UAE captain Mohammad Wasim shows confidence ahead of World Cup qualifier play-off

DUBAI: UAE captain Mohamed Wasim is confident of securing one of two places as the six-team playoffs of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup qualifiers kick off in Namibia on Sunday.

The UAE have been on a bumpy ride, with their lack of consistency costing them one of the top three places that would have given them an automatic place in the 10-team qualifier in Zimbabwe.

Undeterred by the negatives, however, Waseem, a stalwart of UAE batting with big-game temperament, has seen positives in the last few games of the three-series series in Nepal, which also included Papua New Guinea, where the UAE were Hitters there gain touch and much-needed confidence.

In an ICC statement, Waseem said: “The ICC Men’s CWC Qualifier Play-off in Namibia is a very important event for us and we are fully focused on delivering the best possible results. The last two matches of our trifecta in Nepal Two great performances in 2019. The batsmen scored some good results and we are encouraged by the form of Asif Khan and Vriitya Aravind. I am also happy that I contributed to my first ODI century. Asif Asif produced one of the best ODI strikes by an associate player and showed the world what he is capable of. I believe we are fully capable of doing well in Namibia.”

The UAE will meet Papua New Guinea in Monday’s opener and will be hoping to gain confidence from their previous encounter, when Waseem’s debut ODI century led his side to a comfortable six-wicket win in Kirtipur.

Papua New Guinea national team captain Asadwala said: “We got into these qualifiers in some form, but we knew we were the underdogs. We’ve been to Namibia before and knew what we were going to face. We recently played with the UAE team. Had some tough games and know they’ve made adjustments to their management and team recently, so we’re looking forward to seeing them again.”

The playoffs, just two steps away from the World Cup, are the bottom four of the Men’s CWC League 2 and the top four of the CWC Challenge League A and B.

Hosts Namibia take on the United States in Sunday’s opener after the south-west African nation was knocked out by Nepal to secure an automatic qualifying spot.

Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus said: “We have had a good record at home and hopefully if we play well we can qualify. Unfortunately there have been some unavailability and changes to our setup over the past six months. But we With the best squad out there, I’m excited for these guys to grow into their roles. We’ll be looking to play our brand of cricket at the Wanderers Ground in an effort to win the opener.”

The United States, relatively new to the one-day squad after qualifying for ODIs in 2019, have an automatic place in the 2024 Twenty20 World Cup, so their experience counts, which will be hosted by the United States and the West Indies.

Team USA captain Monank Patel said: “It was a great experience to play in CWC League 2. I think we did a pretty good job as a team in our first ODI. It shows that we belong in this league, but we still have a lot to be desired. Areas for improvement. We want to use that experience to make sure we do well in this tournament and qualify for Zimbabwe’s qualifiers. Also, with the T20 World Cup on home soil next year, it’s 12 months for the US Great opportunity to play in two World Cups in one day.”

The playoffs also feature Canada and Jersey, and this is the team’s last chance to book a spot in the Zimbabwe qualifier, which will run from June 18 to July 9 this year.