Australia has invested heavily in women's cricket over the past decade
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The only century maker of the UAE team in the World Cup Qualifying tournament, Rameez Shahzad, has been hit by a bug and ruled out of the first Super Six match against Scotland on Thursday at Bulawayo.
According to reliable sources, Rameez has not travelled to Bulawayo after picking up an infection before the last Group A match against Ireland. He had scored 112 from 107 balls with nine fours and four sixes agaist the West Indies in a losing cause.
Another player confirmed on the sick list with a minor infection is Zahoor Khan. It is learnt that there are some other players also affected by an unknown infection.
When contacted by telephone, the team coach Douglas Brown did not confirm about any sickness and said the team was ready to take on Scotland in their quest to qualify for the Word Cup.
The UAE is the only Arab country to have played in the cricket World Cup twice and this is their third attempt.
The UAE will start with zero points following defeats against the Windies and the Ireland, but coach Brown insisted his side deserved to be in the Super Six. "Our top seven batters have brought some really good form and bowlers have too, and despite Monday's result, I am really pleased where we are at the minute," he was quoted by the ICC website.
"The main priorities for Super Six and, in particular, the Scotland match is to start well. They are a very buoyant side at the moment, they carry three points into the Super Sixes and they know qualification is in their hands, but we think we are two fairly evenly matched teams and it is very much about who gets out the blocks the quickest," he added.
Scotland skipper Kyle Coetzer, who was player of the match against Nepal, admitted the UAE were a dangerous side but hoped playing the first Super Six match at the Queens Sports Club will give his side the advantage.
"We are preparing for our first game against the UAE. We know they are a dangerous and a tough team, and can't be taken lightly. Hopefully, we can use the advantage of already playing here in Bulawayo, so hopefully that can help us.
"Looking at the bigger picture of World Cup qualification is nice but can be a little bit dangerous. You can't get there without doing the things leading up to it, but one game at a time is what we are looking at. This is important as we move to Harare as we have never played there before."
Defending champions Scotland, along with Zimbabwe, have been one of the consistent sides. Led intelligently by Kyle Coetzer, Calum MacLeod has the highest individual score in the tournament to date, smashing 157 not out against Afghanistan, while fast bowler Safyaan Sharif is the second-joint leading wicket-taker along with Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza with 10 wickets.
sports@khaleejtimes.com
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