The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 trophy returned to Dubai on Wednesday evening, after having embarked on a world tour which began at the ICC headquarters in the city on 3 July.

The trophy was received at the ICC Cricket Academy by UAE coach and member of the 1992 Cricket World Cup winning Pakistan squad, Aqib Javed.

“This trophy holds a special place in every cricketer’s heart. It is the biggest prize in international cricket. The UAE will be playing in the ICC Cricket World Cup for the first time since 1996 and we are confident of putting in a performance that will make our fans proud,” said Javed.

The UAE team recently returned from a tour of Australia, as part of an initiative of the ICC High Performance Programme, aimed at providing the four qualifying associate teams – Afghanistan, Ireland, Scotland and the UAE – valuable match experience ahead of the tournament across host nations Australia and New Zealand.

World Cricket’s biggest extravaganza gets underway on 14 February in Christchurch and Melbourne, with the final to be played in Melbourne on 29 March.

The UAE will play its first match on 19 February against Zimbabwe in Nelson.

“We are thrilled to welcome the ICC Cricket World Cup trophy to the UAE, as part of its official worldwide tour and we are confident it will be warmly received and celebrated during its 2-week visit. As the UAE National Cricket team embarks on their journey to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, we look forward to seeing the people of the UAE rally behind, and support it in its mission,” said ECB CEO David East.

The trophy will be displayed at various public locations where cricket fans across the UAE will have the opportunity to get photographed with it. Fans are invited to share their photographs on Twitter and Facebook using the hashtags #cwc15 and #cwctrophytour.

The trophy will be on public display at the following locations in the UAE:

9 October, 8 pm – at the Abu Dhabi Cricket Club

10 October – at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium during the second ODI between Pakistan and Australia

11 October, 4 pm – at MaxTalent cricket academy, Dubai

12 October – at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, during the third ODI between Pakistan and Australia 

17 October, 5.30 pm – Sharjah Cricket Academy

The trophy has so far visited Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, England, Wales, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Ireland, Afghanistan, Pakistan, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

It is scheduled to travel next to the West Indies from the UAE.