in the UAE, compared to Australia) are very different and so they have got to adjust as well.

“I do not think it is as straightforward as ‘they have got these two batters (and so they will do well)’. They have got to adjust and we have got to be on it.”

Monday’s match offers the Vipers the chance to make history as no side in the previous two editions of the DP World ILT20 has won eight matches in the regular season.

But is the game also the start of the Vipers’ build-up to the play-offs, which begin for Lockie Ferguson’s men with a meeting against the side that finishes as runners-up in the league stage, in Dubai on Wednesday the 5thof February, two days after the Capitals match?

“We are trying to beat Dubai Capitals on Monday and that is the first stage of it,” said Wood.

“Then, from there, the ideal scenario is that you win the first qualifier and you are straight through to the final.

“But Dubai Capitals is our first focus now. We would like to win the game, keep the momentum going, and if there is a record there, then that is the icing on the cake.”

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The Desert Vipers were delighted to host England women’s fast bowler Mahika Gaur at their DP World ILT20 match against the Gulf Giants at the Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday.

Left-arm Mahika, 18, is one of the rising stars of English cricket and was awarded her first England and Wales Cricket Board central contract in December 2024.

But although she was born in the United Kingdom, Mahika was brought up in the United Arab Emirates and made her senior international bow for the UAE when she was only 12 years old, in 2019.

After Wednesday’s match, which the Vipers won by five wickets to seal top spot in the DP World ILT20 table, Mahika met with two other left-arm fast bowlers – Pakistan great Wasim Akram and Mohammad Amir, the leader of the Vipers attack.

She also interacted with another fast-bowling legend from Pakistan, Shoaib Akhtar, a brand ambassador for the DP World ILT20, as well as Desert Vipers Director of Cricket Tom Moody, a two-time ICC Cricket World Cup winner.

Tom presented Mahika with a team jersey signed by the entire Vipers squad.

Commenting on Mahika’s presence at the match, Desert Vipers CEO Phil Oliver said: “It was a pleasure to host Mahika at Wednesday’s match and she is someone we hold in the very highest regard.

“Mahika is a role model for young and aspiring UAE cricketers and she is an example of the talent that exists at grassroots level within this country.”

“That talent is something that we, as the Desert Vipers, are keen to play our part in developing, not only through our utilization of the four UAE players within our playing squad but also through our extensive school programme.

“That programme, which began in September 2023, has seen us visit at least 60 schools and we have interacted with more than 10,000 children in that time.

“Our school programme has sought to introduce children to cricket and also make them aware of the issues of sustainability and the ongoing climate emergency, which we are passionate about.

“Sport is in a unique position to help spread positivity, whether that is by encouraging people to be active or by using its profile to start discussions and affect change, and that is something we are wholeheartedly committed to at the Desert Vipers.”

Mahika endured an injury-affected 2024 but is returning to full fitness and is all set to once again represent her county side Lancashire, Manchester Originals in the women’s Hundred and – hopefully – England over the coming months.

Desert Vipers’ Introduction to Cricket & Sustainability Schools Program has already reached ~12,000 students across the UAE, offering free, enriching sessions that improve physical fitness, build teamwork, and promote environmental awareness. We are very proud to have introduced cricket to girls, many for the first time, and hope to inspire many more female ambassadors of the sport and region, like Mahika, in the years ahead. For more information, contact our Development Lead, Jack Luffman, atjack@thedesertvipers.com.