KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)

Emirates Eagles batter Shimron Hetmyer says the 2026 Abu Dhabi T10 rewards batters who give themselves time, even in a format that lasts 60 balls.

Hetmyer made an unbeaten 65 off 30 balls, with four fours and four sixes, against Yas Lions at Zayed Cricket Stadium. The Eagles finished on 115 for 4, and Yas Lions chased it down with eight balls to spare to win by six wickets.

Hetmyer said the most useful T10 lesson he’s learned came from his captain, Rovman Powell. “It’s something Rovman said in one of our meetings: you actually have more time than you think,” he said.

“A lot of people get carried away thinking it’s just 60 balls, but 60 balls is still a lot of balls. You could be 40-odd after five overs and still get to 120 in 10. It’s about giving yourself a chance, and I think that’s important in any cricket you play.”

Hetmyer said trying to force the pace early slowed him down, and the boundaries came only once he settled. “I lost my shape when I was trying to hit the ball early, so it took me a little too long to get going,” he said.

“Towards the end it was a lot better because I was watching the ball for longer and not trying to overhit it. We spoke about it in the meeting, and in most T10 games 125 to 128 is par. Once you fall short of that, you’re always on the back foot.”

Hetmyer doesn’t think batters need a different approach for the shorter format, instead he warned against overhitting. “The mindset in T20s and T10s should be the same. It’s about going in and trying to hit as many boundaries as possible,” he said.

“In T10, a lot of people try to overhit the ball because of how short it is. When you do that, you don’t watch the ball as long as you should, and you end up missing more balls than you hit.”

With his West Indies career still going, Hetmyer said he’s focused on international cricket over the franchise circuit. “Honestly, I really enjoy international cricket,” he said.

“Most of the guys we play with, I’ve been playing with for a while, or playing against for a really long time. So, I’m really enjoying international cricket at the moment.”

He’s enjoying the tournament and the conditions in Abu Dhabi. “The pitches are really good. At night the ball skids on a lot more, which I think comes down to the dew. During the day it has more of a tennis-ball bounce,” he said.