Now for the real deal: UAE machine-prepped for South Africa’s Dale Steyn

The UAE prepared specifically for a bowler of Dale Steyn's pace prior to the 2015 Cricket World Cup in Dubai. On Thursday they see the real thing in Wellington.

UAE batsman Shaiman Anwar is 11th at the 2015 Cricket World Cup so far with 270 runs from just four matches. David Gray / Reuters

WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND /// After 12 months spent in the indoor nets in Dubai with the bowling machine cranked to maximum to replicate facing Dale Steyn, the UAE will be confronted by the real thing tomorrow.

The searing pace of the leader of South Africa’s bowling attack consumed the thoughts of the UAE’s batsmen ahead of the team’s first World Cup appearance in 19 years.

Amjad Javed, the UAE all-rounder, said the side are capable of competing with the Proteas if they are “mentally tough”.

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“Playing against the machine at 90mph (145kph) – you are just facing a machine, then suddenly you are facing Dale Steyn and there is a big difference,” Amjad said.

“A person running towards you and bowling a ball – we don’t know what he is going to be throwing at you, whether it will be a bouncer or what.

“We have worked very hard on the machines in Dubai and all our players are ready, it is just a mental game.”

Given they batted out 50 overs in Napier last time out against a Pakistan pace attack that is not short on speed, Amjad said they have nothing to fear.

“We faced Mohammed Irfan and everyone was saying that would be difficult,” he said.

“Wahab Riaz is one of the fastest bowlers in this tournament and Khurram Khan hit him for six, and Shaiman Anwar scored 60-plus runs.

“The boys are not afraid of facing fast bowlers. They are enjoying their work.”

Aaqib Javed, the UAE coach, also said his players are ready for the task of facing South Africa at the stadium known as The Cake Tin in New Zealand’s capital city, in their penultimate pool match.

“We had a satisfactory match against Pakistan,” Aaqib said, referring to the 129-run loss against his homeland.

Aaqib said after the game Pakistan coaches Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed told him they “were really impressed”, pointing out that four of their bowlers had been bowling 140kph-plus “and none of our batsmen were hesitant against them”.

“The pace and bounce won’t be an issue because we have worked really hard. Now it is about the skill that first-class cricketers have,” he said.

“Ours are club cricketers and they haven’t faced Dale Steyn or Morne Morkel before, so won’t know what to expect.”

Shaiman, the UAE batsman, has been toppled as the tournament’s leading run scorer in the week since the national team last played a match. It is now Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara.

According to Mohammed Tauqir, the team captain, Shaiman wants to reclaim his position at the top and has been setting an example for his colleagues to follow.

“We have some very good cricketers in the team,” Tauqir said. “Shaiman was the top scorer when it was I think four games all ... He’s looking forward to become on top again.

“It’s good for him and we’ve got a few more good cricketers, also, who are unfortunately not among the runs but would like to prove a point in the coming two games.”

AB de Villiers, the South Africa captain, said his side would show the UAE respect as they target a second-place finish in the group behind India.

“It’s a very important game,” he said. “We have to win it. It is not a ‘maybe we’ll win it’ kind of game. It’s a must win for us, very important.

“We’d really like to get to eight points and make sure we finish second in the group. That’s the plan for now.”

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