Ahmed Raza expects “a very closely contested fortnight of cricket”

In a chat ahead of the tournament, the 31-year-old, who was born and brought up in Sharjah, exuded confidence in his team while maintaining that given the development of the game across the globe, this could be anyone’s event.

Excerpts:

How would you rate your preparations for the event?

We had a couple of good warm games, especially the win against Scotland was really pleasing because they are the highest ranked team in the competition and thus to beat them comprehensively was very satisfying. Against PNG too, at one stage we had our backs to the wall, but the boys responded well.

You are playing at home; would you deem familiarity with the conditions an advantage for your boys?

The ICC had scheduled the warm-up games in a way that most of the teams got to play at the actual stadiums and under varied conditions (during the day and under lights) – so they got a feel of the heat and the dew too.

Also, if you see the pitches, they are very true here – Scotland and Ireland scored more than 420 runs in a warm-up game yesterday; suggests that it will be an even contest with no real advantage to those who are well acquainted with the venues.

The tournament will see six teams qualify for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia next year – how would you gauge the competition before it starts?

I think a lot of teams come in to this tournament having played quite a bit of cricket recently. The extra warm-up games too, have helped and then there are the different leagues around the world which a lot of us participate in. Would be difficult to distinguish between most of the sides thus – feel it will be a very closely contested fortnight of cricket.

You have a very experienced coaching staff; how helpful has that been for the team?

It’s been very enriching to say the least; if you look back, our coach Dougie Brown had a pretty illustrious record as a player too. Also, the rest of the staff, having worked in different parts of the world are very experienced. Thus, it’s very good to work with them.

We do have differences on team selection occasionally (chuckles) but I think that stems from having a problem of plenty which in my opinion is never a bad thing.

Finally, if you had to list down one target that your team has set for the tournament, what would it be?

I think I would be lying if I say I haven’t dreamt of lifting the trophy. In all fairness though, to reach the top we have to take baby steps – so we will be taking it one match at a time and hopefully we will manage to stay focus through the process.