Jonathan Figy out to put on a show as he bids for return to UAE national team

Jonathan Figy believes a “good performance” in the Emirates D50 will take him closer to a UAE national team return.

The left-handed opener has been among runs in the tournaments organised by the Abu Dhabi Cricket Council since his return from the UK after completing his degree in mathematics and statistics at Leeds University.

Figy, 21, is hopeful in replicating his performances in those tournaments going into the Emirates Cricket Board’s six-team Emirates D50 opener against Dubai at Ajman Malek Oval on Wednesday.

Figy remains the only UAE player to score a century, against Canada, in the U19 World Cup. He played two ODI’s against Scotland in the ICC World Cricket League 2 in Dubai in December 2019 and Namibia in the same competition in Oman in January 2020.

His cricket during his time at the Leeds University was interrupted following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and then the final year of his degree. He’s now taken a break from pursuing further studies to have another go at cricket.

“The cricket season in my first year at the university got cancelled and only half the season took place in the following year, and I concentrated on my studies in the final year of my degree,” Figy told The National.

“I had a three-year course in mathematics and statistics, and I thought might as well complete my degree and get back to cricket. I have decided to take a break without doing further studies for now, to give cricket another go. Let’s see how it goes.”

Figy has been back in Abu Dhabi for more than six months and is progressing well. “The Emirates D50 is an opportunity to get back to the national team. That’s my aspiration and I’m working hard for it,” he said.

“The first thing that I realised when I returned to Abu Dhabi after three years in Britain was, I really was out of shape. I started doing my workouts in the gym four to five days a week, and trained in the evenings at the Zayed Cricket Academy nets, where it all began for me.

“I worked on my skills and spent more time on my fitness. All that combined and I was able to score and bat long in the domestic tournaments. I did some coaching in return for the facilities the academy provided me. I enjoy coaching kids and that’s something I may do at some point of time.”

Figy played a massive role for his team Etihad Shaheen to reach all three finals, winning two. He was Player of the Tournament in the ADCC Super Cup, and made scores of 127 not out, 55, and 61 not out, for his team to emerge winners of the Ramadan Rumble two weeks ago.

“I just want to go out there and do my best in the D50,” he said. “People are going to expect a lot from me, and to be honest, I expect a lot from myself. I know what my job is. I need to go out there and score lot of runs if I want to be in the national team.

“More than that is I want to score for my team to reach the top three spots to earn them a spot in the knockout round.

“I have been practising my bowling so I can be useful with the ball, too. I used to bowl quite regularly when I was at school but later concentrated on my batting. That can add more into my game and add more value to the teams I play for.

“My fitness work is showing when I play as I’m able to score and bat long, and run fast between the wickets. When you are looking at top-flight cricket you need to keep working harder all the time to maintain the high levels and the demands of the game.”

Figy has been named vice-captain to the experienced Ali Abid for Abu Dhabi. He will also lead the team in the last two league round games against Sharjah and Fujairah as Abid leaves for Pakistan for his marriage.

Figy wants to take it one step at a time on his cricketing journey, and playing for the UAE and professionally has always been one of his objectives.

“Captaining and analysing the matches I play is something that I enjoy,” he said.

“I’m thankful for Abu Dhabi Cricket Council for providing me with this opportunity. It’s good exposure for me, to potentially lead Abu Dhabi for a long time and hopefully lead them to success.”

“I’m just going to enjoy leading the team and I’m sure to receive the support of my seniors in the squad.

“We have a great bunch of cricketers and I’m sure everyone will support and share their experiences with me to take the team forward. We have a lot of experienced cricketers and can rely on them.”