UAE skipper Mohammad Tauqir has warned his team must play “tough cricket” ahead of their must-win World Twenty20 qualifier against Canada in Edinburgh.
It has hasn’t been a good campaign so far for Tauqir’s side, who are winless after three games.
Their latest defeat – the seven-wicket loss to Netherlands – left them rooted to the bottom of Group B and with the top four advancing to the next stage, the 43-year-old knows anything less than a victory in their next three games will end hopes of qualifying for next year’s event in India.
“These are crucial matches for us, we cannot take any side lightly now,” said the spinner, whose side also faces Kenya and Oman this week.
“We cannot be complacent and we have to play tough cricket and win all three games. We do not have any lifelines left now and we are hopeful that we can win all games and qualify for the next round.”
They meet a Canadian side, who are winless after two games and sit above the UAE in the standings and will be eager to improve their batting.
In tough conditions in Scotland, the UAE have only crossed the 150-run mark once – in their eight wicket defeat to Afghanistan where they posted 164.
Tauqir made it no secret that 150 is a minimum against Canada and that the top-order batsmen hold the key.
“We have to bat the full 20 overs and hope the top four batsmen can score some big runs and two are still there until the 15th over,” he said.
“If we have wickets in hand, we know we can accelerate in the last five or six overs.”
He added: “If we bowl first, we will need to restrict them to 120 and bat sensibly in the second innings and treat each ball carefully.”
Mohammad Shahzad is the team’s top scorer with 70 runs while fast-bowler Mohammad Naveed tops the UAE’s bowling tally with two wickets.
– Global Distribution clinch the Dulsco Ramadan T20 tournament title
– World T20 Qualifier: Cooper stars as Netherlands down UAE
– #360view: Australia have enough quality to rebound after Ashes defeat
Tauqir stressed no-one has shined so far and while he played down suggestions of his players being nervous, he wants everyone to rise to the occasion.
“We all need to step up and collectively do well. Our key players Mohammad Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar and Swapnil Patil need to give us a good platform,” he said.
“I need to do well plus Mohammad Naveed and Manjula Guruge. We’re doing okay in patches. If you look at the Afghanistan game, we batted well but didn’t bowl well.
"And similarly against Netherlands, we didn’t bat well but bowled and fielded quite well, so we need to collectively work together in all departments in all our games.”
