Brief History of UAE Women’s National Cricket Team
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) women’s national cricket team represents the UAE in international women’s cricket and is governed by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB).
Historical highlights – UAE Women’s National Cricket Team
The team’s international debut occurred at the 2007 ACC Women’s Tournament in Malaysia. Unfortunately, the UAE lost all three matches, with their debut game against Bangladesh resulting in a total of just nine runs, completed within an hour.
In April 2018, the ICC granted Women’s Twenty20 International (WT20I) status to all its members. Consequently, all Twenty20 matches played between the UAE and other international sides since 1 July 2018 are recognized as WT20Is.
Tournament Highlights – UAE Women’s National Cricket Team
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier:
In 2018, the ICC Women’s World T20 Qualifier was hosted by the Netherlands. The UAE were placed in Group A with Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea (PNG), and the Netherlands. In these qualifiers, they were unable to qualify for the main tournament as they lost against Bangladesh and PNG and registered only 1 victory, that against the Netherlands. They got only 2 points and finished in third place.
In 2022, the UAE was the host country of the ICC Women’s World T20 Qualifier. In these qualifiers, the UAE was placed in Group B with Zimbabwe, Thailand, and PNG. The UAE managed to defeat the table toppers Zimbabwe but lost against Thailand and PNG. They finished at the bottom of the table with only 2 points.
In 2024, the ICC Women’s World T20 Qualifier was played in the UAE. In these qualifiers, the UAE was placed in Group B with Ireland, the Netherlands, Zimbabwe, and Vanuatu. The UAE won two matches against the Netherlands and Vanuatu and lost two matches against Ireland and Zimbabwe. So, with 4 points, and better run rate they advanced to the semifinal, facing Sri Lanka but eventually losing by mere 15 runs and couldn’t qualify for the global tournament.
ICC Women’s World T20 Asia Qualifier
In 2021, the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier was played in the UAE. Hong Kong, Nepal, Malaysia, Bhutan, Kuwait, and the UAE – these 6 teams participated in this tournament, and the UAE outclassed every team with their performance. They defeated every team in this Asia Cup Qualifier and advanced to the global qualifier with 10 points, also winning the 2021 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier.
In 2023, the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier was hosted by Malaysia. The UAE were placed in Group A with Nepal, Malaysia, Bhutan, Bahrain, and Qatar. This time also, the UAE showed their best form of cricket and won all their group matches, finishing on top of the table. That’s why they qualified for the knockouts of the tournament where they played a semi-final against Hong Kong. They won the match against them by 57 runs and advanced to the final match of the tournament. The final was played between the UAE and Thailand, where the UAE won the close match by a margin of just 6 runs and also won the qualifiers.
Women’s Asia Cup
In 2022, after winning the Women’s Asia Cup qualifier, the UAE played in the T20 Asia Cup in Bangladesh. In this tournament, the UAE played against all the participating teams. The UAE managed to win only against Malaysia, and one match was washed out due to rain. They were defeated by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. In this tournament, they managed to bag only 3 points.
ACC Women’s Premier Cup
In 2024, the ACC Women’s Premier Cup was hosted by Malaysia. In this tournament, a total of 16 teams were participating, in which the UAE was placed in Group B. They finished on top after defeating Japan, China, and Bhutan from their group. Thus, the UAE advanced to the quarter-final where they won the match against Indonesia by 56 runs. They then fought against Thailand in the semi-final and registered a 4-run victory. The final was played between the UAE and Malaysia, where the former easily defeated Malaysia by 37 runs and conquered the ACC Women’s Premier Cup for the first time in history.