UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

United Arab Emirates (UAE) national cricket team plays the sport cricket for the country of United Arab Emirates. The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) looks after the sport of the nation. They became an Affiliate Member of the ICC in 1989.

UAE made the group stage of the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. The team has qualified as hosts for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup. UAE will now participate in the 2019–22 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 following the demise of the World Cricket League (WCL).

History

The British Army brought cricket to the “Trucial States”. They are now known as the United Arab Emirates, in 1892. The game spread during World War II. This was due to the members of the British Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth forces. They stayed in places like Ajman, Al Ain, Dubai, and Sharjah and continued to play their favorite sport. These forces included first-class and club cricketers from Australia and New Zealand. After the war, the British and other foreign nationals used the pitches they had built all around the air base in Sharjah.

Sharjah residents began playing the Dubai residents in the local derbies which were held in Dubai. The Garden city of Al Ain boasts the oldest cricket council in the whole of the UAE. Once India gained independence in 1971, the sport’s appeal waned. Nonetheless, as South Asian immigrants arrived in the nation, they brought with them a desire to play cricket. The local Arab population, educated in India and Pakistan, formed clubs and domestic tournaments began in the 1980s.

The UAE national team faced Pakistan International Airlines at Sharjah in February 1976 for the inaugural game. But the game was called off due to rain. However, the visitors had completed 345/5 from their 50 overs and the UAE had completed 88/4.
Rich locals started to invest in the sport, and Sharjah’s cricket stadium was built to international standards. In 1984, the Asia Cup between India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka was played at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium. The location has since played host to four Test matches and around 200 ODIs. The Test matches were moved there due to security issues in Pakistan.