Buoyed by their battling effort in their West Indies defeat, Dougie Brown has challenged his players to play consistent cricket for the entire match if the UAE want to come out on top against Netherlands on Thursday.
The UAE earned the plaudits for how they pushed the Caribbean side nearly all the way in their chase of 358, only to fall to a 60-run loss in the World Cup Qualifier on Tuesday.
Netherlands are next up at Zimbabwe’s Harare Sports Club with the UAE looking to boost their Super Six qualification hopes with their second triumph of the tournament.
Brown says he’s been pleased with how his troops have played so far but has challenged them to be more consistent against the World Cricket League champions.
“We bring in some really good form into this game,” said the 48-year-old. “We have done very well in patches with the bat and ball so far. What’s going to be important is to bring this confidence that we have and try and piece together a consistent match of the full 100 overs.
“We have probably not managed to piece together 100 overs in cricket in the tournament. We know we have it in us because we have played some very good patches in play. Tomorrow, it’s about making sure that we get into the game and be consistent for the entirety of it.”
The last time the nations met, the UAE secured a 2-1 series triumph over the Dutch in Amsterdam.
A number of their key players who missed that series are in the squad, most notably Ryan ten Doeschate. The 37-year-old batsman is back in the national set-up after a six-year gap in a bid of helping his national team qualify for the World Cup.
He’s someone that Brown knows very well having played alongside him during his county days in England and is fully aware of the threat he can pose.
“He’s an exceptional player and is a very dangerous cricketer on his day and we will be talking about him during our meeting,” added Brown. “But they are not a one-man or two-man team by any stretch.
“They have a number of match winners in their squad and can pose a threat to any team in cricket.”