UAE on a high after Bermuda triumph

Captain Saqib says his side is all ready for WCL div.2
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) captain Saqib Ali believes victory over Bermuda in the ICC Intercontinental Cup has given his team tremendous confidence ahead of the ICC World Cricket League division 2 starting in Windhoek, Namibia from 24 November.

“The victory has lifted our spirits and has done a world of good to our confidence,” said Saqib, reflecting on the 138-run win in Abdu Dhabi.

“Obviously there was a situation where we could have ended up on the losing side and had it happened, it would have been the worst possible preparation for an important event like the ICC WCL Div.2.

“The victory was sweeter because of the way we earned it. We made a mess of things on the first two days, crawled our way out on the third day before delivering the killer’s blow on the last day,” said Saqib who had the rare distinction of scoring a duck and a century in his first match as captain.

The UAE mounted a superb fight back by winning after conceding a substantial 168-run lead. Batting first, the home team was bowled out for 143 only to see the tourists pile up 311.

But in the second innings, the UAE put up an improved performance to score 449 and set Bermuda a 282-run target in 87 overs. Bermuda succumbed to its third successive heavy defeat when it was bowled out for 142 in less than 40 overs.

The match was marked by several excellent individual performances with Bermuda’s David Hemp scoring an unbeaten 174 in the first innings and fast bowler Kevin Hurdle returning match figures of 10-139.

For the UAE, past and present captains Arshad Ali and Saqib produced career-best innings. Arshad scored a flawless and chanceless 185 while Saqib compiled an equally attractive 142. On the last day, debutant Irfan Ahmed produced a brilliant spell of fast bowling when he took 3-35 to lead the final surge to victory.

“We killed two birds with one stone in this match – collected 14 points from a precarious position and had a much-needed match practice ahead of the WCL Div.2,” said Saqib.

“The WCL Div.2 is a tournament that will inch us closer to our dreams of playing in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 to be staged in the subcontinent,” he added.

The WCL Div.2 will be staged from 24 November and 1 December and besides UAE, Argentina, Uganda, Denmark, Oman and Namibia will take part.

While the bottom two teams from the Windhoek event will be relegated to WCL Div.3, the top four teams will qualify for the ICC World Cup Qualifier (formerly ICC Trophy) in UAE in April 2009 where they will be joined by Kenya, Scotland, the Netherlands, Canada, Ireland and Bermuda.

The leading teams from the ICC World Cup Qualifier will go through to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 to be staged in the Asian subcontinent.

Reflecting on his team’s victory over Bermuda, Saqib said: “I think there were three key moments that turned the tide in our favour.

“Firstly, Arshad and Naeemuddin Aslam gave us a glimmer of a hope by featuring in a 133-run partnership, secondly Arshad and I put on 155 for the fourth wicket in quick time, and lastly Irfan Ahmed bowled a superb opening spell on the fourth morning to claim 3-35, including the prized scalp of an in-form (David) Hemp.

“I think we were all over the place on the first two days because we are not used to playing four-day cricket. It was our first game in nearly two months but once we settled down, we showed that we definitely belong to this format provided we get regular matches.

“We have played well here and would have liked to take the momentum forward but the schedule is such that our next game is after two months. It’s very hard on the players to perform as individuals and as a team,” said Saqib.

This match was the last in the tournament in 2007 with the remaining games to be played next year ahead of the final, which will take place at a date and location to be confirmed.

Points Table (as at 12 November)

WO - outright win - 14 pts
WI - lead on first innings (also retained if outright loss) - 6 pts
LI - behind on first innings - 0 pts
LO - outright loss - 0 pts TO - outright tie - 7 pts each
TI - tie first innings - 3 pts each Abandoned - 10 pts each
D – draw – 3 pts each