United Arab Emirates at the Cricket World Cup

This article is about the United Arab Emirates Men's ODI team at the Cricket World Cup. For United Arab Emirates Men's T20I team at the Cricket World Cup, see United Arab Emirates at the Men's T20 World Cup.

In the United Arab Emirates, cricket had a very limited presence in the 19th and most of the 20th century. In less than a decade after independence in December 1971, the massive influx of South Asians migrant workers increased crickets popularity. After the establishment of the Emirates Cricket Board in 1989, the United Arab Emirates officially became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council. ^[1] In the following year, the UAE became an associate member, with the likes of Kenya. In 1996, the UAE competed in the Cricket World Cup, with their debut along with Kenya and The Netherlands making them the 14th team to compete at the World Cup. ^[2]

Cricket World Cup Record

Cricket World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	L	T	NR	Captain		Pld	W	L	T	NR
1975	Not eligible – not an ICC member									No qualifiers held
1979										Did not enter (Not an ICC member)
1983
1987
1992	Did not qualify									Did not enter
1996	Group Stage	11/12	5	1	4	0	0	Sultan Zarawani		9	9	0	0	0
1999	Did not qualify									7	4	3	0	0
2003										10	6	4	0	0
2007										7	3	3	0	1
2011										16	11	5	0	0
2015	Group Stage	13/14	6	0	6	0	0	Mohammad Tauqir		28	21	7	0	0
2019	Did not qualify									27	12	15	0	0
2023										47	20	24	1	2
Total	0 titles	2/13	11	1	10	0	0	—		151	86	61	1	3

World Cup Record (By Team)

Cricket World Cup matches (By team)
Total : 1 Win – 0 Ties – 10 Loses – 11 games played
Against	Wins	Draws	Losses	Total
England	0	0	1	1
Ireland	0	0	1	1
India	0	0	1	1
Netherlands	1	0	0	1
New Zealand	0	0	1	1
Pakistan	0	0	2	2
South Africa	0	0	2	2
West Indies	0	0	1	1
Zimbabwe	0	0	1	1

Tournament history

1996 Cricket World Cup

Main article: 1996 Cricket World Cup

The United Arab Emirates was placed in Group B along with South Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand, England and The Netherlands. They were first up against South Africa, which batted first and posted a score of 321/2. The UAE were restricted to just 152/8 from 50 overs, with Arshad Laeeq top scoring with 43.

The UAE next played against England batting first. The top order collapsed and the UAE were bowled out for 136 from 48.3 overs. England cruised to victory in 35 overs. They next played co-hosts Pakistan. Batting first, they slumped to 109/9 from 33 overs. The opponent won by 9 wickets in just 18 overs.

Down and out, the UAE next played New Zealand, who batted first. New Zealand posted 276/8 from 47 overs. The Emiratis again failed to cross 200, posting 167/9. For their last game, the United Arab Emirates faced fellow associate The Netherlands. After batting first, The Netherlands posted a modest score of 216/9 from their 50 overs, with Shaukat Dukanwala taking 5/29. The UAE replied with confidence, winning by 7 wickets.

Squad

• Sultan Zarawani (c)
• Saeed-Al-Saffar (vc)
• Imtiaz Abbasi (wk)
• Vijay Mehra (wk)
• Saleem Raza
• Johanne Samarasekera
• Shaukat Dukanwala
• Shahzad Altaf
• Azhar Saeed
• Arshad Laeeq
• Mazhar Hussain
• Mohammad Ishaq
• Mohammad Aslam
• Ganesh Mylvaganam

Results

Group stage (Group B)						Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Final	Overall Result
Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result
South Africa L by 169 runs	England L by 8 wickets	Pakistan L by 9 wickets	New Zealand L by 109 runs	Netherlands W by 7 wickets	5	Did not advance			Group stage

Scorecards

Group stage (Group B)

16 February Scorecard South Africa   321/2 (50 overs) v   United Arab Emirates 152/8 (50 overs) Gary Kirsten 188* (159) Johanne Samarasekera 1/39 (9 overs) Arshad Laeeq 43 (79) Brian McMillan 3/11 (8 overs) South Africa won by 169 runs Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi Umpires: Steve Bucknor and V.K. Ramaswamy Player of the match: Gary Kirsten (SA) 18 February Scorecard United Arab Emirates   136 (48.3 overs) v   England 140/2 (35 overs) Mazhar Hussain 33 (59) Neil Smith 3/29 Graham Thorpe 44* (66) Arshad Laeeq 1/25 (7 overs) England won by 8 wickets Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar Umpires: B.C. Cooray and V.K. Ramaswamy Player of the match: Neil Smith (Eng) 24 February Scorecard United Arab Emirates   109/9 (33 overs) v   Pakistan 112/1 (18 overs) Shaukat Dukanwala 21* (19) Mushtaq Ahmed 3/16 (7 overs) Ijaz Ahmed 50* (57) Johanne Samarasekera 1/17 (3 overs) Pakistan won by 9 wickets Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala Umpires: B.C. Cooray and Srinivas Venkataraghavan Player of the match: Mushtaq Ahmed (Pak) 27 February Scorecard New Zealand   276/8 (47 overs) v   United Arab Emirates 167/9 (47 overs) Roger Twose 92 (112) Azhar Saeed 3/45 (7 overs) Johanne Samarasekera 47 (59) Shane Thomson 3/20 New Zealand won by 109 runs Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad Umpires: B.C. Cooray and Srinivas Venkataraghavan Player of the match: Roger Twose (NZ) Match reduced to 47 overs a side due to heavy fog at the start of the match. 1 March Scorecard Netherlands   216/9 (50 overs) v   United Arab Emirates 220/3 (44.2 overs) Peter Cantrell 47 (106) Shaukat Dukanwala 5/29 (10 overs) Saleem Raza 84 (68) Roland Lefebvre 1/24 (8 overs) United Arab Emirates won by 7 wickets Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Umpires: Mahboob Shah and Steve Randell Player of the match: Shaukat Dukanwala (UAE) This was the first ever official ODI between two ICC Associate teams.

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2015 Cricket World Cup

Main article: 2015 Cricket World Cup

Squad

• Mohammad Tauqir (c)
• Khurram Khan
• Shaiman Anwar
• Amjad Javed
• Swapnil Patil (wk)
• Rohan Mustafa
• Nasir Aziz
• Krishna Chandran
• Mohammad Naveed
• Manjula Guruge
• Kamran Shazad
• Fahad Al Hashmi
• Amjad Ali
• Andri Berenger
• Saqlain Haider (wk)

Results

Pool stage (Pool B)							Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Final	Overall Result
Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result
Zimbabwe L by 4 wickets	Ireland L by 2 wickets	India L by 9 wickets	Pakistan L by 129 runs	South Africa L by 146 runs	West Indies L by 6 wickets	7	Did not advance			Pool stage

Scorecards

Pool stage (Pool B)

19 February 11:00 (NZDT) Scorecard United Arab Emirates   285/7 (50 overs) v   Zimbabwe 286/6 (48 overs) Shaiman Anwar 67 (50) Tendai Chatara 3/42 (10 overs) Sean Williams 76* (65) Mohammad Tauqir 2/51 (9 overs) Zimbabwe won by 4 wickets Saxton Oval, Nelson Umpires: Johan Cloete (SA) and Chris Gaffaney (NZ) Player of the match: Sean Williams (Zim) Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field. The United Arab Emirates posted their highest ever ODI innings total. [3] 25 February 13:30 (AEST) (D/N) Scorecard United Arab Emirates   278/9 (50 overs) v   Ireland 279/8 (49.2 overs) Shaiman Anwar 106 (83) Paul Stirling 2/27 (10 overs) Gary Wilson 80 (69) Amjad Javed 3/53 (9 overs) Ireland won by 2 wickets Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane Umpires: Michael Gough (Eng) and Nigel Llong (Eng) Player of the match: Gary Wilson (Ire) Ireland won the toss and elected to field. Shaiman Anwar became the first UAE player to score a century in a World Cup game. [4] The 107-run partnership between Shaiman Anwar and Amjad Javed was the highest seventh-wicket partnership in World Cup history. [4] 28 February 14:30 (AWST) (D/N) Scorecard United Arab Emirates   102 (31.3 overs) v   India 104/1 (18.5 overs) Shaiman Anwar 35 (49) Ravichandran Ashwin 4/25 (10 overs) Rohit Sharma 57* (55) Mohammad Naveed 1/35 (5 overs) India won by 9 wickets WACA Ground, Perth Umpires: Billy Bowden (NZ) and Michael Gough (Eng) Player of the match: Ravichandran Ashwin (Ind) United Arab Emirates won the toss and elected to bat. 4 March 14:00 (NZDT) (D/N) Scorecard Pakistan   339/6 (50 overs) v   United Arab Emirates 210/8 (50 overs) Ahmed Shehzad 93 (105) Manjula Guruge 4/56 (8 overs) Shaiman Anwar 62 (88) Shahid Afridi 2/35 (10 overs) Pakistan won by 129 runs McLean Park, Napier Umpires: Johan Cloete (SA) and Sundaram Ravi (Ind) Player of the match: Ahmed Shehzad (Pak) United Arab Emirates won the toss and elected to field. Shahid Afridi became the fourth Pakistan player to score 8,000 runs in ODI matches. [5] 12 March 14:00 (NZDT) (D/N) Scorecard South Africa   341/6 (50 overs) v   United Arab Emirates 195 (47.3 overs) AB de Villiers 99 (82) Mohammad Naveed 3/63 (10 overs) Swapnil Patil 57* (100) AB de Villiers 2/15 (3 overs) South Africa won by 146 runs Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington Umpires: Steve Davis (Aus) and Rod Tucker (Aus) Player of the match: AB de Villiers (SA) United Arab Emirates won the toss and elected to field. AB de Villiers now holds the records for the most sixes in one World Cup tournament (20) and the most sixes in all World Cup matches (36). [6] South Africa qualified for the quarter-finals as a result of this match. [7] 15 March 11:00 (NZDT) Scorecard United Arab Emirates   175 (47.4 overs) v   West Indies 176/4 (30.3 overs) Nasir Aziz 60 (86) Jason Holder 4/27 (10 overs) Johnson Charles 55 (40) Amjad Javed 2/29 (8 overs) West Indies won by 6 wickets McLean Park, Napier Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Ranmore Martinesz (SL) Player of the match: Jason Holder (WI) West Indies won the toss and elected to field. Shaiman Anwar (UAE) became the highest run-scorer by a player from an Associate nation in a World Cup.[ citation needed ] Amjad Javed and Nasir Aziz's 107-run partnership for the seventh wicket is a World Cup record and a UAE record for any wicket against a Test nation. [8]

Records and statistics

Team records

Highest innings totals

Score	Opponent	Venue	Season
285/7 (50 overs)	Zimbabwe	Nelson	2015
279/9 (50 overs)	Ireland	Brisbane	2015
220/3 (44.2 overs)	Netherlands	Lahore	1996
210/8 (50 overs)	Pakistan	Napier	2015
195 (47.3 overs)	South Africa	Wellington	2015
Last updated: 15 March 2015 [9]

Most appearances

This list consists players with most number of matches at the Cricket World Cup. - Eight players share the record for most matches played, with 6 each. Mohammad Tauqir has captained the team in 6 matches, the most matches as captain for UAE.

Matches	Player	Period
6	Amjad Ali	2015–2015
	Amjad Javed	2015–2015
	Andri Berenger	2015–2015
	Khurram Khan	2015–2015
	Mohammad Naveed	2015–2015
	Mohammad Tauqir	2015–2015
	Swapnil Patil	2015–2015
	Shaiman Anwar	2015–2015
Last updated: 15 March 2015 [10]

Batting statistics

Most runs

Runs	Player	Mat	Inn	Avg	100s	50s	Period
311	Shaiman Anwar	6	6	51.83	1	2	2015–2015
170	Amjad Javed	6	6	34.00	—	1	2015–2015
155	Khurram Khan	6	6	25.83	—	—	2015–2015
140	Swapnil Patil	6	6	28.00	—	1	2015–2015
137	Saleem Raza	4	4	34.25	—	1	1996–1996
Last updated: 15 March 2015 [11]

Highest individual innings

Score	Player	Opponent	Venue	Season
106	Shaiman Anwar	Ireland	Brisbane	2015
84	Saleem Raza	Netherlands	Lahore	1996
67	Shaiman Anwar	Zimbabwe	Nelson	2015
62	Shaiman Anwar	Pakistan	Napier	2015
60	Nasir Aziz	West Indies	Napier	2015
Last updated: 15 March 2015 [12]

Highest partnerships

Runs	Players	Opposition	Venue	Season
117 (1st wicket)	Saleem Raza & Azhar Saeed	v   Netherlands	Lahore	1996
107 (7th wicket)	Shaiman Anwar (56) & Amjad Javed (42)	v   Ireland	Brisbane	2015
107 (7th wicket)	Nasir Aziz (60) & Amjad Javed (43)	v   West Indies	Napier	2015
83 (4th wicket)	Shaiman Anwar (42) & Khurram Khan (39)	v   Pakistan	Napier	2015
82* (4th wicket)	Mohammad Ishaq & Vijay Mehra	v   Netherlands	Lahore	1996
Last updated: 15 March 2015 [13]

Bowling statistics

Most wickets

Wickets	Player	Matches	Avg.	Econ.	4W	5W	Period
8	Mohammad Naveed	6	38.37	6.09	0	0	2015–2015
7	Manjula Guruge	4	19.42	4.77	1	0	2015–2015
	Amjad Javed	6	44.71	6.52	0	0	2015–2015
6	Shaukat Dukanwala	5	25.50	4.63	0	1	1996–1996
	Azhar Saeed	5	26.16	5.06	0	0	1996–1996
Last updated: 15 March 2015 [14]

Best bowling figures

Bowling Figures	Overs	Player	Opponent	Venue	Season
5/29	10.0	Shaukat Dukanwala	v   Netherlands	Lahore	1996
4/56	8.0	Manjula Guruge	v   Pakistan	Napier	2015
3/45	7.0	Azhar Saeed	v   New Zealand	Faisalabad	1996
3/60	10.0	Amjad Javed	v   Ireland	Brisbane	2015
3/63	9.3	Mohammad Naveed	v   South Africa	Wellington	2015
Last updated: 15 March 2015 [15]

References

1. "U a e C R I C K e T . C O M". Archived from the original on February 13, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
2. Cricket World Cup#Results
3. Jurejko, Jonathan (19 February 2015). "Cricket World Cup 2015: Zimbabwe avoid UAE loss". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 19 February 2015.
4. "Wilson, K O'Brien seal tense win". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Sports Media. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
5. "Afridi's 8000, and Misbah's quick fifties". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Sports Media. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
6. "Anwar's record and de Villiers' sixes". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Sports Media. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
7. "Cricket World Cup 2015: South Africa ease into quarter-finals". BBC Sport. BBC Sport. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
8. "WI in quarter-final barring Adelaide tie". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Sports Media. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
9. "Highest totals in World Cup - United Arab Emirates". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
10. "Most matches for World Cup - United Arab Emirates". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
11. "Most runs in World Cup - United Arab Emirates". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
12. "High scores For World Cup - United Arab Emirates". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
13. "Highest partnerships in World Cup - United Arab Emirates". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
14. "Bowling Most Wickets Career - United Arab Emirates". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
15. "Best bowling figures in an innings For World Cup - United Arab Emirates". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 December 2025.