For Australia, it’s a chance to warm up for the Twenty20 International series against Pakistan, but for the UAE, it’s a big opportunity to make a mark against a top team.

Overview

UAE v Australia

Only T20I

Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Monday 22 October, 2PM local time, 10AM GMT

The one-off game will take place in Abu Dhabi on Monday, 22 October – two days before Australia’s first of three T20Is against Pakistan – and has been granted international status.

Mitchell Starc's participation in the match is in doubt

That automatically raises the stakes, and the United Arab Emirates, at 13th to Australia’s third in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings, are more than eager to give a strong account of their abilities and create an impression against a top team.

Rohan Mustafa, the UAE captain, made no effort to mask the fact that it’s a big day for his team, who missed out on qualifying for the Asia Cup 2018 recently after losing to Hong Kong in the decider.

If we can get going with our batting at the top, we definitely have the capabilities to surprise them

Speaking to Gulf News in the lead-up to the game, he said, “It a huge match for us. We have a not played a high-profile match like this since the 2015 World Cup. So it has been well over three years. I would say we are lucky to get this opportunity and everyone in the camp wants to make the most (of it).”

It’s not just about showing what they can do, it’s about doing what they can to win, and the UAE camp is confident enough.

Australia to face United Arab Emirates in a T20I on Monday https://t.co/WWDXQVegEP — UAE Cricket Official (@EmiratesCricket) October 18, 2018

“Australians are not the same side anymore, they don’t have Steve Smith or David Warner. They will also be under pressure to do well,” said Mustafa. “If we can get going with our batting at the top, we definitely have the capabilities to surprise them. We will not let them go easy.”

Mustafa is also aware that a good show against Australia could have longer-term impact on his team. “Everyone in the team is well aware that if we do well against Australia here, many more teams will be keen to play us when they are touring here. That will be a huge boost for UAE cricket. We need to send a strong message that we are a strong cricketing unit,” he said.

There are players of calibre in the set-up. Apart from Mustafa, a top-order bat and handy off-spinner, there’s Shaiman Anwar, who scored a century against Ireland in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. The bowling attack is fronted by Mohammad Naveed, the fast man, and Ahmed Raza, the left-arm spinner.

World Cup 2015: Shaiman Anwar 106 v Ireland Shaiman Anwar, 106 vs Ireland

It’s a well-balanced outfit, who will enjoy playing at home. Up against them is a team shorn of some frontline players, and there’s a question mark over the participating of Mitchell Starc, their premier pace bowler.

But, given the status of the match, it’s something the Australians, led by Aaron Finch, are looking forward to with excitement. “I reckon it's awesome. We're coming up against the No.1 T20 side in the world (Pakistan), so we want to make sure we get momentum early in the series,” said Chris Lynn to cricket.com.au.

“There's no better way to do that than having a proper fixture.”

Ahmed Raza has been one of UAE's better bowlers in short-format cricket

Key players

Ahmed Raza (UAE): The 30-year-old is an excellent bowler in limited-overs cricket. He made a name in the Asia Cup 2016, which was a T20 tournament, with a series of economical performances, and was also impressive in the Asia Cup qualifiers recently, picking up 12 wickets at an economy rate of 3.89. He might be key to keeping the Australian batsmen quiet.

Aaron Finch (Australia): That he is one of the best T20 hitters in the world is known; Finch, though, is more than just hitting and can construct big innings even within the constraints of the shortest format. He has just made a strong impact in his maiden foray in Test cricket too, is in form, and will shoulder a bulk of the responsibility in the game.

Conditions

It’s expected to be a warm, sunny afternoon, as one would expect in Abu Dhabi, but the conditions should be good for scoring runs, making it a potentially high-scoring contest.

Squads

UAE: Rohan Mustafa (c), Ahmed Raza, Amir Hayat, Amjad Gul, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Fahad Nawaz, Ghulam Shabber (wk), Imran Haider, Mohammad Naveed, Qadeer Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Tahir Sultan, Zahoor Khan

Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Ben McDermott, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa