It said a lot about how much the Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off meant to UAE cricket that Karthik Meiyappan ambled off the field at its conclusion with a souvenir stump in his possession.
Ostensibly, this was a third-tier competition between a group of sides beyond cricket’s mainstream. The UAE had just completed a relatively comfortable victory against Jersey, in a game that actually had nothing tangible riding on it in the end.
And Meiyappan is a cricketer who has taken a hat-trick in a World Cup. The 22-year-old leg-spinner had only two other souvenir stumps in his career collection so far.
One from that momentous night at the T20 World Cup when he took three in three against mighty Sri Lanka in Geelong. The other from when the UAE snuck past Nepal to make it to the Under-19 World Cup at a competition in Malaysia.
And yet this tournament has meant so much to UAE cricket, and it stood to reason that one of its young gems wanted something to remember it by.
A day earlier, they had accomplished their mission without even playing a game. Results in other fixtures conspired to send them through to the global Qualifier in Zimbabwe, where they will play for one of the two places on offer for the main event in India later this year. In the process, they retained one-day international playing privileges.
UAE beat Jersey - in pictures
All of which meant the final game, against Jersey, was little more than a valedictory tour. The side from the Channel Islands showed they are an emerging team of talent, but the UAE eventually dispatched them with a 66-run win.
Meiyappan picked up four for 57 as Jersey were bowled out for 218, then grabbed that stump.
“It is because we qualified and because the situation we were in coming to Namibia was pretty tough for us,” Meiyappan said of his forget-me-not.
“Coming here and winning four games, and just losing one, it is a big thing for us. The momentum has completely changed for the team. Obviously, this is a big thing to remember.
“It is good to pass it on to the next generation and let them know this is how we qualified for the next four years of ODIs.”
Now, the UAE can look ahead to playing against the likes of the West Indies at the Qualifier in Zimbabwe, and Meiyappan cannot wait.
“It was exciting coming to this tournament know that we had one goal, in terms of retaining ODI status, but also making it to the Qualifier,” Meiyappan said.
“Going to Zimbabwe, the momentum we have is pretty good. We also have the Asia Cup Qualifiers coming up. The team is doing pretty good.
“It is exciting looking ahead to Zimbabwe. Hopefully, we can keep the momentum up and go through to the World Cup as well.”
The UAE posted their fifth score of 255 or more in the competition, as they eventually reached 284 for seven against Jersey.
The runs came via a familiar formula. Muhammad Waseem blazed 65 in 52 balls at the top. Vriitya Aravind anchored the innings with 45. And Asif Khan smashed 82 in 86 balls before falling to a fine boundary catch by Jonty Jenner in the 46th over.
“With four overs left I wanted to go for big hits,” said Asif, the in-form batter whose innings earned him the player of the match award.
“I have been trying to bat long. The captain and coach have asked me to try to bat till the 50th over, and that is what I have been aiming to do.”
Waseem, the captain, was delighted to sign of a successful week with a win.
“We have bowled well in the last few games and we tried to keep the same momentum in today’s game,” Waseem said.
“I am very happy with how my team played and the fact we made it to the Qualifier. Hopefully we can maintain the same momentum going forward.”
