The UAE are close to peerless in Asia when it comes to senior-level cricket, though losing the 2008 ACC Trophy Elite Final to Hong Kong ended their run of four consecutive ACC Trophys. Many feel the UAE still have the best players and the best grounds as well as deep-rooted cricket patronage so a return to winning ways will not be far away.

Their performances in the four-day cricket of the ICC Intercontinental Cup have been a cause of concern but the three matches they lost to the teams of Africa and Europe in 2008 were close. They are a side packed with match-winners and along with the die-hard stalwarts who have been the backbone of the side for the past half-a-dozen or so years, they always seem to be unearthing dynamic new talent. Competition for places in the national side is fierce.

There are many reasons, socio-economic ones notwithstanding, why the UAE have the deepest talent-pool in Asia. One of the key factors in their players’ performance however is the UAE’s competitive domestic format. It’s easy for the national team to play at their best in international fixtures because they have to play at their best in domestic ones. They are almost certainly the fittest team in Asia outside that of the Test-playing countries.

At age-group level other Asian countries tend to find the UAE beatable but even there, such is their ability to throw up talented cricketers, they remain one of the strongest teams. The catchment area for cricketers is starting to spread outside the traditional confines of Sharjah and Dubai into the other Emirates.

UAE pioneered the take-up of women’s cricket in the Gulf by fielding a team in the 2007 ACC Women’s Tournament and have subsequently continued to promote women’s participation in the game.