The UAE’s difficult start to the Cricket World Cup League Two continued as they were soundly beaten by Oman by five wickets on Sunday.
The national team failed to recover from a faltering start, after being invited to bat first at the picturesque Oman Cricket Academy ground in Al Amerat.
Bilal Khan, Oman’s left-arm swing bowler, was typically incisive as he shot out each of Chirag Suri, Darius D’Silva and Basil Hameed for single figure scores. The tourists were struggling at 27-4 at that stage.
They did manage to rebuild, thanks to 68 from the in-form Mohammed Usman.
BUt the fact only two other players, Rohan Mustafa and Waheed Ahmed, were able to post double figures meant the UAE were able to post only 170, as they were bowled out at the start of their 48th over.
It was scarcely a challenge for the home side, with Aaqib Ilyas carrying them to victory in the 38th over. He made 80 not out.
The UAE face Namibia at the same ground on Monday. It is the UAE’s second tri-series in the new league, which forms part of the qualifying process for the 2023 World Cup in India.
The new-look UAE team made an indifferent start to the competition as they lost twice to US in Dubai and Sharjah last month.
They did, however, take a win off Scotland in that series, with several of their exciting new young talents to the fore.
Before this tour began, Ahmed Raza, the UAE captain, said his side may be inconsistent, given their inexperience. They will aim to bounce back when they take on the Namibians, starting at 10am on Monday.
