Dubai: Sometimes the easiest way to success is to keep it simple. It is what helped UAE pacer Junaid Siddique rip through the Scotland batting to give the hosts an easy eight-wicket win over in the first of the three Twenty20 Internationals at Dubai International Stadium on Monday.
“One thing I learnt over the years is that, if you are bowler, you have to keep it simple. You have to bowl the right length and keep it wicket to wicket. That’s it,” Siddique, who bagged the player of the match award for his four wickets. Two at the start of the innings and as many at the end of the innings.
The UAE once again underlined their superiority in the Twenty20 format by easing past Scotland, who have beaten UAE in the 50-over ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 earlier this month.
That game also provided the much-needed insight into the team’s strengths and weaknesses, which Siddique explored to as early as the opening over to dismiss Scotland opener Ollie Hairs with a beauty that clipped the stumps.
UAE bowlers utilised the conditions well early in the contest, when the ball was seaming a bit, to restrict Scotland to 147 for eight. Opener George Munsey waged a lone battle scoring 75 while Jack Jarvis scored 21, the second highest top scorer in the team. All-rounders Aayan Afzal Khan and Basil Hameed claimed two wickets each.
“I have played a few games against them and know them well. I was bowling to my strengths. If you get a wicket in the first over it gives a big boost to you and your team.”
UAE skipper Mohammad Waseem was at his aggressive best to knock off the required runs in 17.4 overs. The opener went on the offensive from the word go, not giving a semblance of hope to the visitors and remained unbeaten on 68 with four fours and four sixes. He got good support from young opener Tanish Suri (37) and Alishan Sharafu (32) to give new UAE coach Lalchand Rajput his first win on the job.
Not taking credit for his performance, the skipper lauded the bowlers for restricting Scotland to a low score with some tight spells in the death overs.
“Siddique is a very experienced bowler in the shorter formats. He bowled a top-class spell with good help from Aayan and Basit,” Waseem said after the match. He also had a word of caution to young Tanish after praising his technique. “When he bats with me, he need not have to worry or hurry.”
Of course, with Waseem on the other end, none of the other UAE batters need to worry about the run rate. The UAE skipper is ranked world No 16 in ICC Twenty20 rankings, just below Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.
The UAE will be playing two more Twenty20 games against Scotland, one on Wednesday and the other on Thursday, and have a long road ahead in the Cricket World Cup League 2, which is the qualifiers for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
“Our team have a good record in Twenty20. We had a new combination for this game and I hope we will do better in the future,” the 31-year-old UAE pacer concluded.
