Hamilton leaves the UAE dream in ruins

BENONI // The gulf in class which the UAE have worked so admirably to bridge in the past three weeks finally proved too vast, as Scotland's former Test player Gavin Hamilton extinguished their World Cup dream yesterday. Hamilton, who is now back in the colours of his native Scotland after playing one Test for England at nearby Johannesburg in 1999, notched a top-class century to set up a 122-run win for Scotland.

Defeat was tough for the part-time players from the Emirates, who fell at the final hurdle for the second time in successive World Cup qualifying competitions. Just as they did four years previously, the UAE players appeared to be consumed by stage-fright in the sudden-death eliminator. Back then, their cup hopes were scotched at the last when they were the Netherlands downed them by 145 runs in the fifth-place play-off in Dublin.

Again, they knew they were on the brink of a major feat, one that has only ever been achieved once before by the UAE, back in 1994. The nerves showed in a sloppy display in the field and with the ball. Although the batsmen battled bravely, they had been left with too much to do. Scotland's decision to bat first hinted at a lack of confidence in their form with the willow. They have underachieved in this tournament, and their captain, Ryan Watson, faced calls to resign after they slumped to the foot of the Super Eight table.

The UAE's quick bowlers certainly gained some early assistance. Amjad Javed will rarely have regarded himself as a hostile fast bowler before, if ever. Yet he briefly resembled Curtly Ambrose in his pomp during his opening spell. First he sent Navdeep Poonia, the Warwickshire opener, off for stitches. Poonia had already hooked Javed for a boundary through square leg, but when he tried to repeat the trick later in the over, the ball snuck through the grille and gashed his face.

Kyle Coetzer came to the crease, which was speckled with blood from Poonia's wound. Four overs later, the Durham batsman wore another delivery, which reared up off a length from Javed, on the chest. Even Nithin Gopal, who bowls in-duckers at a very polite pace, got one to rise sufficiently that it clipped Coetzer's helmet with a glancing blow, in his first over after replacing Amjad. However, an early dent in the wickets column was not forthcoming, and Hamilton cleverly marshalled Scotland into a position of power.

His century, which was dotted with a succession of adroit reverse-sweeps and, later, a few large heaves over the fence, provided the bedrock for Scotland's 299 for seven. Their surge in the second-half of the innings was aided by some wayward bowling from the UAE bowlers, who sent down an unsightly tally of 25 wides between them. They were also infuriating in the field. Captain Khurram Khan eventually used nine bowlers as he strove for a solution to the problems, but in the end the batsmen were left with a daunting chase.

If they were really going to threaten, then they needed Saqib Ali to check in for a long stay at the crease. When he did emerge, he was in typically princely form, hammering four swift boundaries, only to be cut off in his prime by carving a catch to backward point. Nithin Gopal was the only player to excel during the timid reply by the Emirates batsmen. He made 50 before departing, and was a picture of complete dejection after he was run out by a brilliant throw by Neil McCallum. When he went, so did the UAE's faint hopes of glory.

@Email:pradley@thenational.ae