Meet a cricketer's wife whose love story started at a stadium

As Ebba Qureshi stepped out of the Royal Box at the Dubai International Stadium during a Desert Vipers ILT20 match, you could have been forgiven for asking if the heart still skips a beat every time she gets closer to the boundary rope.

- Rituraj Borkakoty

Ebba, an experienced PR professional who is working with the Desert Vipers franchise on their sustainability initiatives in the UAE, still gets goosebumps talking about how her love story started on the boundary of a cricket stadium in England.

Born in the Middle East, Ebba experienced the horrors of hate and war in 1990 when her father had to drive for more than 20 days from Kuwait to Pakistan to escape the Gulf War.

Just days after that harrowing experience, the family settled down happily in England.

And nine years later, Cupid shot an arrow through her heart.

It was in 1999 that this British national went to The Oval (cricket ground in London) to support Pakistan, the country of her origin, during a World Cup match.

Little did she know that a game of cricket was going to change her life, sparking the start of a soulstirring partnership with a cricketing star named Azhar Mahmood.

Azhar, a key member of the Pakistan coaching staff now, was the bowling all-rounder in that formidable Pakistani team at the 1999 World Cup.

Ebba was happy to hold a match ticket that day at The Oval to support Pakistan, without realising she was also holding the key to her future.

"If you remember correctly, Azhar never used to field at the boundary, he used to field in the slips always," Ebba said.

"I don't know whether it was fate, whether it was meant to happen. And the match that I went to (at The Oval), he was actually there, just temporarily fielding at the boundary. And he saw me in the crowd because I was quite close to the boundary." Then in an incredible turn of events, Azhar met Ebba through a common friend and a connection was built which soon blossomed into something serious.

"It took me four years to convince my father about marriage.

And finally, we got married in 2003. I know it's like a film. I can write a book," she smiled.