UAE made bold statement of intent ahead of the Under-19 World Cup in the West Indies by thrashing Papua New Guinea by 250 runs in their opening warm up match in St Kitts.
Kai Smith paved the way for the landslide win with an innings worth 145 in 139 balls.
The Dubai-born 17-year-old opener shared in three notable partnerships, as the UAE side amassed 321-5 from their 50 overs in Bassettere.
His opening stand with Shival Bawa was worth 72. Dhruv Parashar then made 52 in an alliance worth 133 for the second wicket, before Smith put on 77 with Punya Mehra, who made a rapid 41, for the third.
Faced with such a daunting target, PNG wilted against the UAE’s bowlers. Ali Naseer led the way with the new ball, sending down three maidens in his five over opening burst.
Left-arm spinners Nilansh Keswani and Aayan Afzal Khan then proceeded to run through the PNG line up. Keswani took 2-16, while Aayan – who only turned 16 in November – took 3-10, as PNG were fired out for 71.
It was a positive start for a UAE side who are looking to improve on their showing at the 2020 U19 World Cup in South Africa, where they were unable to make it out of the group stage.
Their plans for this competition have been altered slightly, due the travel chaos faced by Afghanistan. The Afghans had been due to be the next warm up opposition for the UAE.
However, while the UAE have been in the Caribbean since last week, Afghanistan have been held up by visa issues.
The side have been in Dubai, where they played in the U19 Asia Cup last month, awaiting clearance to transit the UK. That has now been granted, but they will be short on time to acclimatise ahead of the competition’s start.
The UAE will play their first fixture when they face Canada in St Kitts on Sunday. They then have pool-stage fixtures against England and Bangladesh, the defending champions.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
DSC Eagles 23 Dubai Hurricanes 36
Eagles
Tries: Bright, O’Driscoll
Cons: Carey 2
Pens: Carey 3
Hurricanes
Tries: Knight 2, Lewis, Finck, Powell, Perry
Cons: Powell 3
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
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%3Cp%3EElena%20Rybakina%20(Kazakhstan)%0D%3Cbr%3EOns%20Jabeur%20(Tunisia)%0D%3Cbr%3EMaria%20Sakkari%20(Greece)%0D%3Cbr%3EBarbora%20Krej%C4%8D%C3%ADkov%C3%A1%20(Czech%20Republic)%0D%3Cbr%3EBeatriz%20Haddad%20Maia%20(Brazil)%0D%3Cbr%3EJe%C4%BCena%20Ostapenko%20(Latvia)%0D%3Cbr%3ELiudmila%20Samsonova%0D%3Cbr%3EDaria%20Kasatkina%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EVeronika%20Kudermetova%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3ECaroline%20Garcia%20(France)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EMagda%20Linette%20(Poland)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3ESorana%20C%C3%AErstea%20(Romania)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EAnastasia%20Potapova%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EAnhelina%20Kalinina%20(Ukraine)%E2%80%AF%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EJasmine%20Paolini%20(Italy)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Navarro%20(USA)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3ELesia%20Tsurenko%20(Ukraine)%0D%3Cbr%3ENaomi%20Osaka%20(Japan)%20-%20wildcard%0D%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Raducanu%20(Great%20Britain)%20-%20wildcard%3Cbr%3EAlexandra%20Eala%20(Philippines)%20-%20wildcard%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
