Esha Oza said a successful limited-overs international tour to Zimbabwe helped the UAE banish bad recent memories from the T20 format.
The national team won their first ODI, against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo last week, and went on to draw the series 2-2. They followed that up with a 2-0 series win over the same opposition in 20-over cricket.
It was the first significant assignment the national team had had since seeing their Women’s T20 World Cup qualifying campaign curtailed prematurely in Kuala Lumpur in May.
They had designs on making it to the main event in England next year. But their hopes were dashed when they were knocked out in the sub-qualifying stage by Nepal and Thailand.
Oza, the UAE captain, said her side were happy to be back out on the field performing in their first crack at official 50-over international cricket.
“This series helped us prove to nobody but ourselves that the two bad days on the field a few months ago don’t define us as a team,” Oza said.
“The team was hurting post the qualifiers in May, but for everyone to step back on the field and put up a fight the way they did, that’s something I’m really proud of.”
The national team will be straight back into ODI action, with a tour of Papua New Guinea scheduled for this month.
Oza said they want more tests in the format, and is thankful they have coach Ahmed Raza, the former captain of the UAE men’s team, to call on for advice.
“The past few months of toiling in the Dubai heat, the result of this series makes it all feel worth it,” Oza said.
“Our first ODI win, on ODI debut, was nothing short of a dream start, but I’d say we’ve just begun. We prepared well, adapted well and played good cricket.
“To have someone like coach Ahmed guiding the team, who is so experienced in the longer format, it helped the team adapt quickly to a format we’re pretty much new to.
“I think the team can be very proud of what has been achieved in these past two weeks and a big shout out to each and everyone involved in this historic event.”
Raza praised the impact Oza had made. She was the player of the series in both formats in Bulawayo for her exploits with bat and ball. “Tactically, she was amazing as we were put under huge pressure by Zimbabwe,” Raza said.
The coach also picked out the emergence of Samaira Dharnidharka, Michelle Botha and Heena Hotchandani as highlights of the tour.
“It is hard to describe what this team has achieved in the last two weeks,” Raza said.
“To have a first-ever ODI series, managing to square it and then cleaning up T20Is against a Full member, we are super proud.
“We worked so hard back home in extreme heat and it all paid off on this tour with the kind of results we got. Kudos to the higher management for arranging this fixture against Zimbabwe and our operations manager Anjani Gaja, who does all the work behind the scenes but never gets a mention.”
