UAE batting consultant Mudassar Nazar feels his batsmen must be patient at the crease if they are to defeat Hong Kong.
The two sides meet at the ICC Academy in their four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup game on Wednesday both looking to seal their first victory of the campaign.
With the UAE players mainly playing T20 in the domestic circuit, they have often struggled with the longer format. Their latest match against Oman saw scores of just 202 and 95 in their two innings last weekend.
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UAE captain Ahmed Raza accepted such batting was not acceptable and Nazar, a former Pakistan international, believes it’s crucial openers Amjad Ali and Asif Iqbal give the team a good platform to build on.
“If you look at the last game against Ireland (an innings and 26-run defeat), the openers didn’t have a good start. Once they lose one or two wickets, it will always be a difficult process,” said the 59-year-old, who played 76 Tests.
“The emphasis is to play a long innings. It will be quite a process because in the UAE they are not used to playing the four-day game so the transition will be hard to start off with.”
He added: “The most important thing is they need a lot of patience. It’s not going to be easy as they play a lot of T20 here. But they have to be mentally prepared and not make any rash decisions.
Preparation @EmiratesCricket complete , time to play ! Looking forward to tomorrow , and the games good luck lads
— paul franks (@thegeneral_8) November 10, 2015
“The key is to bat as long as you can. The more time you spend at the crease, the more confidence builds.”
Sixteen-year-old teenager Yodhin Punja looks set to make his competitive debut after taking three wickets against Oman, while batsmen
Laxman Sreekumar and bowler Raja Adeel could also feature. “It’s a great honour to represent the UAE and I really cannot wait to play,” said fast-bowler Adeel, who plies his trade for Abu Dhabi Gymkhana.
