The aspirations for the UAE team in this year's Cricket World Cup were admittedly modest – just being at the tournament was an accomplishment. But as with our national football team, they have made the country proud and came tantalisingly close to causing one of the upsets of the tournament on Wednesday.
Shaiman Anwar’s 106 runs from 83 balls was the first century by a UAE batsman in Cricket World Cup history. Anwar and teammate Amjad Javed’s seventh wicket partnership of 107 also established a new tournament record. With a little more luck – incredibly, Ireland’s Ed Joyce was bowled by Javed but the delivery failed to dislodge the bails, earning the batsman a reprieve – the team could have won. Instead they will have to regroup to face the might of India.
Only last month the Asian Cup football tournament was in full flow in Australia and the UAE's football team were winning over neutral fans. Now the country's cricket team are following suit.
