UAE’s Under-19 boys put up a stellar performance to reach the Plate finals of the Under-19 World Cup, beating hosts West Indies. They now await the winners of the Ireland-Zimbabwe match and have every chance to win the final of the Plate event.
UAE had started the tournament well by beating Canada in their first game before going down to England and Bangladesh in their other league games - they had to play the Plate event as England and Bangladesh qualified from their group in the main event. They got past Uganda in the quarter final by winning the thriller by one wicket.
No one would have given the UAE colts a chance to beat the West Indies after being 26/4 batting first but Aayan Afzal Khan batted brilliantly, along with Shival Bawa, who had made his ODI debut to put a decent 224 in their 50 overs. Our bowlers defended well to skittle out West Indies for just 142 with Jash Giyañani and Dhruv Parashar picking up three and four wickets, respectively, to win the game by 82 runs and advance in to the final. The Plate final is on January a31 nd UAE will hope the boys can go one step further to win the Plate final.
I have always believed there is enough talent in this country and the infra-structure what UAE has is second to none with facilities like ICC Academy, Dubai Cricket Stadium, Sharjah Cricket Stadium and the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi for the players to practise regularly and become a force to reckon with. The winter season which begins in October and lasts till April can be used by inviting teams from around the world - be it India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England and rub shoulders with the big boys on regular basis to get the experience.
Nothing is better than playing the longer format to build your temperament and the more three-day and four-day games the young boys play, it will help them in the long run. And during the peak summer, UAE boys can travel to countries like England, Ireland and Scotland and get the experience of playing abroad.
Wishing the Under-19 boys the very best for the finals.
- Cricket enthusiast Anis Sajan is the Vice Chairman of Danube Group
