Perth, Australia: The UAE suffered heartbreak after an intense battle against Ireland in their second match of the 2015 World Cup at the Gabba in Brisbane on Wednesday, as the Irish pulled off a tense two-wicket victory with just four balls to spare.
The amateurs from the Middle East may have lost a thrilling battle, but they walked off with their heads held high.
Amjad Javed, who cracked 42 and picked up three wickets to almost see his team to a first World Cup victory, told Gulf News: “UAE fans should be lucky that they have a team that is performing in such a big tournament creditably. We have shown that we need more games against Test-playing nations.”
Shaiman Anwar lifted the UAE, who were struggling at 125 for five after being put in to bat first, to a good total of 279 for nine. Shaiman scored the country’s first World Cup century with 106 from 83 balls.
Ireland were faltering at 97 for four and 171 for five in their reply, but Gary Wilson (80) and the big-hitting Kevin O’Brien, who made 50 off 24 balls, got them back on track with a sixth-wicket partnership of 72.
However, both batsmen fell within sight of victory and it was left to George Dockrell (7 not out) and Brisbane-born Alex Cusack (5 not out) to see Ireland to victory as the two non-Test nations produced the most exciting game of the World Cup so far.
UAE skipper Mohammad Tauqir, who took two wickets, said: “Shaiman and Amjad Javed played superbly. We knew they are very good batsmen, especially Shaiman, coming in lower down the order, and he proved it today.
“We bowled well up to 35 overs and later on there was dew and the ball became wet. It was a very good batting wicket and they batted well and it went to the wire.”
Javed added: “We dropped Kevin [O’Brien] when their required run-rate was about 10 runs. I think that was a crucial time. Definitely if you give a chance to a Kevin O’Brien-type player, he will take the match away from you.
“Shaiman is one of the best players we have on our team. On his day he can really score quick runs for us and we have seen it.
“I just told him that we have to play our natural game. It doesn’t matter if we have lost six wickets or seven wickets. Once we started the counter-attack, we just kept going.
Javed said that Manjula Guruge getting injured at a crucial time after bowling seven overs hit the team badly.
“Guruge is our main bowler. We use him in the powerplays and he got a cramp as the conditions out there were a bit humid. I think that was a big setback as we couldn’t use him for his three [remaining] overs.”
Appealing once again to the world body to give UAE more exposure, Javed added: “If you are getting some good games against Test-playing nations, good exposure, then definitely we will perform better. Then the boys will learn from their mistakes.
“In a tournament like this, a big tournament, and suddenly you’re playing in front of television [cameras], when you drop then all the morale will go down. We can’t do much to the players, but again, we have to boost the players up. So next game you’ll see the energy back.”
