UAE men and women suffer narrow defeats
dubai — Hosts the UAE women went down fighting narrowly to England for a six-run defeat in the opening round match of the Indoor Cricket World Cup at the Insportz Club, here on Saturday.
England batted first and scored 69 in their 16 overs, with the opening pair of Emily Marriott and Beth Unwin adding 18. Jesse Ward and Sarah Fogwill were the most successful pair in the match scoring 24 in their four overs, while captain Niki Patel and Player of the match Ceara Toal adding 22 to the tally.
Ceara Toal had an individual score of 10, but also took two wickets and conceded minus 10 runs, her contribution was crucial in keeping England ahead of a very determined UAE side. England women’s coach Russell Cobb was appreciative of the UAE effort as well. “It was an exciting finish, and I hope we can build on the momentum, going into the tournament. The UAE bowled and fielded accurately, and were impressive in the first game.” UAE’s opening pair of batters Namitha D’Souza and Esha Oza added 9, While Kavisha Kumari and Subha Srinivasan scored 12 in their four overs.
The UAE took the fight to England, in the final eight overs. Chaya Mughal and Natasha Michael added 22, while Heena Hotchandani and Humaira Tasneem added 20.
Earlier, UAE men also suffered a narrow defeat as they short of the New Zealand target by 14 runs. UAE, cheered on by a large crowd of local supporters at the Insportz Club, made sure they won three skins in the contest, which was a great positive, according to captain Saqib Nazir. “I think we did well, the crowd was backing us, and to get to 111 against a quality side and to get three skins gives us a moral victory.”