Confident UAE a tough test for Netherlands
Overview
The Netherlands v UAE
Harare Sports Club, Harare
CWCQ, Match 9
Thursday 8 March; 9:30 local time, 7:30 GMT
The Netherlands have had a couple of days’ break since losing on the opening day of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018, and will likely have used that time to regroup and get their campaign on track when they take on UAE for their second fixture.
UAE, who have one win and one loss in two matches so far, might have slipped against Windies by 60 runs, but they will find several positives in that performance. They batted out the full 50 overs in the chase, and are taking confidence in that they got to nearly 300 against a strong side.
Having mainly banked on their top order to give them a good foundation, the fact that Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar and Adnan Mufti were among the runs in the middle order bodes well.
And taking into account opener Rohan Mustafa’s 95 in the opening win against PNG and their ability to string together partnerships, they will go into the match with faith in their batting.
On a good batting surface in a small ground and with Chris Gayle in flow, their bowlers had a tough outing. But they showed promise with the new ball, and have overall done well in Zimbabwe conditions so far.
“Against Netherlands, we need to show the same intent with the bat, and improve with the ball,” said UAE coach Dougie Brown, calling for more consistency across 100 overs and promising more aggression in fielding.
We have the most beautiful squad I've been lucky enough to be involved with. I believe this team has real character. Today was an anomaly.
— Peter Borren (@dutchiepdb) March 4, 2018
Look out... we will improve.@KNCBcricket
The Netherlands, meanwhile, will want more application from their batsmen. The top score in their first match against Ireland was 33. Rain and the pressure of a DLS chase might have played on their mind, but in a tournament where even lower-ranked teams have lifted their games and claimed remarkable individual performances with the bat, the Netherlands cannot afford to leave it too late.
As the ICC World Cricket League champions, though, they will back themselves to put in a solid all-round performance.
Key players
Wesley Barresi (The Netherlands): The opener didn’t have a good opening game, making only 15, but showed good intent. He came into the tournament in good form, including a century late last year, and got starts in the warm-up matches. He’ll want to build on those starts now to drive his side forward.
Rameez Shahzad (UAE): Coming in at No.4, Shahzad made a brisk 107-ball 112* against Windies, never letting the scoreboard or the opponents intimidate him. His knock included nine fours and four sixes. It was his second one-day international hundred in 13 matches. He had a reasonable time in the ICC World Cricket League Division Two as well, showing he is a reliable player in the middle order.
Conditions
No rain is forecast in Harare for Thursday. The Harare Sports Club pitch proved to be good for batting in Tueday’s game, and under clear skies, both teams will hope for more of the same.
Squads
United Arab Emirates: Rohan Mustafa (c), Adnan Mufti, Ahmed Raza, Amir Hayat, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Ghulam Shabber (wk), Imran Haider, Mohammad Boota, Mohammad Naveed, Muhammad Usman, Qadeer Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Zahoor Khan
Netherlands: Peter Borren (c), Wesley Barresi (wk), Ben Cooper, Bas de Leede, Scott Edwards, Vivian Kingma, Fred Klaassen, Max O'Dowd, Pieter Seelaar, Shane Snater, Ryan ten Doeschate, Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren, Sikander Zulfiqar