Dubai: UAE coach Aaqib Javed has stressed on the need for introducing longer version matches in domestic cricket following his team’s innings and 26-run defeat to Ireland in the opening match of the four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup at Dublin on Friday.
Javed stressed on the need for a more professional approach here. “The game didn’t go the best way. I think the difference between the teams was professionalism. Back home, the structure does not support the longer version of the game. Seventy per cent play only T20 and 50 overs, and there is no concept of four-day cricket, except in the ICC Intercontinental Cup. In contrast, 70-80 per cent of the Ireland team is playing regular county cricket.”
Javed who successfully guided UAE to ICC Twenty20 World Cup and ICC World Cup 2015 50 over tournaments, pointed out that it has become tough for his batsmen to stay long at the wicket in the longer version due to lack of experience in this format. “We have been doing well in T20 and 50 overs, and if you ask somebody to be there for 150 overs, it’s impossible. It’s about your past experience. Our capacity for staying on the ground is about 60 overs and after that, the body gets really tired and the brain stops working, so that’s when they start making mistakes.”
Ireland’s captain William Porterfield hailed his batsman Ed Joyce’s knock of 231 against the UAE which played a pivotal role in the victory. “Ed Joyce’s record score for Ireland was a great effort. Paul Stirling also played well and really pleased for him to get 146. They set up the game for us. To have someone with Ed’s class and experience coming in at number three is massive for us. Not going to work every day but it comes more often than not in this form of the game. He’s also great for all the other batters; talking about his experiences, playing in different conditions against different bowlers will be a great help moving forward. We have quite a lot of travelling in this competition, so we will come up on a few different surfaces.”
UAE had to draw on the experience of Shaiman Anwar, UAE’s star performer at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 who top scored with 57 in the first innings and wicketkeeper batsman Swapnil Patel who top scored with 63 runs in the second innings to post a total of above 200 in both the innings. However, veteran batsman Saqib Ali returning to form with a knock of 51 is indeed heartening for the team.
The UAE found the bowling of fast bowler Craig Young who returned with match figures of seven for 110 and left-arm spinner George Dockell who recorded match figures of seven for 141 tough to handle and were bowled out for 213 and 253, respectively.
Following the winning start, Porterfield is now hoping that his team may get to play Test cricket. “This is a great chance for Ireland to achieve Test status and the strength of our team for the game shows just how seriously we’re taking these games. We’ve a lot of experience in our ranks and I think we showed that over the four days. We’re aware it’s just the first game of seven, and we’re already looking forward to playing Namibia in the next series later in the year - it should be quite a match. The ICC Intercontinental Cup is a massively important competition. It’s a pathway to Test cricket and we have to take every opportunity we can get. It will be difficult to take 20 wickets in some matches, so it was important to get the maximum 20 points in the first match.”
