Amjad Javed urges UAE to forget narrow Cricket World Cup defeat and focus on India

Amjad Javed enjoyed a successful individual game against Ireland, scoring 42 with the bat before taking three wickets and one stunning catch. Hagen Hopkins / Getty Images

BRISBANE // Amjad Javed, the UAE all-rounder, vowed the national team will bounce back against India this weekend despite the heartache of the two-wicket, final-over loss to Ireland.

Javed enjoyed a fine day, sharing a century partnership for the seventh wicket with Shaiman Anwar, then taking three wickets and a sharp catch.

The national team, though, were left to rue a second successive missed chance in this tournament as George Dockrell clubbed the winning runs.

Ireland are well-versed at successfully getting over the line in World Cup matches, but the manner of the defeat was another indicator of the UAE’s inexperience on this stage.

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“If we are getting good games against the Test-playing nations and good exposure, then definitely the boys will learn from their mistakes,” Javed said.

“In a big tournament like this, suddenly you are playing in front of TV, and you drop a catch, then suddenly the morale goes down.

“We need to boost the players and, Inshallah, next game we will see the energy back.”

It is not really their way, but the national team would be within their rights to bemoan the luck they had in the defeat to Ireland.

Khurram Khan, the team’s leading batsman, had 36 runs before he was seen off when he reviewed his dismissal for lbw.

The umpire’s decision was upheld, even though the ball was flicking the bails.

Similarly, Ireland profited when Gary Wilson was deemed not out at a crucial stage of the run chase.

That was similarly upheld, even though the Hawkeye tracker showed the ball to be hitting his stumps lower than on Khurram’s dismissal.

Earlier in the innings, Ed Joyce was extremely fortunate when a ball from Javed hit his stumps, set flashing the Zing stumps and bails, only for the bail to rest back in its groove.

“It was an unlucky part of the game,” Javed said. “Sometimes the bails come off, sometimes it doesn’t but it was part of the game. I have seen that, but it has never happened to me before.”

Wilson, who won the man-of-the-match award for his innings of 80, said the UAE have improved markedly.

“UAE have come on pretty strong the last couple of years,” he said.

“They’ve got great facilities over there, as well, and I think they’ve moved as quickly as anyone outside the top 10 teams in the world.”

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