Commendable as it is to be playing in only their second World Cup, UAE’s complete lack of experience and a team full of novices could mean a very forgettable campaign

Peter Della Penna31-Jan-20150:49

UAE team profile

SummaryEven in the professional era, there’s room for the every man. UAE have a squad packed with them. Despite having Associate status, almost all of the players in the Afghanistan, Ireland and Scotland squads are at least semi if not full-time professionals. Not so for the UAE. Although the Emirates Cricket Board has started offering some players retainer contracts since qualifying for the World Cup in February 2014, their roster is essentially a group of glorified amateurs.Nobody embodies this spirit of amateurism more than vice-captain Khurram Khan. By day, he works as a flight purser for Emirates Airlines and part of his fitness routine involves doing push-ups in between meal services for passengers. In his spare time, he fits in the odd game of cricket, which makes it all the more amazing that Khurram, at 43, is consistently among UAE’s leading scorers.The Emirates Cricket Board made a curiously timed decision in January by appointing 43-year-old offspinner Mohammad Tauqir as captain for the World Cup, with Khurram demoted to the vice-captaincy, in a politically motivated move. Khurram had served as captain since July 2008 and Tauqir would have had a tough time making it into a first-choice starting eleven under normal circumstances, but the board wanted a native-born Emirati leading the team at the World Cup.The board’s hope is that having Tauqir as a visible role model on a global stage will help promote the game to the indigenous Emirati community in a country where the sport has traditionally been stigmatized as a game reserved for the expatriate working class. Giving Tauqir the reins with this sentiment in mind is a noble intention, but it may wind up producing the opposite of the desired effect if he struggles to pull his weight during the tournament.It’s been 19 years since UAE appeared in the World Cup. They’ll be playing the role of the Washington Generals going up against the Harlem Globetrotters in every match of the tournament. One hopes though that they can provide a few moments of genuinely competitive action rather than being a sideshow during the group play.ESPNcricinfo LtdWorld Cup pedigreeUAE registered a solitary victory over the Netherlands in the 1996 World Cup and avoided finishing at the bottom of their group. This will be just their second appearance in the tournament.X-FactorMost of the major teams will have little knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of UAE. Because so few of UAE’s matches are televised, it makes scouting them more difficult. The best thing going for UAE is the element of surprise.Fact box

Squad
Mohammad Tauqir (capt.), Fahad Alhashmi, Amjad Ali, Shaiman Anwar, Nasir Aziz, Andri Berenger, Krishna Chandran, Manjula Guruge, Saqlain Haider (wk), Amjad Javed, Khurram Khan, Rohan Mustafa, Mohammad Naveed, Swapnil Patil (wk), Kamran Shazad
Fixtures
Thursday, February 19 v Zimbabwe, Nelson
Wednesday, February 25 v Ireland, Brisbane
Saturday, February 28 v India, Perth
Wednesday, March 4 v Pakistan, Napier
Thursday, March 12 v South Africa, Wellington
Sunday, March 15 v West Indies, Napier

Players in focusKhurram KhanLike fine wine, Khurram gets better with age. Five years ago, he said he didn’t think he would be able to play past 40, but at 42, he was the leading scorer at the World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand with 581 runs at an average of 72.62. In November, he became the oldest player (43 years, 162 days) to score a century in an ODI, notching an unbeaten 132 in a win over Afghanistan. Khurram also has five 50-plus scores in his last six List-A games leading into the World Cup.Swapnil PatilUAE’s wicketkeeper provides support for Khurram with a solid punch in the middle order. Patil was the second-highest scorer for his team at the World Cup Qualifier and fought a lone hand in the tournament final with an unbeaten 99 in the defeat to Scotland.Shaiman AnwarCapable of churning out useful middle-order runs, Anwar was the leading scorer in the World Cricket League Championship with 625 runs at an average of 52.08. Though his average was not as robust at the World Cup Qualifier, he was the only other UAE player besides Khurram to score a century.Game styleEnthusiastic but error-prone, UAE could try their hearts out and still produce days when they will look more like a village side due to their chronically poor fielding.PredictionOdds on favourites to collect the wooden spoon at this World Cup.World Cup stats Former captain Sultan Zarawani was the only native-born Emirati to represent the UAE at the 1996 World Cup. That number has been doubled in UAE’s World Cup squad for 2015 in the form of captain Tauqir and Fahad Alhashmi. UAE’s one win in 1996 gives them a better record than Scotland, who have gone winless in both their World Cup appearances.If they were an actorStan Lee: Diehard fans recognise his brief cameos in films based off Marvel comic book characters. Most other moviegoers have no idea and wouldn’t notice if his scenes were left on the cutting room floor.Theme song”The Boxer” – Simon & Garfunkel