Dubai. The UAE cricket team led by Rohan Mustafa flew out on Sunday to South Africa en route to play in the ICC Intercontinental Cup and the ICC World Cricket League games against Namibia at the Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek in Namibia.
The ICC’s four-day Intercontinental Cup will be held on September 16 to 19. The World Cricket League’s first 50-over (International) match will be played on September 21 and the second on September 23.
Prior to these matches, the UAE will undergo a preparation camp for six days at the Cricket South Africa’s High Performance Centre in University of Pretoria, followed by another six-day preparatory period in Windhoek.
Commenting on the tour before flying out, Mustafa said: “We are all very excited to be going to South Africa and Namibia. We assure that we will not let the UAE down and will perform to our best.”
Former UAE captain and team selector Khurram Khan, before the team departure, wished the players all the best and urged them to win all their matches.
Twenty-two-year-old Chirag Suri, who became the first UAE cricketer to be picked by Gujarat Lions for the Indian Premier League, through a string of tall scores won a place in the UAE team. He may get a chance to make his first class debut during the series.
The UAE selectors named their prolific scorer Shaiman Anwar as the vice-captain of the team for the tour.
Cricket South Africa’s High Performance Centre in University of Pretoria is one of the most well-equipped cricket training centres in the world. The project is a joint undertaking between Cricket South Africa and the University which provides support to all the national teams in terms of facilities, equipment, technological support and tour preparation, particularly for out-of-season tours.
Meanwhile, UAE umpire Iftikhar Ali flew out to Benoni to take apart in the World Cricket League Division five matches being hosted by Cricket South Africa.
Namibia team is in top form having qualified for the knockout stages of the Africa T20 Cup for the first time after winning all three their matches in Benoni. They beat teams like Western Province, Easterns and South Western Districts to reach the semi-final to held on September 24.
