Mohammed Tauqir proving he is not UAE cricket captain in name only

Oldest skipper in World Cup history is leading from the front, writes Paul Radley.

Mohammed Tauqir, centre, took two wickets against Zimbabwe with his off-spin at Nelson, New Zealand, on Thursday. William West / AFP

Assuming Cyclone Marcia relents in time for a match to take place, Mohammed Tauqir will break his own record as the oldest captain in a World Cup game when UAE face Ireland in Brisbane on Wednesday.

He will add six days to the record – 43 years and 32 days – which he set in the four-wicket defeat to Zimbabwe at the Saxton Oval in Nelson on Thursday.

Just to be on the safe side, he might need a brief recap on what his first duty is: watch William Porterfield, his opposite number, flip the coin, make a call of heads or tails and let the coin land.

He was a little awry with that part of his job ahead of his World Cup debut against the Zimbabweans.

Instead, Elton Chigumbura tossed and Tauqir caught the money. He works in a bank in Dubai, so maybe old habits die hard.

“I wasn’t ready for the coin,” he said. “I was looking the other way and he just flipped it.”

Tauqir reckoned the false start was not a sign of nerves or a distracted mind, rather that the Zimbabwe captain had jumped the gun.

The match referee had not been ready either, he said.

Jitters, though, would have been forgiven as leading your nation in their first World Cup match in two decades would be daunting, but all the more so in Tauqir’s situation as his place in the side has been questioned.

He has been named captain because of nationality. The Emirates Cricket Board said as much when he was appointed because his elevation, they said, was designed to show Emiratis are the key to “the future sustainability” of cricket in the UAE.

With a statement like that comes pressure to perform, yet the debate belies the fact Tauqir has been one of the greats of UAE cricket and, on the evidence of Thursday’s opener, he is still has a valuable contribution to make.

He can be proud of his performance against Zimbabwe.

He took two wickets for 51 with his canny off-spin as he pulled the UAE back into the game after Sikandar Raza threatened to take it away from them with a fast start to their run chase.

His late, diving stop at short mid-wicket also brought the largest round of applause from the 2,643 crowd. Not bad for a man closing in on middle age.

He is also refreshing to listen to as his utterings are happily untrained and genuine.

When asked after the Zimbabwe game if his side had let a few slip in the field, he did not give some glib answer about “executing skills”.

“I think we were better than Zimbabwe in fielding,” he said.

To his credit, he also displays few visible signs of ego.

As the tension of Zimbabwe’s run chase tightened, Khurram Khan stood in earnest discussion with the bowler, Mohammed Naveed, directed the fielders and geed his players along.

He appeared to be the de facto captain, even though he officially lost that office – after about 10 years in the role – to Tauqir ahead of the World Cup.

Tauqir did not fuss, or act like his authority was being challenged.

Before the tournament, he went on record to say how important it was to have someone of Khurram’s pedigree next to him. It was clearly not lip service.

The two players know each other’s games so well, having shared a dressing room for well over a decade.

When the roles were the opposite of what they are now, Tauqir would celebrate his wickets by making a beeline straight for Khurram.

Given the high stakes and extra distractions at this competition, the captain can do with all the help he can get – and maybe he should let Khurram do the toss on Wednesday.

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