5 best knocks by associate country batsmen
We often concentrate solely on the permanent members and tend to neglect the associate nations. In the process, we often miss out on some of the brilliance produced by the lesser-known teams (associate nations).
There’s a lot of argument about how a 10-team World Cup could improve the quality of cricket played by the Associate teams and also in the World Cups.
However, in recent times, the associate nations have shown that they are constantly improving and deserve more and more chances. Hence, here we look back at some of the best knocks played by associate nation players.
Special Mentions – Ryan Ten Doeschate 119 vs England, Nagpur (2011), Ed Joyce 160 vs Afghanistan, Belfast (2016)
#5 Shaiman Anwar 106 vs Ireland, Brisbane (2015)
In the 2015 World Cup, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) started decently despite the loss in their opening game, where they scored 285 in their opening game before Zimbabwe chased it down. In the next game against Ireland, UAE were wobbling at 78/4 after they lost the toss and were put into bat first.
At that moment, Shaiman Anwar who was playing just his 9th ODI, walked out to the middle. The Pakistan-born right-hander then saw a couple more wickets fall at the other end, as UAE were trouble at 131/6. But, Anwar then put his head down and played one of the best innings by a UAE batsman, as he became the second UAE batsmen to score an ODI hundred.
He scored an 83-ball 106 as UAE posted a very competitive total of 278. Anwar shared a very good 107-run stand with Amjad Javed for the seventh wicket, and UAE scored almost 10 runs per over in the last 15 overs which propelled them to such a competitive score.
However, UAE lost a thrilling game as Ireland sneaked home in the final over with two wickets in hand.
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