What is ailing the UAE’s national cricket team?

There were so many reasons to be optimistic about UAE cricket. Judged on the performances of the national team at present, though, you wouldn’t know it.

The UAE missed out on qualification for three World Cups last year: the T20 one, ODI, and at Under-19 level.

And yet, given the way the age-group side finished the year, with wins over Pakistan and Sri Lanka in a home Asia Cup, it was still possible to enter 2024 feeling upbeat about life.

But all the hope has been dissipated at a stroke after a winless Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series involving Scotland and Canada, then a capitulation in a bilateral T20I series against the former.

On Thursday night, after the bowlers had put a series win within reach, the batters capitulated as the UAE posted their lowest ever total in full international cricket.

A lack of experience won't wash as an excuse. The two bowlers who did the damage for Scotland, Brad Currie and Jack Jarvis, were playing just their seventh and second T20Is respectively.

So why have the UAE been so far off the pace? The reasons are many.

For a start, the lead-in to their return to national duty was less than optimal.

The DP World International League T20 was a vastly improved product when it returned for its second season at the start of this year. But has it had a positive impact on the fortunes of the national team just yet? The numbers suggest not.

The UAE have lost 34 out of 56 matches since the advent of the ILT20 in 2023, with a win rate of just 39 per cent. In a similar timeframe leading up to the first season of the competition, they lost 20 of 41 matches, with a win rate of 50 per cent.

For all the benefits of spending weeks with leading cricketers from abroad, the ILT20 offers sparse playing