The UAE cricket team left for Zimbabwe Friday morning with skipper Rohan Mustafa challenging his players to reach the Super Six stage of the World Cup Qualifier.

Mustafa’s team-mates are grouped with reigning World T20 champions West Indies, Ireland, Netherlands and Papua New Guinea with the top three nations advancing to the next round.

After booking their place with World Cricket League Division Two triumph earlier this month, Mustafa says the team are confident they can impress.

“We are taking one step at a time, which means our first target is to qualify for the Super Six stage,” he said. “No disrespect to any team but I think we have a strong chance against the Netherlands and Papua New Guinea as we have recently played against them and won those matches. The slow wickets in Harare are also likely to assist our brand of cricket.

“We are in fine shape to produce good results in Zimbabwe as we are coming on the back of a winning performance in Namibia. Then we have Shaiman and Naveed who played in the 2015 World Cup and the World Twenty20 2016 and have been sharing their experiences and lifting the players’ spirits.”

Both finalists of the 10-team tournament will book their place in next year’s showpiece in England and Wales.