Dubai: The UAE will take a big step towards qualifying for the 2015 World Cup if they can beat Namibia in the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cricket League (WCL) at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
The hosts, who created history by bowling Namibia out for just 39 in their 158-run victory on Friday, play the same opponents from 2pm aiming for a 2-0 clean sweep that would put them in a strong position in the race for a place in the Australia and New Zealand tournament.
The UAE are currently third in the WCL standings with 16 points and victory on Sunday would take them to second, above the Netherlands courtesy of winning more matches.
Only Afghanistan, who have to play back-to-back matches against Kenya at Sharjah later this week, could then deny the UAE as two wins would put them one point ahead in the second and final World Cup qualification spot.
Speaking to Gulf News on the eve of the crucial match, skipper Khurram Khan said: “We needed a big win [on Friday] to keep the team morale high and the momentum going. It was indeed a wonderful and confident performance. We just need one more win to finish the tournament on a high. We will try again to repeat such a performance.”
Khan once again led from the front with figures of 4.4-2-2-3 with his left-arm spin and went on to praise his spinners. “We have proved again that our spinners are the best among the associate countries. I was delighted to be among the wickets as I hadn’t bowled after the Canada tour.”
Khan revealed that the wicket was on the slow side and praised his batsmen for putting up a good score. “It was great batting from Shaimon Anwar, Mohammad Shafiq and Rohan Mustafa. We posted a challenging total of 197.”
UAE team coach and former Pakistan Test star Aaqib Javed, who has transformed the team since taking over in February last year, is delighted with his team being able to perform well despite being under the pressure of trying to qualify for the World Cup. “Our bowlers held up really well in the conditions,” he said. “I am extremely pleased with Shadeep Silva’s performance.”
Javed also praised Anwar, who is set for a landmark achievement. “Anwar batted really well,” he said. “He is only a few runs off from becoming the leading run scorer of the tournament. Mustafa and Shafiq did an excellent job in lifting UAE to a challenging total.”
Anwar, who top scored with 54 runs, has piled up 568 runs and is just 27 runs behind Kyle Coetzer of Scotland as the highest run-scorer of the tournament.
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