Basil Hameed picked up his third player of the match award in the space of seven games as he helped the UAE up to second place in the Cricket World Cup League 2 table.
The 29-year-old all-rounder took 4-19 from 10 overs of off-spin as the national team beat Papua New Guinea by seven wickets at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
The two points collected for the win meant they leapfrogged Scotland into second place in the seven-team competition. The top three teams in the event will advance to the final qualifier for the 2023 World Cup in India.
Hameed’s excellence has been a consistent feature of the UAE’s run of fine form of late. The fact it is his bowling that has caught the eye so regularly is, though, a surprise.
The Kerala-born player only had the chance to bowl twice in the first six one-day internationals he played. Across his first eight matches in the format, he managed just one wicket.
In the seven matches since, he has taken 14 wickets – including a career best five for 17 against Oman last month. And a week ago he shared a player of the match award with Kashif Daud for his batting – which was always regarded as his primary skill - against Namibia.
“I’m happy to contribute in whatever manner I can,” Hameed said. “Thanks to my coach [Robin Singh] and captain [Ahmed Raza] for having faith in me to take the ball under pressure.
“Over that period I have improved my bowling, and it is all about the combination we play as well. I always had the opportunity to bowl in the nets, and Ahmed saw that.
“On this kind of track, the idea is to mix up your pace. If you don’t, it is a very true wicket. The idea was to do that, and bowl good spells in clusters, and it was working out for me.”
Raza, who said Hameed “is really turning into a match winner for us”, professed himself satisfied by the success, even if it had been less spectacular than the record-breaking effort against Namibia on Saturday.
“It is two more points, which takes us to second in the table and that is really pleasing,” Raza said.
“It is about trying to improve in the areas where we think we can improve. [PNG] bowled really well and they are a brilliant fielding side. We recognised that, and you have to respect that.”
Hameed was the pick of the attack as the home side had limited PNG to 176-8 from their 50 overs. Asif Khan top scored with 81 not out as the hosts chased victory with three wickets down and 33 deliveries remaining.
“I thought we were 40 to 50 runs short on that wicket, but they bowled really well,” Assad Vala, the PNG captain, said.
PNG return to action immediately when they face Nepal in the second match of the tri-series, at Sharjah on Wednesday.
UAE have back-to-back games, against Nepal on Friday and PNG on Saturday, both at the Dubai International Stadium.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
THE SPECS
Engine: six-litre W12 twin-turbo
Transmission: eight-speed dual clutch auto
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh940,160 (plus VAT)
On sale: Q1 2020
