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UAE Cricket - a force to reckon with in the future?

MenInG

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UAE that good or Ireland that bad?

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United Arab Emirates 270 for 4 (Rizwan 109, Usman 102*, Campher 2-31) beat Ireland 269 for 5 (Stirling 131, Balbirnie 53, Mustafa 2-43) by six wickets

Paul Stirling's 10th ODI hundred was not good enough for Ireland in Abu Dhabi, as hosts United Arab Emirates chased down the 270-run target to win the first ODI of the four-match series by six wickets.
 
Well, Ireland did beat England recently. So good to see UAE giving them competition.
 
Ireland can be a weird team at times, struggles against other associates but also does well against G8 teams (or is it just England?)
 
Absolutely! I know some of the new guys personally as I've played ALOT of cricket with them, and they will 100% be hungry for runs and opportunities as the international stage. Keep an eye out for them!
 
UAE government should throw money around and try to lure top domestic subcontinent players into playing for UAE national team.
 
UAE government should throw money around and try to lure top domestic subcontinent players into playing for UAE national team.
Yes. There are plenty of domestic subcontinent players who would never get chance to play international cricket or even IPL. So UAE can offer them handsome money like they do for their African track stars it would be a win-win situation for both.
 
UAE had defeated Ireland even in the T20 World Cup qualifier last year, though they missed out on qualification.

Associates defeating bottom ranked full members shouldn't surprise anyone. Zimbabwe lost to Singapore last year.

Ireland also struggles against in Asian conditions. They were defeated by Oman in the T20 WC in India.

Still a great win for UAE, considering Ireland are a Test side.
 
ABU DHABI – A Paul Stirling unbeaten century – his second in consecutive ODI innings – positioned Ireland well in the first one-day international today, but a clinical run chase by UAE saw the home side achieve its first-ever ODI win over a Full Member.

Near faultless centuries from Chundangapoyil Rizwan and Muhammad Usman steered UAE to victory – their first win over Ireland in the seven ODI clashes between the two sides.

Chasing 270, the hosts got off to a shaky start losing their openers, Vriitya Aravind (14) and Zawar Farid (15), inside the first eight overs, with Barry McCarthy accounting for both the wickets.

UAE lost another wicket, when Curtis Campher had Alishan Sharafu caught behind for one in the 13th over, reducing the hosts to 52-3.

Ireland looked in total control before Rizwan and Usman came together and changed the course of the game. The duo made the visitors' bowlers toil, with both the batsmen smashing maiden hundreds.

The visitors kept hunting for the breakthrough - which came courtesy of a sensational catch by Harry Tector in the 46th over – but it was too late. Rizwan (109) had shared a 184-run stand with Usman – the highest by a UAE pair for any wicket in ODIs. Usman reached his hundred in the penultimate over and hit the winning runs, as he remained unbeaten on 105.

Earlier, Irish skipper Andrew Balbirnie won the toss and elected to have a bat first. Openers Kevin O'Brien and Paul Stirling provided their side a steady start, sharing a 39-run stand before losing O'Brien in the 8th over. He became UAE debutant Kashif Daud's maiden ODI victim, who had the opener clean bowled for 23.

The wicket brought Balbirnie to the crease who joined forces with Stirling, and together they stitched a solid century stand, with both the batsmen reaching their fifties along the way. They kept the scoreboard ticking over at a rapid pace en route to a 102-run second-wicket stand, which laid the foundation stone for Ireland’s innings.

Balbirnie, who made his 10th half-century in ODIs, was dismissed for 53. The Ireland captain was looking for a slog sweep but Ahmed Raza managed to turn the ball away, and got the top edge as UAE 'keeper Aravind took an easy catch.

From 141-1, Ireland slipped to 159-4, losing Balbirnie, Harry Tector (6) and Lorcan Tucker (4) in quick succession, with Rohan Mustafa accounting for the last two wickets.

Curtis Campher, the No.6 batsman, contributed with important runs, 24 from 30, before becoming Palaniapan Meiyappan's only victim of the day.

Gareth Delany then joined Stirling in the middle, and together they shifted gears. At the end of the 46th over, Stirling brought up his 10th ODI ton with a single. The duo added 55 runs from the last five overs, lifting their side to a competitive total of 269-5.

Stirling was Ireland's star batsman, smashing a sensational 131* from 148 and also passing 9,000 runs for Ireland across all formats in the process, becoming only the second Irish batsman to reach the landmark after William Porterfield.


MATCH SUMMARY

UAE Men v Ireland Men, 1st ODI, Abu Dhabi, 8 January 2021

Ireland 269-5 (50 overs; P Stirling 131*, A Balbirnie 53; R Mustafa 2-43)
UAE 273-4 (49 overs; C Rizwan 109, M Usman 105*; C Campher 2-31, B McCarthy 2-63)

UAE won by 6 wickets
 
ABU DHABI – Emirates Cricket Board has advised Cricket Ireland of a further UAE player has tested positive for COVID-19. Subsequently, the two cricket bodies have agreed to postpone tomorrow’s scheduled match until Saturday 16 January 2021.

Richard Holdsworth, High Performance Director for Cricket Ireland, said:

“The Emirates Cricket Board has advised us today of a further positive COVID test amongst its playing squad, and we have both agreed the safest course of action is to postpone the second ODI scheduled for tomorrow. We hope to play this match on the 16th January, all going well.”

“All Irish players have tested negative. We appreciate the speed and transparency of Emirates Cricket to ensure that the health and safety of players, support staff and workers at the ground comes first.”
 
Since UAE does not give nationality to people. How does Srilankans, Indians and Pakistani play for UAE national team? How does ICC accept this?
 
ABU DHABI – ABU DHABI - Emirates Cricket Board and Cricket Ireland have agreed that tomorrow’s ODI will be suspended, with discussions ongoing about rescheduling of suspended matches. While no new cases have been reported, the suspension of tomorrow's game is in line with UAE Department of Health directives.

The Emirates Cricket Board statement released said:

“Emirates Cricket Board confirms that tomorrow’s match in the Sky247.net Abu Dhabi ODI Series 2021 against Ireland has been suspended.”

“Although no new positive cases have been returned the decision, supported by Cricket Ireland, was made due to the UAE team remaining in quarantine as directed by authorities on January 11th.”

“As previously communicated discussions continue regarding rescheduling matches.”

Once more, Cricket Ireland thanks the Emirates Cricket Board and Abu Dhabi Cricket for their transparency and cooperation at this time, and will continue to monitor the situation over coming days. As always, the health and safety of players and support staff will remain Cricket Ireland’s priority.

We will endeavour to keep fans updated as circumstances evolve.
 
ABU DHABI – While the Emirates Cricket Board has encouragingly reported there are still no new cases of COVID-19 amongst its playing staff, UAE public health directives will still not permit a resumption of competitive action between UAE and Ireland at this stage. Both the ECB and Cricket Ireland have agreed to suspend Saturday’s scheduled ODI, however hopes remain that a match may still be possible on Monday.

The Emirates Cricket Board statement released said:

“Emirates Cricket Board confirms that tomorrow’s match in the Sky247.net Abu Dhabi ODI Series 2021 against Ireland has been suspended. Discussions are underway with all parties regarding a final ODI match between the UAE and Ireland being played early in the coming week.”

Richard Holdsworth, High Performance Director for Cricket Ireland, said:

“Frustratingly the wait goes on to resume competitive action, however, we fully accept the rationale for the government health directive, and the health and safety of players and support staff will remain Cricket Ireland’s top priority.”

“With the Afghanistan series due to start next Thursday, the players and coaches are keen to get at least another competitive fixture in against the UAE prior to that, so we are hoping that a continued clean bill of health in both camps will allow us to play on Monday. The players will head out for a centre wicket practice tomorrow.”

“We share the frustrations of fans who were hoping to see a great series with our hosts, but we acknowledge the work of the Emirates Cricket Board in trying to recover what we can of the series given difficult circumstances. We will keep fans updated as circumstances evolve.”
 
MATCH SUMMARY

UAE Men v Ireland Men, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi, 18 January 2021

Ireland 228-6 (50 overs; C Campher 56, S Singh 54*; Z Khan 3-35)
UAE 116 (36 overs; Z Farid 28; S Singh 5-10)

Ireland won by 112 runs


ABU DHABI – A brilliant maiden half-century, followed by a maiden five wicket haul in one-day internationals by Simi Singh led Ireland to a comprehensive 112-run win over UAE today to square the series 1-1.

The off-spinning all-rounder first starred with the bat, striking an unbeaten 57-ball 54 – his first ODI fifty – before running through the hosts’ batting line-up with an exceptional haul of 5-10, his maiden ODI five-for.

Such a monstrous victory seemed unlikely in the early stages of the matches, after Ireland were reduced to 10-3 inside the first five overs; Zahoor Khan’s new-ball burst accounted for skipper Andrew Balbirnie and Paul Stirling, while Kashif Daud removed Kevin O’Brien for 2.

Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker led a recovery with a vital 72-run partnership, but both fell with Ireland yet to put up three figures on the board.

Nonetheless, Curtis Campher continued his remarkable start to life in international cricket, joining Singh for 91-run partnership and working his way to a third-half century in just his fourth ODI innings.

At the other end Singh made his runs rapidly, bringing up his half-century from 56 balls, with his innings including two sixes and two fours. A handy cameo from Gareth Delany (15 off 8) took Ireland to 228-6 from their 50 overs, a strong total considering the blows they’d encountered at the start of the innings.

At 46-0, inside the opening 10 overs, the UAE got off to a bright start through Zawar Farid and Vriitya Aravind, but Singh burst through, pouncing on the mistakes of the batsmen.

He took out the UAE’s top three in almost identical fashion: on all three occasions, the batsmen looked to go big on the leg-side but holed out, with Singh’s blows leaving them on 50-3. It was soon 51-4 when Basil Hameed’s attempted cut resulted in an edge that Tucker held on to behind the stumps. In the 22nd over, Singh took his and Ireland’s fifth, getting the ball to straighten from around the wicket to leave Muhammad Usman leg before wicket.

From there, the supporting cast went to work, with O’Brien, Andy McBrine and Delany all picking up a wicket each, while a couple of run-outs helped Ireland bowl the UAE out for just 116.

Ireland will now face Afghanistan on Thursday in the first of three World Cup Super League matches.
 
United Arab Emirates claimed a series-sealing seven-wicket win off the back of a special century from Muhammad Waseem and a resilient bowling performance, despite a strong Irish start.

The game was not so much one of two halves as it was one of four quarters. Ireland claimed the first, with Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien putting on a trademark opening stand.

Stirling was the early aggressor, hitting four boundaries in the first five overs. He got things moving with two fours in two balls in the second over, driving through the off-side and then clubbing over mid-on, and if there was a hint of fortune about the third, edged past the keeper, then the fourth was all class, beautifully guided behind square on the off-side and teasing the fielder all the way to the fence. The flurry took him into first place for most fours among all players in men’s T20I cricket, another proud record for a player with several already in his locker.

With O’Brien content to tuck singles, Stirling dominated the early strike too. After five overs, he had 26 off 18 to O’Brien’s 11 off 12.

A quiet stretch followed as the pair took stock, and while the singles continued to trickle along, soon O’Brien had had enough, taking on the attacking mantle from Stirling to glorious effect. In the eight over he stepped out to smash a big six over long-off off Palaniapan Meiyappan, before backing away to manufacture a lofted shot square on the off-side and then struck straight as a die, high and handsome down the ground for another six in the leggie’s next over.

At the halfway stage, Ireland were 76-0 and seemingly set for a big total, but a stellar spell from Rohan Mustafa dragged UAE virtually single-handedly back into the contest.

The off-spinner, brought on to bowl the 13th over, struck with his third ball, palming a firmly hit Stirling drive up in the air to complete the catch himself. The stand ended at 85, the 12th partnership above 50 in T20Is between O’Brien and Stirling. In men’s cricket, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill and Scotland’s George Munsey and Kyle Coetzer are the only pairs with as many, and no duo has more.

Mustafa struck again in his next over, a yorker proving too good for Gareth Delany, promoted to No.3, and while O’Brien brought up his half-century in the next over, he was the next to fall, backing away in an attempt to create room through to off-side only for Mustafa to beat his attempted loft.

Curtis Campher began inventively, playing a reverse lap sweep for four off his first ball, but it was only a brief respite, with that shot bringing about Ireland’s sole boundary in the last 10 overs of their innings.

Campher soon holed out to deep midwicket off Kashif Daud, before another excellent yorker, this time from Zahoor Khan, removed George Dockrell. It was left to Mustafa to deliver perhaps the most damaging blow of the innings however, with the first ball of the final over a literal toe-crusher, forcing Andrew Balbirnie, who had scrapped hard for his 19-ball 15, to retire hurt. Stirling took on captaincy duties in the field, with Harry Tector acting as sub fielder. Some hard running in the final over dragged Ireland up to 134-5, but UAE had the momentum.

Ireland began their defence gamely, but it soon became the Muhammad Waseem show. Singh struck in the second over, enticing Chirag Suri to hit high rather than long down to long-off, before Waseem and Vriitya Aravind signalled their intent with a pair of contrasting sixes, Waseem stroking gloriously over extra cover, and Vriitya scooping audaciously over fine leg.

Craig Young used all his experience to respond to that second blow, with a swirling leading edge off the next delivery held by Kevin O’Brien running in from long-on, and with the score reading 39-2 at the end of the powerplay, the result was in the balance.

From there, however, Waseem ticked through the gears. He found the fence once in each of the first three overs following the powerplay and cleared the ropes in the fourth, taking UAE to 71-2, more than halfway to their target at the end of the 10th over. Two more boundaries came in each of the 11th and 12th overs, and almost as soon as his century became a possibility, it seemed inevitable, with three fours and a six off consecutive legal Campher deliveries taking Waseem from 68 to 86 in a flash.

While there were some moments of luck, with Ben White beating the edge in his first over and an aborted pull off Young and inside edge off Campher just evading fine leg and the stumps respectively, but there were also several strokes of class and authority, including one six over backward square that flew into the commentary box.

Mohammad Usman was perfectly content to block up an end and watch the carnage unfold, departing only after Waseem had brought up his century, having contributed 10 off 19 to their 92-run stand. Three balls later, and another straight six from Waseem gave UAE victory by seven wickets, with 23 balls remaining, the opener having contributed 77 per cent of his side’s runs.


INJURY UPDATE - Andrew Balbirnie was taken off retired hurt after an impact toe injury, following which he was unable to bear weight. He will have an X-ray tonight to assess the injury.


MATCH SUMMARY

Ireland Men v United Arab Emirates Men, 3rd T20I, ICC Global Cricket Academy Ground No 2, Dubai, 10 October 2021

Ireland 134-5 (20 overs; K O’Brien 54, P Stirling 40; R Mustafa 3-23)
UAE 139-3 (16.1 overs; M Waseem 107*, V Aravind 11; C Young 2-29)

UAE won by 7 wickets (UAE wins series 2-1)
 
UAE squad for ICC T20 World Cup 2022

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The UAE will be looking to improve on their only previous visit to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup when they tackle three opponents in the opening round in Australia.

Squad

CP Rizwan (c), Vriitya Aravind, Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, Basil Hameed, Aryan Lakra, Zawar Farid, Kashif Daud, Karthik Meiyappan, Ahmed Raza, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Sabir Ali, Alishan Sharafu, Aayan Khan. Standby Players: Sultan Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Vishnu Sukumaran, Adithya Shetty, Sanchit Sharma.

Best finish at tournament

First Round in 2014

The ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia will be UAE’s second appearance in the marquee event. Previously, they have qualified just once for the World Cup – in 2014, UAE made it to the First Round of the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh after finishing fourth in the Qualifiers out of six teams.

The team - led by Khurram Khan - had a forgettable outing in the tournament, going winless in the three games and finishing at the bottom of Group B. In their opening match, they were comfortably beaten by the Netherlands by six wickets.

Their next clash was truncated by rain and Ireland emerged victorious by 21 runs by DLS method. UAE put up more of a fight in the final game while defending just 117. At one stage, Zimbabwe were 63/5 before an Elton Chigumbura special (53* off 21 balls) blew UAE away.

Pitted against Namibia, Netherlands and Sri Lanka in Group A of the First Round this year, UAE will be hoping for a better showing in Australia.

Results in the last 10 T20I games

(most recent first): L L L W L W W L W W

Fixtures:

v Netherlands (16 October), Kardinia Park, Geelong
v Sri Lanka (October 18), Kardinia Park, Geelong
v Namibia (October 20), Kardinia Park, Geelong

Key match

v Netherlands (October 16) - UAE face Group A favourites and Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka in their second game at the T20 World Cup. Thus, winning the opening match against the Netherlands becomes all the more important if they are to stay alive in the event heading into their final contest.

The head-to-head between the two sides is all square at the moment, with UAE and Netherlands having four wins against their names from eight matches. However, it is the Dutch who hold the edge in ICC tournaments, with three of their four wins coming in Qualifiers or the World Cup.

UAE will be hoping to turn it around when they face the Netherlands in their opening match of the T20 World Cup.

Key player

Vriitya Aravind - Having only made his debut in 2020, Aravind has quickly become an important member of the UAE team. Still only 20 years old, his recent performances have shown that his maturity on the field is well beyond his age.

Aravind was the Player of the Tournament in the Global Qualifier A which UAE won to qualify for the T20 World Cup this year. He was the highest run-scorer in the tournament with 267 runs at an average of 89 and a strike rate of 154.33.

He announced his arrival in the tournament with a magnificent, unbeaten 97 against Ireland in the opening game and followed it up with scores of 40, 84* and 46. His form has been awry thereafter but the 20-year-old will be keen to make an impression when UAE travel to Australia for the T20 World Cup.

Summary

From winning the qualifier tournament to failing to qualify for the Asia Cup, UAE have experienced a mixed bag of form heading into the T20 World Cup this year.

A change in captaincy between the Qualifier and the T20 World Cup certainly hasn’t helped the team with UAE replacing their most successful T20I captain Ahmed Raza with CP Rizwan.

One of the biggest talking points from UAE’s squad announcement was the absence of Rohan Mustafa. The country’s most capped player and tenth-ranked all-rounder in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Player Rankings played as recently as August before he was dropped from the playing XI during the Asia Cup qualifiers and eventually found himself out of the World Cup squad.

The pressure will be on new captain Rizwan, who has endured a horrid start at the helm with just one win in five games.

If UAE are to make it out of the group, they will need the likes of Muhammad Waseem, Vriitya Aravind and Chirag Suri among others to step up. With the ball, UAE will be hoping Junaid Siddique, Ahmed Raza and KP Meiyappan can carry their form into the World Cup.

Pitted against Namibia, Netherlands and Sri Lanka in Group A, UAE have a monumental task on their hands to make it to the Super 12 stage of the World Cup.

ICC
 
Work in progress...

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Aayan Afzal Khan - the first 16 year old in men's T20 World Cup history

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Karthik Meiyappan made history against Sri Lanka when he became the first player to claim a hat-trick for UAE in T20Is. It was also the first hat-trick of the tournament.

Sri Lanka were cruising along when Meiyappan came into the bowl the 15th over, with Pathum Nissanka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa at the crease. The over turned the game on its head as it triggered a middle-order collapse, putting the pressure back on Sri Lanka.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa's attempt to go inside-out saw him hole out in the deep to Kashif Daud. Charith Asalanka departed for a golden duck as he nicked the ball to Vriitya Aravind.

Facing the hat-trick ball, Dasun Shanaka had no answer to the wonderful googly that found the gap between bat and pad and rattled his stumps as Meiyappan wheeled off in celebration.

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The UAE has special rules in place specifically for sports to allow expats to join their national teams.

Lots of discarded Pakistani players like M.Amir, Shehzad, Akmal etc should get a U.A.E tourist visa. With their cricketing skills they can easily get employed with big companies like DULSCO or Emirates or even a bank and once with an employment visa they will be part of the U.A.E cricket team.

I think even Shoaib Malik can easily represent U.A.E because he lives in Dubai.
 
To me UAE aren’t a team. Shouldn’t exist.

If you are not a citizen of a country, how do you even get the right to play for its team?

Farce.
 
The locals have zero interest in cricket. I have a few Emarati friends and they call cricket a sissy game.
 
This team shouldnt be playing. If they dont have nationality how can they represent a nation like that?

Disrespectful stuff by the Arabs. Basically, if arab cricketers do show up, these people that are playing would be asked to get out no matter how good they might be.
 
UAE were also forced to make a squad change with all-rounder Zawar Farid out injured with a fractured foot and replaced by Fahad Nawaz.
 
I don't understand the point of these associate teams when its full of Pakistanis and Indians. Hong Kong is the worst, not a single chinese player. Its a mockery of the sport trying to brand itself as a global game.

Either field teams with natives or don't bother at all.
 
Lots of discarded Pakistani players like M.Amir, Shehzad, Akmal etc should get a U.A.E tourist visa. With their cricketing skills they can easily get employed with big companies like DULSCO or Emirates or even a bank and once with an employment visa they will be part of the U.A.E cricket team.

I think even Shoaib Malik can easily represent U.A.E because he lives in Dubai.

Representing UAE is easy for any international player, but there is no point because they can earn a lot more money by playing in leagues.
 
I don't understand the point of these associate teams when its full of Pakistanis and Indians. Hong Kong is the worst, not a single chinese player. Its a mockery of the sport trying to brand itself as a global game.

Either field teams with natives or don't bother at all.

This is why associate teams like Hong Kong, UAE, USA etc. are not growing - there is no local representation and support.
 
UAE needs local players to be taken seriously. A team full of Pak, Indian, Bangladeshi and even Afghan expats can't be taken seriously.
 
This is why associate teams like Hong Kong, UAE, USA etc. are not growing - there is no local representation and support.


I don't want any desi players in Eng, NZ, Oz and SA either. I want to see the natives play against each other.
 
UAE needs local players to be taken seriously. A team full of Pak, Indian, Bangladeshi and even Afghan expats can't be taken seriously.

Sadly, local Arabs don't like struggling hard and sweating around in sports. No offence to them but majority are only good at "Paisa Penkh Tamasha Dekh"
 
Sadly, local Arabs don't like struggling hard and sweating around in sports. No offence to them but majority are only good at "Paisa Penkh Tamasha Dekh"

Yeah Emiratis are not good at Sport or anything else for that matter. I don't see the sense in players born and raised in the subcontinent playing for the UAE just because they live and work there. Something doesn't make sense here at all when most of these players probably don't even speak a word of Arabic.
 
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I don't understand the point of these associate teams when its full of Pakistanis and Indians. Hong Kong is the worst, not a single chinese player. Its a mockery of the sport trying to brand itself as a global game.

Either field teams with natives or don't bother at all.

I dont care if they expats or not. As long as they hold citizenship, it doesnt matter to me.

For example the Canadian team desis are citizenship holders while UAE team members dont have citizenship.
 
The future is bright for cricket in the UAE and there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic that the Emirati side will continue to improve as they get more exposure against the top sides.

Most runs – Muhammad Waseem (93)
Most wickets – Zahoor Khan and Karthik Meiyappan (5)

What went right

There were plenty of positives to come out of the tournament for the UAE and none more so when they upset Namibia in Geelong to record their first ever victory at a T20 World Cup.

Ironically, this performance came when they got a reasonably even performance from their side, while they also had a couple of standout moments from an individual perspective that arose from their earlier games.

None more so when spinner Karthik Meiyappan picked up the first hat-trick of the tournament against Sri Lanka when he dismissed Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Charith Asalanka and skipper Dasun Shanaka with a magnificent piece of bowling.

Junaid Siddique's spell of 3/24 with the new ball against the Netherlands was also a highlight, while Muhammad Waseem showed his class with a stylish half-century against Namibia.

What went wrong

It was the lack of consistency that ultimately cost UAE as they failed to match the efforts they showed against Namibia when taking on the Netherlands and Sri Lanka earlier in the tournament.

And that's in all aspects of the game that UAE failed to find consistency, with their middle order culpable for not being able to build on a reasonable start provided by their openers.

Both their pacers and spinners bowled well in patches too, but weren’t always supported by their fellow bowlers at the other end.

What does the future hold?

The future is bright for cricket in the UAE and there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic that the Emirati side will continue to improve as they get more exposure against the top sides.

Teenager Aayan Khan made his T20 World Cup debut during the tournament at the age of 16 and is one to keep an eye on, while the likes of Vriitya Aravind and Meiyappan are still very young and seemingly with their best cricket in front of them.

CP Rizwan only took the captaincy reins from Ahmed Raza on the eve of the tournament so a decision will need to be made whether the 34-year-old remains in the top job ahead of next year's 50-over World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup.

But there are plenty of good signs for cricket in the UAE, so expect them to continue to build over the coming years.

ICC
 
UAE's Asif Khan was in devastating touch against Nepal, slamming the fourth-fastest century in men's ODI cricket history.

Asif brought up his century in just 41 deliveries, helping UAE to a massive total of 310/6 in their Cricket World Cup League 2 clash against Nepal in Kirtipur.
 
Asif Khan slams fourth fastest hundred in Men's ODIs

UAE's Asif Khan was in devastating touch against Nepal, slamming the fourth-fastest century in men's ODI cricket history.

Asif brought up his century in just 41 deliveries, helping UAE to a massive total of 310/6 in their Cricket World Cup League 2 clash against Nepal in Kirtipur.

Walking out to bat in the 38th over, Asif was in full flow right from the very off. He took over the change from Vriitya Aravind, who was brilliantly anchoring UAE's innings.

Making easy work of the Nepal bowlers, Asif pummelled 11 sixes and 4 fours in his knock. Nepal who were hoping to restrict UAE to a low total, had to see their disciplined bowling efforts come undone against a rampaging Asif, with the visitors setting the hosts a target of 311 in the all-important encounter.

Asif's knock was one for the record books and now ranks as the fourth fastest ton in Men's ODI cricket history, only behind AB de Villiers, Corey Anderson and Shahid Afridi.

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/3111861?sf175934157=1
 

United Arab Emirates vs New Zealand, 1st T20I​


Southee: Would've bowled. But historically here it's a good surface. Yeah it's hot. Few of the guys coming from the NZ winter. Have had some time to acclimatize. Chance for a number of guys to perform well. No debuts for us today.

Waseem: We're going to bowl first. Pitch is looking fresh. Will try to restrict them to a low total. We are used to the conditions. 3-4 debuts today. Asif, Aaryansh, Ali Naseer, and one more guy.

Some new faces, some difficult decisions to make, but we're here to help. Do check out our Fantasy Handbook before finalising your teams.

Teams:

New Zealand
(Playing XI): Tim Seifert, Chad Bowes, Dane Cleaver(w), Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, James Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Cole McConchie, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee(c), Ben Lister

United Arab Emirates (Playing XI): Muhammad Waseem(c), Aryansh Sharma(w), Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Ansh Tandon, Basil Hameed, Ali Naseer, Aayan Afzal Khan, Mohammed Faraazuddin, Junaid Siddique, Zahoor Khan

United Arab Emirates have won the toss and have opted to field
 
UAE batting looks terrible so far. Their bowling is pretty decent for the UAE conditions.
 
UAE vs NZ. How on earth.
Why Not.. Playing against higher-ranked teams exposes associate players to a higher level of competition, helping them improve their skills and develop a better understanding of the game.
 
Why Not.. Playing against higher-ranked teams exposes associate players to a higher level of competition, helping them improve their skills and develop a better understanding of the game.
When I think of UAE cricketers, I think of Indians & Pakistanis who are on non-settlement visas who have other day jobs to make a living. Unless the cash mega rich UAE government want to bank roll the cricket affairs and give players proper contracts, UAE cricket has no future.

USA cricket has a future, not UAE i am afraid.
 
This is great to have top teams facing the "lower teams" for T20I ONLY.

T20 is the future (and present) of cricket, it needs as much nations involved, as much expansion as possible
 
New Zealand
142/8

United Arab Emirates
(15.4/20 ov, T:143) 144/3
U.A.E. won by 7 wickets (with 26 balls remaining)
 
Brilliant from UAE!

United Arab Emirates won by 7 wkts

NZ - 142/8 (20)
UAE - 144/3 (15.4)
CRR: 9.19

Player of the Match
Aayan Afzal Khan
 
UAE have been doing well for a while. This is a great win for them.

They could've won the 1st game too.
 
No, I don't think so. Playing for associate nations does not have the same allure that playing for big countries does. We have seen that time and time again with players like Lamichanne. These players will play some games here and there for their country, but at the end of the day, its all about franchise cricket for them.
 
United Arab Emirates vs New Zealand, 3rd T20

United Arab Emirates have won the toss and have opted to field

Teams:

New Zealand (Playing XI): Chad Bowes, Tim Seifert(w), Dean Foxcroft, Mark Chapman, Will Young, Mitchell Santner, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Southee(c), Kyle Jamieson, Adithya Ashok, Ben Lister

United Arab Emirates (Playing XI): Muhammad Waseem(c), Aryansh Sharma(w), Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Ansh Tandon, Basil Hameed, Aayan Afzal Khan, Mohammed Faraazuddin, Muhammad Jawadullah, Junaid Siddique, Zahoor Khan
 
New Zealand bounced back from their shock loss to the United Arab Emirates to win the third and final T20I in Dubai on Sunday by 32 runs to clinch the series. The UAE had romped to a seven-wicket win on Saturday to register their first victory over New Zealand in any format, but the hosts slumped to 53-5 in pursuit of 167 in the finale. Aayan Afzal Khan, the 17-year-old who starred with the ball in the second match, put up spirited resistance with 42 off 36 balls but the run rate ultimately proved too steep for the UAE.

Left-arm medium pace bowler Ben Lister claimed 3-35, including the wickets of captain Muhammad Waseem and Aayan, and effected a run out as the UAE ended well short on 134-7.

Will Young made 56 and Mark Chapman (51) hit his second successive half-century to guide New Zealand to a total of 166-5 after they were put in to bat.

Seamer Junaid Siddique removed both Young and Chapman after earlier dismissing opener Tim Seifert, to finish with 3-26 as the pick of the UAE bowlers.
 
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UAE’s Junaid Siddique has incurred a 25 per cent fine to his match fees along with two demerit points, which have been added to his disciplinary record.

The incident involving the fast bowler took place during the third T20I between UAE and New Zealand in Dubai.

Siddique was found guilty of breaching the Level 1 of ICC Code of Conduct twice.

In the first instance, Siddique flouted article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during an International Match.”

This incident occurred in the fifth over of the New Zealand innings when Siddique moved close to the dismissed batter, Tim Seifert, and shouted aggressively at him.

For this, Siddique was handed an official reprimand and one demerit point was added to his disciplinary record.

In the second instance, he was found in violation of article 2.8 of the Code, which relates to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision”.

This happened in the 17th over of the New Zealand innings, when Siddique showed dissent by using inappropriate language towards the umpire after an appeal was turned down.

For this, he was fined 25 per cent of his match fee and one more demerit point was added to his disciplinary record.

The charges were levelled by on-field umpires Akbar Ali and Shiju Sam, along with third umpire Aasif Iqbal.

There was no need for a formal hearing after Siddique admitted to the offence and accepted the sanctions proposed by ICC match referee Andy Pycroft.

With no prior offences in the preceding 24-month period, Siddique now has two demerit points on his record.

ICC
 
Emirates Cricket COO Subhan Ahmed during a media interaction:

"The moment we learned that we are going to be the host (of the CT), we started preparing (the pitches) even during the ILT20 tournament for these matches. We complied with all the ICC requirements."

"We gave the required rest to the pitches (during the ILT20) that we were going to use for the Champions Trophy. We managed the pitch's workload as soon as we got to know that there was going to be an ICC event. So far the pitches here have played out really well."

"We don't have any official confirmation yet (on hosting Asia Cup) But our unique selling point is that we host events on short notice. This is a plug and play venue."

"If you look at the past 5 years, whether it is IPL, BSL, Asia Cup or the World Cup, we have hosted events on very short notice. We are always in a state of readiness."

"It was picked gradually. There was not a 100% crowd in India vs Bangladesh. But there was more than 60%. There are some travel challenges in some countries. That can be a factor."

"But you must have seen all the matches after that. Attendance was very good. The India vs Pakistan match too picked up later, according to ticket sales, it was well over 95%. If some people could not turn up, we cannot say."
 
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