Reuters/Wellington

United Arab Emirates captain Mohamed Tauqir was able to reflect with some pride on a World Cup campaign that ended on Sunday without a win but he felt one dropped catch could have changed the complexion of their tournament.
Tauqir’s side lost to West Indies by six wickets at McLean Park in Napier yesterday, a victory that propelled Jason Holder’s side into a likely quarter-final against New Zealand.
It was the sixth loss of the World Cup for UAE, who demonstrated on several occasions they could play international standard cricket if they did not quite have the skill or class to put consistent pressure on their opponents.
They suffered just one humiliating loss, to India by nine wickets, but their mindset after that game appeared to be not to get embarrassed rather than attempting to beat the test nations.
Tauqir, however, felt that had Nasir Aziz taken a catch in the outfield off Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien, they might have been able to record their second victory at the World Cup after they beat the Netherlands by seven wickets in 1996.
O’Brien went on to score another 26 runs that helped Ireland to a two-wicket victory as they made 279 for eight with four balls to spare.
“Overall the whole tournament has been very, very special for the whole team,” Tauqir told reporters in Napier. “We really enjoyed the whole tournament.
“I think one moment that would have changed the game was I think Kevin O’Brien’s catch that got dropped. If that catch would have been taken, I think we would have definitely won that game.”
Tauqir singled out Shaiman Anwar’s batting as being a particular highlight for the team.
Anwar top-scored with 311 runs at 51.83 and at one stage after all of the teams had played four games, was the highest run scorer in the tournament.
Tauqir added the bowling had been good, though the majority of the batsmen had struggled and their fielding was not up to scratch.
“There were a few positives. I think overall our bowling department was pretty consistent in every game,” he said.
“I think it’s a little bit of fielding and the batting department that needs a bit of improvement.
“But we take a lot of positives from the whole event, and it was overall a good learning experience for us.”
He also had words of thanks for South African quicks Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.
Morkel and Steyn were singled out for a ferocious spell of intimidatory bowling which Tauqir took as recognition that his team of part-timers deserved to be part of cricket’s ODI showpiece.
“I’m very thankful to them for bowling to us they way they did,” said Tauqir, who scored three before he was bowled by Steyn. “By facing them it gave us a lot of confidence. We almost played 48 overs in that match and it was the most hostile bowling we faced in this tournament.”
Meanwhile, Tauqir, a 43-year-old banker, and his fellow 43-year-old deputy Khurram Khan, an airline purser, prepared to put aside full-time cricket for a while but harboured thoughts of still being around in four years for the next World Cup.
“We have done a lot of hard work during the last eight or 10 months in preparation for this tournament and I feel pretty fit,” Tauqir said. “I would like to definitely continue playing as long as I am enjoying the game and the same with Khurram.”