Khurram Khan pleased with UAE’s cricket tour of Australia

Captain says his team have prepared well for next year’s World Cup, writes Paul Radley.

UAE won just two of their six matches, but Khurram Khan’s men have improved greatly. Sammy Dallal / The National

The performances of Mohammed Naveed on tour in Australia have given the UAE reason to be optimistic about next year’s World Cup.

That is the view of Khurram Khan, the national team captain, who lauded the young seam-bowler’s “awesome” efforts during their preparatory series in Perth and Darwin.

The tour culminated in a fourth defeat, this time by two wickets to South Australia, at the Marrara Cricket Ground yesterday.

However, a four-wicket haul from Naveed meant the UAE were again competitive against a side boasting plenty of international experience.

“Naveed bowled his heart out and it was an amazing spell,” Khurram said of the leader of the UAE bowling attack.

“He has improved a lot over the past year, along with [fellow pace-bowler] Kamran Shahzad.

“He has come into his own on this trip and has performed superbly. He has been awesome for us.”

The UAE will play two matches, against India and Ireland, in Australia next year, and they will be better equipped for those thanks to their exertions on this trip.

The team won two of their six matches, played in conditions that even their veteran players had never before experienced.

“I think it was very productive because you have to keep in mind none of us have played in Australia before,” said Khurram, who has played for the UAE for over a decade.

“Playing here for the first time, against very good opponents, I think we did very well.

“We only had two wins, we nearly got two more, but that doesn’t matter. The experience we gained was wonderful and we could clearly see that the hard work of the past four months was paying off and we were improving.”

Mazhar Khan, the tour manager for the UAE in Australia, believes the side will be better for their experiences this month when they eventually return for the World Cup.

“The conditions the boys faced were absolutely the opposite of what they are used to,” the Emirates Cricket Board administrator said.

“The bowlers they faced were running in and 90 per cent of balls were bouncing around chest height.

“They will know what to expect when they go back.

“It was good experience for them and I think they will go back there with a lot of confidence next year.”

The rest of the UAE’s competitive buildup to February’s World Cup will take place on home soil, with a series of matches against fellow qualifiers Afghanistan planned for next month.

The success stories

Mohammed Naveed

Coaches and teammates alike were raving about Naveed’s capabilities with the ball before the side departed for Australia. Evidently, they were right. The pace bowler was the UAE national team’s star turn with the ball on tour. His 12 wickets – at less than 20 apiece and with an enviable economy rate, too – were nearly double the next-best man.

Saqib Ali

Swapnil Patil was the leading batsman on tour, establishing his place as the premier wicket keeper-batsman in a squad that boasted four different glovemen. However, the return to full fitness of Saqib, below, was arguably an even greater boon for the team. A haul of 159 runs at a shade under 40 was a solid return for a player returning from a chronic back injury.

The disappointment

Mohammed Tauqir

The veteran spinner needed to convince a few sceptical teammates and coaches that he is worth his place, having made a comeback after nearly two years out of the game. He was given only 14 overs in two matches on tour. His two wickets at 33.5 and economy rate of 4.78 were solid. It really needed to be spectacular, though.

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