Cricket One Day International Prediction

United Arab Emirates vs West Indies - Match Preview

🏏 9 June 2023 - 16:30 GMT +0

The warm-up matches before this month’s World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe continue with the West Indies looking to clean-sweep the United Arab Emirates in the third and final ODI at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Despite some big-name West Indian players missing from the side, it’s been clear they are a class above the UAE and should take plenty of confidence into the Qualifier which begins next weekend.

While so much of the focus in this series will be on the West Indies, the UAE might be the more exciting story. This series is the first time they are hosting a full-member nation in ODI cricket since lone matches against Pakistan and India all the way back in 1994. Despite a couple of average performances against the West Indies in this series, we may look back at this moment as a watershed moment for Emirati cricket, which is clearly on the rise, highlighted by having won four of their five ODI matches before this series. The recent success has been led by Asif Khan, who has 731 runs at an average of 43 through his 19 ODI matches since the start of 2023.

Despite not getting on the board in the first two matches of the series, there were plenty of positives to take from the most recent match. The first is that the UAE bowled out the West Indies, with all bowlers chipping in with wickets, including the excellent 3/44 from Zahoor Khan. On the batting front, there were plenty of starts for the UAE, but with only Ali Nasser going past 50, it was always going to be a challenging task to chase down the 306 set by the West Indies, especially when considering the UAE has passed 300 on only four occasions in ODI cricket.

The coaching career of Daren Sammy has begun well, with two dominant performances to start the series by the West Indies instilling plenty of confidence in the squad ahead of the much-anticipated Qualifier in Zimbabwe. However, there is an argument to be made that this series will have little impact with so many first-choice players missing. Jason Holder, Nicholas Pooran, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers and Romario Shepherd are still to come back after taking a brief rest post-IPL. With just five wins coming from 21 ODI matches since the start of 2022, the West Indies will be hoping this good form continues, and that the injection of big names takes the West Indies to another level.

Johnson Charles will be disappointed to miss out on the Qualifier after a Player of the Match-winning performance of 63 from just 47 balls in the second ODI. The 129-run partnership between himself and Brandon King (64) was vital in setting up the West Indian win. With overall figures in the series of 3/64, it looks like Yannic Cariah’s career may have taken a turn in the right direction after going for a combined 10rpo across his previous three matches. With temperatures bordering 40 degrees through these matches, the West Indies may be looking to rest some players to avoid dehydration and injury now that the series result is certain.

⚡ Players to watch: While Muhammad Waseem has played T20I cricket with an average of more than 40, his ODI numbers are less impressive, with an average of under 20 and three ducks across his last 21 matches. Perhaps a more aggressive T20-style approach to ODI cricket would benefit the UAE captain.

West Indies skipper Shai Hope has moved down the order, giving more opportunities to Brandon King, and he’s taken them with both hands. With a century in the first match of the series before returning with 64, King has now passed 50 in all of his last three ODI innings.

📋 Stat attack: The highest run chase at this venue is 285/2 by Australia against Pakistan.

• Since 2022 Brandon King has averaged just 35.45, dropping down from 52.92 in his career prior to 2022.
• Zahoor Khan has the second most ODI wickets in the world in 2023, with 28 from 19 matches at an average of 23.50.
• The average total batting first at Sharjah is just 224 runs.
• The UAE has lost 44 wickets in its last five games, including being bowled out three times.
• Roston Chase has not passed 50 in ODI cricket since November 2019.
• Asif Khan has struck at least one six in five of his last six matches.