The UAE cricketers have reached Perth for a training camp to prepare in the right earnest for the 2015 World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand.
UAE are one of four Associate nations to qualify and Aaqib Javed’s men were the first to arrive in Australia for a tour organised by the ICC under a high-performance programme (HPP) ahead of their showpiece event from 14 February to 29 March.
“Since the World Cup Qualifier earlier this year in New Zealand, we have made even more progress. This HPP camp, with games and training at different venues, under different conditions and against high quality opposition, is very important for our preparation,” Aaqib said.
The UAE is preparing for its second ICC Cricket World Cup, having previously appeared in the 1996 edition staged in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
“There is a lot of hype in the players’ minds that Australian pitches are fast, bouncier – it will be a good experience to just go there and feel the pitches and the environment,” Aaqib said.
Aaqib was a member of the Pakistan side that won the ICC Cricket World Cup when it was last staged in Australia and New Zealand, in 1992, as well as the 1996 squad.
The UAE will play two one-day matches against the Warriors in Perth before travelling to Darwin, where they will face Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Northern Territory and the Redbacks in four games to complete the two-week tour.
With five months to go in between, Aaqib said this camp will be the start of a process and not limited to an one-off exercise.
“We’ll then come back to the UAE and prepare specifically on Perth and Gabba [type of] wickets in the nets and across the ovals at the ICC Academy in Dubai, where we’re based. So this tour is very important as we ramp up our training in the final few months before the World Cup.”
“The team did really well in New Zealand during the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2014. Now it is a tougher task ahead, which the players are really excited about. They’ve got the abilities, so now it is about the mind-set.”
The UAE are placed in Pool B of the ICC World Cup, along with defending champion India, qualifier Ireland, 1992 champion Pakistan, South Africa, two-time champion West Indies and Zimbabwe.
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