Gloom has lifted but UAE cricket faces seminal 10 days at Namibia play-off

When Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza and Rameez Shahzad find their spaces in the dressing room at Wanderers Sports Club in Windhoek next week, it won’t just be the company that is familiar.

The three mates, who were Sharjah schoolboy peers a couple of decades ago, might plonk down their kit bags, then fix each other with a look, and say: “Here we go again.”

The trio have seen the very best and worst UAE cricket has to offer over the course of storied careers, which are all fully intertwined.

Now they are going back into the breach – Mustafa and Shahzad as players, Raza now as the side’s assistant coach – to try to save cricket in the country one more time.

The six-team Cricket World Cup Play-off in Namibia carries with it two places for the final phase of qualifying for the main event in India later this year.

Because of the torrid run UAE have been on, they will also be playing to retain one-day international status. That is vital for a number of reasons.

Aside from the fact ODI privileges guarantee high-quality competitive cricket over the next four years, there is a significant tranche of ICC funding that goes with. It was that money which helped UAE start to offer professional central contracts in the first place, in 2016.

UAE are also, as of this week, without a permanent head coach. The Emirates Cricket Board are on the lookout for a replacement for Robin Singh, whose ill-fated reign was brought to an end after a run of 20 losses in 27 games.

The package they can offer a prospective new coach will be far more attractive if it includes ODI cricket.

So the burden on the players at the Play-off is a significant one. Fortunately, a number of them have been here before.

Back in February 2018, UAE played at the World Cricket