Captain Khurram Khan has urged his players not to lose focus after his side inched closer to booking a place in the 2015 World Cup with a 13-run victory over Kenya.
A win over Namibia on Thursday will all but secure a place for Khan’s team in next year’s showpiece event in Australia and New Zealand, their first appearance since 1996.
UAE now top the Super Six standings with six points thanks to a better run-rate, ahead of second-placed Scotland, with the top two teams progressing to the 2015 World Cup.
Should the Gulf nation secure their place in the internatioanl tournament then it will be a huge moment for captain Khan who has been in sensational form with the bat.
The 42-year-old has long been recognised as one of the finest batsmen outside the Test playing nations and has accumulated 498 runs from the six qualifying matches.
Far and away the top-scorer in the tournament, Khan called for his teammates to remain focused as the job of qualifying for the World Cup had not yet been completed.
“There is definitely excitement and you can’t stop these emotions. But we have to keep our cool and tomorrow we are going to rest and come back and play our match against Namibia," Khan told Sport360°.
“Our job is not done yet. It’s a very important game, it will decide our future whether we go to the World Cup or not so hopefully we can produce a good result.
"The victory was very, very sweet and very important. My knock was important but it a little slow if you look at my previous knocks. “
"The wicket wasn’t easy to bat on and I think Amjad’s knock in the last five overs changed the whole scenario of the game. I think in the end, there was a little bit of pressure.
“We dropped a few catches and they managed to score a few runs. It was a tight game but overall was happy with the team’s performance with the way the bowlers bowled and the batting,” he added.
Man-of-the-Match Javed, who hit three maximums and claimed two wickets, said the team is eager to finish the job.
“With this win the moral is boosted in the camp and we have one more game against Namibia and we think we can do it, we think we can play in the Cricket World Cup,” said Javed.
UAE coach Aqib Javed, hailed by Khan for making important changes to the bowling department, is close to achieving his goal that he had set when taking on the job.
“When I joined the UAE many people asked me what my goal was for the UAE so I said that I want the UAE to play three World Cups. The first one was Under-19 which we have qualified for, then T20 and now one more to go.”
