Top-seeded UAE play Uganda in their first warm-up match on Friday ahead of the 2015 World Cup qualifiers in New Zealand and captain Khurram Khan believes the game, followed by another against Netherlands, will help his team get ready to fight for one of the two qualification spots up for grabs.
There are 10 teams in two groups in the qualifiers – A (with UAE) and B – and top three teams from each group will progress to the Super Six stage. The top two sides at the end of that stage will not only reach the final but also qualify for the World Cup next year.
After arriving in New Zealand, Khan’s team have little time to prepare for the Uganda match at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, before tackling Netherlands in Saturday’s warmup. The UAE will then hope to clinch one of the top three spots in order to play in the Super Six stage.
“We have played Uganda previously so we know them quite well. The matches against Uganda and Netherlands will help us get used to the conditions and it’s going to be very important matches for us,” Khan told Sport360°.
“Netherlands have a good team with a good combination. The match will definitely be good practice, and it will help us know where we stand before the tournaments.”
UAE are ranked as the top side in the tournament and coach Aaqib Javed said his players are motivated as ever to complete the job after missing out on a qualification opportunity by one point in the World Cricket League last year.
Javed said: “The guys are taking it very seriously because it’s going to be a big thing for them. The players know the UAE enter this competition as the number one ranked team and are motivated. We have a good chance in qualifying.”
For the last six weeks, the cricketers were put through their paces four times a week at the state-of-the-art ICC Academy.
Scotland and Canada, who are third and sixth seeds respectively, will be the main dangers in Group A for UAE but Javed insists there will be no easy matches.
The former Pakistani bowler said: “Every match is important. There won’t be a huge difference between the teams. Nepal and Hong Kong have done well in the Twenty20 qualifiers so you can’t take any team for granted. They are not professional sides and sometimes you don’t know how they will respond to pressure situations.”
When asked about the conditions in New Zealand, Javed said: “The conditions will be different but it’s going to be a test for all teams.”
Two months ago, UAE qualified for the World T20 and Khan is hoping his players can give the country another reason to celebrate by qualifying for their first 50-over World Cup since 1996.
UAE team: Khurram Khan (captain), Amjad Ali, Shaiman Anwar, Nasir Aziz, Salman Faris, Manjula Guruge, Amjad Javed, Rohan Mustafa, Muhammad Naveed, Swapnil Patil, Ahmed Raza, Kamran Shahzad, Vikrant Shetty, Shadeep Silva, Chirag Suri.