Ahmed Raza warns of changes after UAE capitulate against Oman in World Cup qualifying

Ahmed Raza, the UAE captain, warned his misfiring batters they face the cut from the national team after another collapse cost them World Cup qualifying points against Oman.

The hosts lost out by eight runs to their Gulf neighbours at the ICC Academy in Dubai having failed to chase 222 to win.

Four days earlier, they had caved in against the same opposition, when they fell 12 short of a target of 226.

The pair of defeats mean Oman have extended their lead at the top of the Cricket World Cup League 2 table, while UAE have lost ground.

This time around, the home team were cruising on 99 for one in the 21st over, with Vriitya Aravind and Chirag Suri – who top scored with 63 – at the wicket.

They capitulated thereafter, in the face of some spirited fast bowling by Fayyaz Butt, but due in large part to poor strokeplay.

“I don’t think I can ask anything more of the bowlers, [but] the batters really need to step up,” Raza said.

“You can give a batter only so many chances. It is about time to think about changing personnel if things aren’t going your way.

“It is the same batters who are getting 20s and 30s every time, but are not converting those scores and turning it into a match-winning total.“You can score 50s, but if the team doesn’t win it doesn’t really matter in the end. Personal milestones don’t really count. It is about the team winning.

“Oman are a good team. They really fight hard, even with a modest total like that. But we really need to look hard at ourselves.

"We can’t be lacking so much in the table, because there is not so much between us, Namibia and Scotland.”

The league carries with it four places at the final qualifying tournament for the 2023 50-over World Cup in India.

Oman lead the table, with the UAE in