West Indies and United Arab Emirates are all set to lock horns against each other in what will be their first-ever bilateral ODI series. The three-match series begins today at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, with the remaining two to take place at this very venue on June 6 (Tuesday) and June 9 (Wednesday).
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A host of Windies’ experienced players in Kyle Mayers, Jason Holder, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shephard, and Rovman Powell are on a break after partaking in a full-fledged IPL season. However, the Shai Hope-led side will still have enough names in their arsenal to have the job done for their side.
Along with the likes of Brandon King, Shamarh Brooks, Odean Smith, and Roston Chase (to name a few), the squad will also witness the return back of the flamboyant all-rounder Keemo Paul, who had last played an ODI in July 2022.
UAE, on the other hand, will be led by their experienced opening batter Muhammad Waseem. He will have the assistance of their ever-reliable wicket-keeper batter Vriitya Aravind, who is just at a touching distance of becoming UAE’s highest run-getter in ODI cricket.
Both the sides will look to fine-tune their performances ahead of the ever-important ODI World Cup qualifier, set to commence from June 18 onwards.
Sharjah Cricket Stadium Pitch Report for UAE vs WI 1st ODI
Sharjah Cricket Ground stadium has had a reputation of being a belter for the batters lately in the T20 format. However, with the spinners coming into the contest as the game progress, the surface balances out the duel between batters and bowlers when it comes to ODIs.
Set to host its first ODI match this year, the average score at this venue across the four ODIs previous year was 252.5. UAE, meanwhile, had notched-up their highest team total of 348/3 against Namibia here in March 2022.
With the surface having a tendency to slow down, the average score during the second innings falls to a mere 191 runs. In fact, no team has ever managed to chase down a score in excess of 300 runs in Sharjah ODIs.
With no expected demons on the pitch, expect the batters to dominate proceedings, especially with the new ball. Captain winning the toss is expected to bat first.
