Experienced UAE come up against energetic PNG

Overview

Papua New Guinea v United Arab Emirates
Harare Sports Club, Harare
CWCQ, Match 1
Sunday 4 March; 09:30 local time, 07:30 GMT

The ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 kicks off with the fixture between the United Arab Emirates, a team with quite a few players who were part of the teams’ ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 campaign, and Papua New Guinea, all natural ability and enthusiasm, hoping to make the cut for the very first time.

There’s a lot of quality in the UAE side, who also played the 1996 World Cup. In Rohan Mustafa, the captain, and Ashfaq Ahmed, there’s solidity at the top of the batting order, which is further bolstered by the presence of Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad and, not to forget Shaiman Anwar.

Mustafa has talked about the lack of ‘big names’ in the UAE squad, and while Anwar might not be a big name of the Chris Gayle or Rashid Khan category, he was one of the highlights of the 2015 World Cup. UAE might not have won much then, but with 311 runs from six outings, including 39 against South Africa, 62 against Pakistan, 35 against India, 67 against Zimbabwe and 106, the only century at the World Cup by a UAE batsman, against Ireland, Anwar certainly made a mark.

Unfortunately for UAE, the warm-ups haven’t gone too well. With Lalit Bhandari, the left-arm pacer, in the lead, Nepal bowled them out for 171 in the first game before winning by five wickets. In the second, the bowling performance was outstanding as Windies were shot out for 115 with the spin trio of Imran Haider (4/16), Mustafa (2/10) and Ahmed Raza (2/14) running riot. The batting, again, faltered as UAE were bowled out 32 runs short.

The focus for the team, therefore, will be to up the game with the bat and back the bowlers to keep up the good work.

Up against them are a team with little experience but a lot of energy – especially on the field – and no mean ability with bat and ball.

PNG warmed up for the qualifiers with decent if not successful outings against Scotland first and then Zimbabwe, the hosts and one of the favourites. In the game against Scotland, Assad Vala, the captain, got a 39 and Sese Bau, one of the team’s old hands, scored a 76-ball 53 as PNG scored 196. Scotland went past the target convincingly enough with Matt Cross scoring an unbeaten 101 but more than one PNG bowler was impressively restrictive. Alei Nao, the right-arm medium-pacer, and Charles Amini, the leg-spinner, conceded runs at under five an over, while Vala, who bowls off-spin, gave away just 23 runs from eight overs.

Then, against Zimbabwe, Vani Morea scored a good 58 from the top of the order as PNG scored 195 against a full-strength Zimbabwe attack before the Zimbabweans knocked off the runs for victory.

If everything comes together for PNG the way Joe Dawes, the coach, must be hoping, they can be a threat, especially with their excellent fielding abilities. But UAE, despite the iffy build-up to the tournament, will back their chances of starting with a win.

Key players **Assadollah Vala (PNG):**The team’s captain, now 30, has been playing representative cricket since 2005 and is one of PNG’s iconic players. Though he has lacked consistency with the bat in limited-overs cricket – his first-class average is a mighty 63.63 – Vala has made a name as someone who plays game-changing innings. For PNG to spring a surprise, he needs to make a statement with bat and ball.
**Imran Haider (UAE):**Though 30, the leg-spinner is one of UAE’s new boys, having made his international debut only in 2016. But, since then, he has picked up 17 wickets in just eight one-day internationals, including eight against PNG in three games. In form, as evidenced by his performance against Windies in the warm-up game, he will have to play the lead in keeping PNG to a low total.

Squads **Papua New Guinea:**Assadollah Vala (c), Charles Amini, Sese Bau, Mahuru Dai, Kiplin Doriga, Jason Kila, Vani Morea, Alei Nao, Damien Ravu, John Reva, Lega Siaka, Chad Soper, Tony Ura, Norman Vanua, Jack Vare (wk).
**United Arab Emirates:**Rohan Mustafa (c), Adnan Mufti, Ahmed Raza, Amir Hayat, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Ghulam Shabber (wk), Imran Haider, Mohammad Boota, Mohammad Naveed, Muhammad Usman, Qadeer Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Zahoor Khan.