Ahmed Raza: These are really exciting times for UAE cricket

Ahmed Raza says it is an exciting time to be a UAE cricketer as they get set for a season that includes a trip to the T20 World Cup and potential home fixtures against India and Pakistan.

The national team will return to action with a one-day international against Scotland in Aberdeen on Wednesday.

It is the first game of a tri-series, also involving United States, in Cricket World Cup League 2.

Mannofield, AberdeenAll matches start at 2pm UAE time and will be broadcast on icc.tvUAE fixturesWednesday, Aug 10 – Scotland v UAEThursday, Aug 11 - UAE v United StatesSaturday, Aug 14 – Scotland v UAEMonday, Aug 15 – UAE v United States

UAE squadAhmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, Vriitya Aravind, CP Rizwan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Zawar Farid, Kashif Daud, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Sabir Ali, Alishan SharafuTable (top three teams advance directly to the 2023 World Cup Qualifier)1. Oman 36 21 13 1 1 442. Scotland 24 16 6 0 2 343. UAE 22 12 8 1 1 26--4. Namibia 18 9 9 0 0 185. United States 24 11 12 1 0 236. Nepal 20 8 11 1 0 177. Papua New Guinea 20 1 19 0 0 2

After playing four ODIs in the space of six days in Scotland, UAE will then switch formats to T20, with the Asia Cup qualifier in Muscat at the end of August.

If they succeed there they will face matches against the might of India, in Dubai, and Pakistan, in Sharjah.

A little over a month later, they will head to Australia for the opening round of the T20 World Cup, where they will play Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Namibia.

The spirit of optimism is not confined to the men’s game. The women’s national team, who are on a world-record equalling run of 21 games unbeaten in T20I cricket, have an upcoming challenge of their own.

They