Dubai: The UAE cricket team is all set to record an outright win over Bermuda to clinch a place in the final of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Intercontinental Shield. The team will fly out to Bermuda tomorrow for the crucial four-day match, scheduled to begin from July 5.
"We have done our calculations and also worked out our team's strategy for the match. We need to get 14 points from the match if we have to make it to the final. Only an outright win against Bermuda can help us get those points," remarked Mohammad Lokhandwala, the manager of the UAE team told Gulf News.
"Our aim is to give our best and win because ICC has scheduled the final of this tournament in UAE from November 25 at the Dubai Sports City cricket stadium," added Lokhandwala, who was also the manager of the UAE team during the ICC World Cup qualifiers in South Africa.
UAE is currently in third position after two matches. Uganda tops the table with 29 points followed by Namibia with 26 points. UAE has 17 points and an outright win can boost their total points to 31 points. "UAE beat Namibia at Windhoek by four wickets. Unfortunately in our match against Uganda we lost the first innings lead by 12 runs and in the second innings reduced them to 79 for 6 at the Shaikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi during January this year before the match ended in a draw," he said.
"Uganda and Namibia will clash from September 18 to 21. This match is crucial for us too and we are expecting Uganda to beat Namibia. However, we are going well prepared to Bermuda and we have players like captain Khurram Khan, Saqib Ali, Arshad Ali and vice-captain Mohammad Tauqir who can lift UAE to victory. The team is a mix of experience and youth with three new players Swapnil Patil, Tahir Butt and Saqib Hussain Shah in the squad.
