United Arab Emirates national cricket team


The United Arab Emirates national cricket team is the team that represents the United Arab Emirates in international cricket. They are governed by the Emirates Cricket Board which became an Affiliate Member of the International Cricket Council in 1989 and an Associate Member the following year. Since 2005, the ICC's headquarters have been located in Dubai.
One of the emerging One Day International teams, the UAE won the ACC Trophy on four consecutive occasions between 2000 and 2006, and were runners-up in the other three times the tournament has been played in 1996, 1998 and 2008. They won the ICC Trophy in 1994, and played their first ODIs that year, later playing in the 1996 Cricket World Cup. Other ODI matches came in the 2004 and 2008 Asia Cups. At the 2014 World Cup Qualifier, the UAE placed second behind Scotland, qualifying for the 2015 World Cup and gaining ODI status until 2018.
UAE made the group stage of the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. The team has qualified for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier as hosts. Following the demise of the World Cricket League, UAE will play in the 2019–22 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 going forward.

History

Early days

In 1892, the United Kingdom took responsibility of the Sheikhdoms, and cricket was introduced by the British Army in what is now the UAE, but was then known as the "Trucial States". The game spread during World War II, as personnel from the British Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth forces stationed in cities such as Ajman, Al Ain, Dubai and Sharjah, continued their favourite pastime. The pitches installed by them around the air base in Sharjah were used by British and other foreign nationals after the war ended.
Sharjah residents began playing the Dubai residents in the local derbies which were held in Dubai. The Garden city of Al Ain has the oldest cricket council in the whole of the UAE. The popularity of the game declined after independence in 1971; however, when South Asians began settling in the country, they brought with them a wish to play cricket. The local Arab population, educated in India and Pakistan, set up clubs and domestic tournaments began in the 1980s.

Making of the national side

The first match was played by the UAE national side in February 1976 against Pakistan International Airlines in Sharjah. The visitors scored 345/5 from their 50 overs and the UAE were on 88/4 from 28 overs when the game was abandoned due to rain.
Wealthy locals began investing in the sport and an International standard cricket ground was constructed in Sharjah. The Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium hosted its first international event in 1984 when India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka contested the Asia Cup. The venue has gone on to host almost 200 ODIs and four Test matches, the Test matches having been held there due to security concerns in Pakistan.
The Emirates Cricket Board was established in 1989 and gained affiliate membership of the ICC the same year. They were quickly promoted to associate member status the following year. Also in 1990 the national side returned to action, twice losing heavily to the Netherlands. These heavy defeats showed that much work needed to be done if the UAE were to be successful in the 1994 ICC Trophy and the ECB adopted a controversial policy.

1994 ICC Trophy

Hoping to form a successful national side in time for the tournament in Kenya, the ECB attracted several players with first-class experience in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to take up employment in the country so that they could satisfy the residential requirements to represent the UAE in the tournament.
With just one native Arab selected in the shape of Sultan Zarawani, who captained the side, the UAE won the trophy and thus qualified for the 1996 World Cup. UAE had beaten Kenya in the final, and the Kenyan players and cricket board were very vocal in their anger at being defeated by what they and other observers described as a team of imported mercenaries.
Whilst the ICC remained relatively silent on the controversy, the national team eligibility requirements were strongly tightened for all future ICC sanctioned tournaments.

First ODIs

The UAE played their first ODIs in 1994 when they played against India and Pakistan in the Austral-Asia Cup, which they also hosted. They finished last in a tri-series against Kenya and the Netherlands the same year and also finished last in a tournament against the A sides of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 1995. They returned to ODI cricket in the 1996 World Cup where they lost all matches except the one against the Netherlands, which was the first ever ODI between two associate members of the ICC.
Later in 1996 the UAE were runners-up to Bangladesh in the first ACC Trophy. The tightened eligibility rules meant that they were unable to repeat their 1994 success when they finished tenth in the 1997 ICC Trophy in Malaysia. They were beaten by Bangladesh in the semi-finals of the 1998 ACC Trophy.

21st century

2000 – 2009

With Bangladesh being promoted to ICC full membership, the UAE began to establish themselves as the top associate side in Asia, though they often fell short against the top associates in Europe and North America, a position that remains to this day. They won the ACC Trophy in 2000 and 2002, beating Hong Kong and Nepal in the respective finals, but finished fifth in the 2001 ICC Trophy in Canada.
UAE hosted the 2004 ICC Six Nations Challenge and finished fifth, level on points with four other teams. The year was a busy one for the UAE cricketers as they played the first Intercontinental Cup match against Nepal, with Ali Asad taking nine wickets in the first innings. They beat Malaysia later in the tournament but lost to Canada in the semi-finals. They also won the ACC Trophy again, beating Oman in the final. They returned to ODI cricket, losing to India and Sri Lanka in the first round of the Asia Cup, and finished fourth in the Hong Kong Sixes, beating India and South Africa on the way.
They reached the semi-finals of the ICC Intercontinental Cup again in 2005, also playing a series against England A at Sharjah, losing all four matches. The 2005 ICC Trophy in Ireland saw them finish sixth. They beat Hong Kong in the final of the 2006 ACC Trophy, but began their 2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup campaign with an innings defeat by Namibia. The campaign continued with a draw against Scotland and a defeat by Ireland, again by an innings. They finished fourth in the first ACC Twenty20 Cup in 2007.
Their campaign in the 2007-08 ICC Intercontinental Cup was unsuccessful, with just one win against Bermuda in their seven matches. Things went better for them in Division Two of the World Cricket League in Windhoek in 2007, winning the tournament after beating Oman in the final.
They again played in the Asia Cup in 2008, losing to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the first round. Their 2008 ACC Trophy Elite began with a shock defeat by Saudi Arabia, their first ACC Trophy defeat since the 1998 semi-final. They lost to Hong Kong in the final, ending a run of four consecutive titles.
The UAE hosted and were runners-up at the 2009 ACC Twenty20 Cup, losing the final to Afghanistan, after winning four group matches and accounting for Oman in their semi-final.

2010 – present

In October 2010, the team announced that it had hired Kabir Khan to become its coach. Khan had great success with the Afghan team during his one-year stint as they became eligible to play ODIs. Kabir Khan also stated that his aim was to help UAE qualify for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20.
In April 2011, the UAE hosted and won Division Two of the World Cricket League without losing a match. In June/July 2011, they played Kenya at Nairobi for the first round of 2011–13 ICC Intercontinental Cup. In December, the UAE participated in the 2011 ACC Twenty20 Cup in Nepal. Then in 2013, they traveled to Scotland to compete in the 2013 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, the final event of the 2009–13 World Cricket League.
UAE finished third in the 2013 ACC Twenty20 Cup which after defeating Hong Kong in the play-off for third place. In November, they hosted 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier and finished fourth after losing to Nepal in the play-off for third place, and qualified for the 2014 ICC World Twenty20, defeating the Netherlands by 10 runs in the quarter-final.
Afthab Muhammad Nisar is the captain of UAE's under 17 side
UAE participated in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 but were unsuccessful in the tournament, going without a win. UAE finished second in the 2014 ACC Premier League and qualified for the 2014 ACC Championship. They also qualified for 2015 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
UAE qualified to play in the Cricket World Cup after a lapse of almost twenty years. Unlike other teams in the tournament, the squad of players mainly consisted of semi-professionals. The team registered their highest ODI total ever at the 2015 Cricket World Cup in a group stage match played against Zimbabwe in Nelson, New Zealand. However, they failed to register a win and were eliminated from the 2015 Cricket World Cup with 6 losses out of 6 matches in Pool B.
This was their first win against a full member side.

International grounds

International contribution by UAE grounds

Updated 3 November 2016

Infrastructure

In terms of infrastructure, the UAE have the best stadiums as compared to other Associate members: Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi;
DSC Cricket Stadium, Dubai and Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah, which has hosted around 200 ODIs and Test matches.
International stadiums in Ajman and Al Ain are currently under development.
The following are the main cricket stadiums in UAE:

World Cup">Cricket World Cup">World Cup

ICC T20 World Cup

[ICC World Cup Qualifier]

International match summary – United Arab Emirates
Last updated 27 February 2020.

One-Day Internationals

Most ODI runs for the United Arab Emirates
PlayerRunsAverageCareer span
Shaiman Anwar1,21931.252014-2019
Muhammad Usman81829.212016-2020
Rohan Mustafa75422.172014-2020
Rameez Shahzad69153.152016-2018
Khurram Khan58241.572004-2015

Most ODI wickets for the United Arab Emirates
PlayerWicketsAverageCareer span
Mohammad Naveed5333.152014-2019
Rohan Mustafa4133.172014-2020
Ahmed Raza3531.402014-2020
Imran Haider3226.282017-2019
Zahoor Khan3122.672017-2019

Highest individual innings in ODIs
PlayerScoreOppositionVenueDate
Khurram Khan132*Dubai30 November 2014
Rameez Shahzad121*Dubai23 January 2018
Rameez Shahzad112*Harare6 March 2018
Rohan Mustafa109Abu Dhabi4 April 2017
Shaiman Anwar106Brisbane25 February 2015

Best bowling figures in an innings in ODIs
PlayerScoreOppositionVenueDate
Zahoor Khan6/34Dubai2 March 2017
Rohan Mustafa5/25Abu Dhabi4 April 2017
Ahmed Raza5/26Muscat9 January 2020
Mohammad Naveed5/28Harare4 March 2018
Shaukat Dukanwala5/29Lahore1 March 1996

ODI record versus other nations
Last updated 9 January 2020.

Twenty20 Internationals

Most T20I runs for the United Arab Emirates
PlayerRunsAverageCareer span
Shaiman Anwar97133.482014-2019
Rohan Mustafa76619.152014-2020
Mohammad Usman76524.672016-2020
Rameez Shahzad44924.942016-2019
Chirag Suri35235.202018-2020

Most T20I wickets for the United Arab Emirates
PlayerWicketsAverageCareer span
Rohan Mustafa4519.772014-2020
Mohammad Naveed3719.702015-2019
Amjad Javed3316.962014-2017
Ahmed Raza2930.132014-2020
Zahoor Khan2718.622017-2020

T20I record versus other nations
Records complete to T20I #1066. Last updated 27 February 2020.

Other First-class Records

ICC Trophy