UAE scored a five-wicket win in the first warm-up match against USA.  The host side not only had the advantage of familiar conditions, they had a super-effective bowler in Fayyaz Ahmed (4 for 23) who set off a USA collapse beginning with the fall of Sushil Nadkarni in the 14th over.  From a comfortable 103 for 1, USA's fortunes plunged to 112 for 7 in the 4 overs that followed.

Only the top-order batsmen - Sushil Nadkarni, Carl Wright and Lennox Cush - got any real practice with two batsmen, Captain Steve Massiah and Sudesh Dhaniram, failing to get past the first ball and three others falling before reaching double digits.  In their defense, some of the American players had landed in the country fewer than 24 hours ahead of the match, and consequently, not much should be read into this result.

Nadkarni's performance was definitely the silver lining and his 59 from 43 balls had six fours and two sixes.  USA and Houston cricket fans will no doubt be happy to see that Nadkarni, who  sustained an injury at the Western Conference event last year, is back on track. 

Pic (Right): Nadkarni scored 59 from 43 balls

Nadkarni's fellow opener, wicket keeper Carl Wright, made 24 and together they put on a 64 run partnership for the first wicket.

The day really belonged to  Fayyaz Ahmed as the Pakistan-born 26-year old took the wickets of three formidable batsmen - Nadkarni, Massiah and Dhaniram - in the space of 4 balls!  In the next over he bowled, he dealt another major blow by sending the dangerous Lennox Cush back as well. 

Fayyaz, a left-arm orthodox spinner, will no doubt be watched closely in this tournament, especially for his doosra.  In April 2009, at the ICC World Cup Qualifiers, Fayyaz was cited for suspect action in a match against Canada at Krugersdorp.  "[We] are of the opinion that Fayyaz Ahmed, left-arm orthodox bowler, bowls with a suspect action which is accentuated when bowling the doosra," the umpires noted.

Chasing 135, UAE openers were not the least bit nervous - together Mohammad Iqbal and Arfan Haider put on 61 runs before the first wicket, that of Arfan, was scalped by Imran Awan.  Two balls later, Mohammad Iqbal, who had been on fire as he scored 43 from just 21 balls, was run out.  But the two had already given their team a solid foundation and the remaining batsmen held steady to secure their side the win.  Timroy Allen was the best bowler for USA with a tally of 2 for 26.

The second warm-up game between the two sides is scheduled for Abu Dhabi on February 7th and the tournament gets underway on February 9th.   USA's first official match on February 9th is against Scotland and DreamCricket.com will provide live coverage of the tournament.

Scorecard:  http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/match_zone/scorecard.php?matchId=33020