Dubai: The UAE national cricket team this week flew out to New Zealand to take part in the International Cricket Council (ICC) 2015 World Cup qualifiers.
Led by Khurram Khan, the squad has worked hard to get this far and are now hopeful of taking one of the two World Cup places available.
“We want to do it and play in the 2015 World Cup. The last time we did it and qualified for a 50-over World Cup was way back in 1996 and we want to repeat it. We have a balanced team to achieve it,” Khan told Gulf News.
Mahzar Khan, administrator of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), who saw off the team, said: “We are hopeful of a good show and I am sure the boys will give their best to make it to the 2015 World Cup.”
The UAE are under the guidance of coach Aaqib Javed, who has transformed the team into a winning unit, recording some impressive victories in the ICC World Cricket League and Asian Cricket Council emerging teams tournament, and even clinching a slot in this year’s Twenty20 World Cup.
The are the top seeds in this tournament after finishing third behind Ireland and Afghanistan in the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Championship 2011-13 (WCLC). The top two qualified for the 2015 Australia and New Zealand showpiece automatically.
The UAE will bank on Shaiman Anwar, who topped the batting averages at the WCLC with 625 runs at 52.08.
Captain Khan, who was the UAE’s top WCLC wicket-taker with 19 at just 14.36, added: “Even though we are the top seed, it will be a big challenge. The conditions in New Zealand are completely different to those in the UAE. We practise and play mostly on dry wickets, but in New Zealand it swings and seams. So it will be a challenge for our batsmen to score heavily and for the pacers to handle the pressure of leading the attack.”
Coach Javed is confident his players will deliver despite the conditions. “We have a good batting unit, but it has struggled on green, seaming tracks. That’s why I am working extra hard with the batters specifically on how to counter seam and swing.
“We were practising on synthetic pitches and grassy surfaces. We haven’t faced too many problems in beating Hong Kong, and we managed a clean sweep against Canada when we toured there. But if you look at the other two teams, Nepal has beaten us three times in the last two years.”
The UAE play their first warm-up match against Uganada at the Bay Oval ground in Mount Maunganui on Friday.