The road to November’s Women’s World Twenty20 in the West Indies reaches the final stage with the UAE among eight sides battling it out for the two remaining berths over the next seven days.

The UAE begin their campaign against hosts Netherlands on Saturday in what will be their only second ICC tournament since the women’s team was formed in 2007.

Here, we look at the talking points ahead of their participation.

A CHANCE TO MAKE THE WORLD TAKE NOTICE

With Twenty20 Asian champions Bangladesh, Netherlands, Scotland, Ireland, Uganda, Thailand and Papua New Guinea making up the field, the UAE face an uphill task of qualifying but the fact that some teams know little about them could well work in their favour.

The UAE have never played outside Asian or the Middle East regions but in their 11 years, they have made gigantic strides from winning back-to-back Gulf titles to reaching this final qualifying stage of a ICC global tournament.

It will be the first time they will play against European sides and even Bangladesh and although it will be their most difficult challenge so far, Thursday’s 29-run warm-up victory over Uganda shows UAE are not just there to make up the numbers. Few more positive results will certainly put themselves on the  cricketing map.

BLEND OF YOUTH AND EXPERIENCE

Coach Murali Sockalingam can count on a squad where most of the players are not short of international experience. Five of the starting 11 that faced Uganda were aged 30 and above but that’s not to say their youngsters are lacking in experience. Captain Humaira Tasneem is 23 but has been a regular member of the squad ever since making her debut more than five years ago. Esha Oza (19), Kavisha Kumari (15) and Udeni Dona (25) are just some of the young stars who are proving that age is just a number.

While the form of all-rounder Nisha Ali, who topped the batting charts in the Asian qualifiers, will be crucial, the addition of former Sri Lankan international Chamani Senevirathne will boost their aspirations. The 39-year-old featured in all formats for Sri Lanka and her half-century against Uganda, showed she still has what it takes to cause problems.

PREPARATION

The UAE have been training for this moment for the last six months and prior to their departure, played Ramadan tournaments as well as a specially-arranged series against a women’s team from Sri Lanka.

The real tests start now but the win against Uganda is the perfect sign that they are mentally and physically ready to make their World Twenty20 dream a reality.