ABU DHABI // The UAE captain, Khurram Khan, believes that home advantage will be the key in the ICC Intercontinental Shield clash against Uganda, which starts today. The match is a top-of-the-table clash and the team that earns maximum points would be assured of a spot in the final of the four-team competition. Khurram led from the front by scoring a century in the second innings to take them to victory over Namibia in the opening game, and the captain was upbeat ahead of today's four-day match at the Zayed Stadium, which begins at 9.45am.
He said: "We have played a lot of cricket on this surface and that experience should give us a huge advantage. It was good team effort to win the last game against Namibia. The players showed real character to come from behind and win this game. "We need to take this forward and this is a great opportunity to go on top of the table and consolidate our position in the points standing. "We have depth in batting and a pretty decent attack. But we must be on top of our game at all times if we want to win full points."
The batsman Naeemuddin Aslam, who could not travel to Namibia, is back in the squad, replacing the injured Emirati Mohammed Tauqir. And the bowling all-rounders, Owasi Hameed and the Emirati Salman Farooq, are in for batsman Mohammed Iqbal and pace bowler Fahad al Hashmi. The UAE are likely to go with the openers Arshad Ali and Arfan Haider along with batsmen Khurram, Saqib Ali, Amjad Javed and the all-rounder Fayyaz Ahmed.
The bowling is expected to be spearheaded by Qasim Zubair, Shoaib Sarwar and Moiz Shahid. The coach, Colin Wells, added: "We want to go and play good cricket. They did pretty well to come from behind to win the opening game but here we'll try to do better, whether we bat first or bowl first. It is a key game. "We need to apply ourselves to the longer game. It is still played one ball at a time. So the switch from the shorter version wouldn't really matter if we adapt to playing the longer game. I think they are experienced enough to know how to adapt."
Uganda also come into the game buoyed by their maiden victory in a four-day international match, defeating Bermuda in the opening game. "This team has the potential to go forward," said the captain, Akbar Baig. "We have come here with a very young team as five of our senior players have stayed back for either work or business commitments. "But we have prepared well for this game. The youngsters in the side have done exceptionally well. They are our future and this is a great opportunity for them. I am sure they would grab it with both hands and win this game for us.
"It is definitely a big game. We are aware of the UAE's strength. "They are a strong side with so many players nurtured in the subcontinent. Most of them have been playing at the top level for quite some time but we are ready for them." Roger Mukasa, 19, who scored a century in a recent one-dayer against Bermuda, is one of the youngsters with the potential to cause problems for the bowlers along with Ronald Semanda 20, Frank Nsubuga, 17, and Henry Senyondo. After the Uganda clash, the UAE will complete their fixtures with an away match against Bermuda between July 5-8, with the final between the top two sides in the group to be staged in November in the UAE.
@Email:apassela@thenational.ae