UAE jump to second place, in hunt for World Cup spot
Tuesday, 1 October 2013 00:03
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United Arab Emirates leapfrogged into second place on the World Cricket League Championship table with a resounding win over Namibia, giving themselves a shot at direct qualification into the 2015 World Cup.
UAE, who were placed fifth on the table before their two WCL matches against Namibia, edged Netherlands out of the second place with a higher number of wins; nine against Netherlands’ eight victories.
The race for the second place, however, is far from over. Afghanistan are currently fourth on the table with 15 points and with two games in hand. What UAE’s victory has done is clearly define Afghanistan’s goal for the last two matches; they need wins against Kenya on 2 October and 4 October. A loss in any match or an abandoned game would end Afghanistan’s chances of direct qualification. UAE’s win over Namibia on Sunday was their second successive victory with a margin of more than 100 runs. In the second game, Namibia, who chose to bowl, made a good start, dismissing Mohammad Azam for 6 off the third ball of the match.
Shaiman Anwar, who has made a habit of helping UAE recover from poor starts in recent List A games, did the same again, constructing a 75-ball 57 and adding 81 runs for the second wicket with Saqib Ali.
UAE lost a few quick wickets after Anwar was out and a steady 45-run, sixth-wicket stand between Mohammad Shafiq and Rohan Mustafa helped them stage a small recovery, taking the team to 177 for 5 in the 45th over. Ahmed Raza and Mustafa then added some quick runs after Shafiq fell to push the team total past 200.
Namibia pacer Christi Viljoen, used in short bursts throughout the UAE innings, struck off successive deliveries to dismiss Raza and Nasir Aziz in the penultimate over. UAE’s innings ended for 215 in the next over when Louis van der Westhuizen dismissed Mustafa and Shadeep Silva.
Namibia started cautiously but faced a double blow when Silva bowled van der Westhuizen and Stephan Baard off successive deliveries in the fifth over. Xander Pitchers and wicketkeeper Jaen Kotze tried resurrecting the chase, but once Pitchers fell for 29, with the score at 46 for 3, Namibia collapsed. They lost their last eight wickets for 34, even as Khurram Khan and Nasir Aziz missed out on hat-tricks in the 24th and 32nd over respectively.
