UAE National Cricket Team
The United Arab Emirates national cricket team tends to be the team which represents the UAE when it comes to international cricket. The team is governed by the Emirates Cricket Board or ECB. This became an Affiliate Member of the ICC or International Cricket Council within 1989 then an Associate Member the next year. It has been since 2005 that the ICC’s headquarters have been present in uae entry visa.
Key Points:
- The UAE National Cricket Team is not very popular in the cricket arena but is gaining experience
- The team has had some success in the past
- It has top trainers
A brief background about the UAE National Cricket Team
The cricket team was one of the One Day International or ODI teams. It won the ACC Trophy four times between 2000 and 2006. There were the runners-up for the other three times which the tournament occurred in 1996, 1998, as well as 2008. It was in 1994 that they were able to win the ICC Trophy. They played their first ODIs this year also. Then they played in the 1996 Cricket World Cup. The other ODI matches occurred in the 2004 as well as 2008 Asia Cups. When it was the 2014 World Cup Qualifier, it was seen that the UAE came second behind Scotland. They then qualified for the prestigious 2015 World Cup. The team was able to get ODI status till 2018.
The UAE was able to be a part of the group stage of the particular ICC World Twenty20. This team has even been able to qualify for the grand 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier like hosts.
History of the UAE National Cricket Team
It was in 1892 that cricket got introduced in the UAE. This was by the British Army. It was then known like the “Trucial States”. During World War II, the game was able to spread. This was as personnel coming from the British Royal Air Force as well as other Commonwealth forces got stationed in cities like Ajman, Al Ain, Dubai along with Sharjah. They then continued with this sport as a pastime. It was seen that the pitches that they installed around the air base within Sharjah got utilized by the British along with other foreign nations when the war ended.
There were local derbies that occurred in Dubai. Here Sharjah residents started playing the Dubai residents. The oldest cricket council within the UAE is found in the Garden city of Al Ain. After independence in 1971, the popularity of this game got less, but when South Asians started settling in the country, they loved playing cricket. Some of the local Arab population who were educated in India as well as Pakistan, actually made some clubs. Domestic tournaments started to occur in the 1980s. The UAE team is not as popular as teams like the istanbul cappadocia antalya itinerary for instance.
How does one get chosen for the UAE cricket team?
If one wants to be a part of the UAE cricket team, it is challenging to do this right now because it has become more recognized now. You will need to become enrolled in the ICC Academy in Dubai. This is found in Dubai Sports City. Here the coaches evaluate the person and then they will get an opportunity to play in the open tournaments. Those who have a good performance can be chosen for trails for the team.
It is important to know that the cost to get enrolled in the academy may be expensive. It is also expensive to stay in Dubai so those players who are coming from another country will have to incur this expense also.
It has been viewed by some that the UAE is now favoring including local nations within their cricket team rather than outsiders and expatriates. Most of the time, the UAE is seen to get players from other countries who qualify for the global tournaments. They do this by providing them with job opportunities as well as a secure future. However since the 1994 incident, whereby the UAE won the 1994 ICC Trophy, having most players from India and Pakistan, the ICC has tightened its rules. The UAE has hardly done anything like this after that.
Details about cricketing venues
When looking at UAE cricket history, you may notice that the team may not have been one of the top ones globally, however they do have some amazing stadiums present. Sharjah has in fact hosted above 200 ODI matches. This is a huge number indeed.
There are four international stadiums present including Dubai International Cricket Stadium, ICC Academy Ground, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, as well as Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.
The UAE has not been a complete member of the ICC therefore they cannot be in the test cricketing arena. The National Cricket Stadium is also amazing.
The coaching plus support staff
The UAE is said to have amazing coaches along with support staff. This is due to the fact that they have been able to hire the best. They can afford to do this. There is so much talent present in the coaching pool, players are the ones who should take these opportunities to better themselves.
Some world records
The UAE does have some amazing world records when it comes to cricket. When it comes to the highest-ever 7th wicket partnership within the World Cup, this is held by the UAE. The game that was played against Ireland led to Shaiman Anwar along with Amjad Javed coming together moreover getting 107 runs. Sharjah is said to have the world record for being able to host the most ODI matches.
From the above, you can see that the UAE cricket team has not been able to reach the level of top cricket teams like the Australia national cricket team but the cricket venues in the UAE are indeed amazing. Many matches are played here and people from across the globe come to watch these. If you want to watch a match at one of the top locations, you will need to get a visa to enter the country. You can do this by checking out Dubai Visa for instance. The UAE is a top destination for many things such as shopping, tourism, its beaches, deserts, malls, and even cricket stadiums.
