ABU DHABI // The youngsters from the UAE were given a lesson on the harsh realities of playing against the world’s elite.
They went in to their Under 19 World Cup opener against England having beaten them in one of the three games they played in a friendly tri-series in the Emirates in December.
However, England proved they were a class above when it comes to serious competition by handing the host team a 213-run thrashing on Friday at Zayed Cricket Stadium.
The game was out of the UAE’s reach from the moment they lost opener Chirag Suri (0) in the first ball of Matthew Fisher’s second over and the England pace bowler struck by removing Shorye Chopra (6) in the first delivery of his fourth over to leave the UAE 14 for two.
Shivank Vijaykumar (26) and the captain Rohit Singh (38) were the only two batsmen to reach double figures as the UAE were shot out for 102 in 33 overs.
Aaqib Javed, the UAE coach, felt his side could have played better. “We must remember we are playing against England and they are a full member nation,” he said.
“Yet we could have done better on a good batting strip and should have scored some 200-plus runs. The batting was my concern because the batters need to spend more time at the crease.
“We also need to keep in mind that we are the UAE and not to expect good results against Test playing nations. Of course, it is not an excuse for a poor performance but that’s the reality.”
England, sent in to bat first, piled up 315 for eight. They were given a sound start by the openers Harry Finch (49) and Jonathan Tattersall (29) putting on 71 in 11 overs.
Ed Barnard (93) and Ben Duckett (83) shared a superb 151-run partnership for the fourth wicket while Joe Clarke smashed 19 off 11 balls, highlighted by two successive hits over the long on fence, to help England put up their highest total against the UAE in four games.
“Obviously, very pleased to start the tournament with a win and do well individually,” said Barnard, who was named the man of the match for his top score.
The Worcestershire batsman was a member of the England team when they arrived in the Emirates for the tri-series against Pakistan and the UAE in December. “It was a big advantage to play a few games here and get accustomed to the playing surface. We played against the UAE and that was useful too,” he said.
The UAE leaked around 50-60 runs because of poor fielding but Aaqib said it was mostly the batting that let them down. “We have some batsmen capable of getting big scores and if they can get runs it will be different for us. They have scored in some games but need to be more consistent,” he said.
Omer Mohammed, a part-time medium pacer, opened the bowling and Dan D’Souza, another part-time spinner, bowled the full quota of 10 overs after Sajid Khan went for 33 in three overs and Shahrukh Ahmed one for 31 from six. According to Aaqib, the medium pacer Sunair Khan had suffered a back spasm, and he had to bring in Mohammed to open the bowling.
apassela@thenational.ae
