Scotland's preparations for the men's T20 World Cup later this year got off to a good start these past few days in Dubai with a 2-1 T20I series win over the hosts.
Scotland were put into bat for the first game on Monday, and whilst George Munsey scored 75 from 49 balls, only two other Scotland batters were able to reach double figures and they scored 147-8 from their 20 overs. Junaid Siddique was the pick of the bowlers for the home side with 4-14.
The UAE chase started with an 80 run partnership between Muhammed Waseem and Tanish Suri, with Suri eventually falling for 37. A 61 run partnership followed to get UAE close with Alishan Sharafu scoring 32 before he was out. Waseem finished unbeaten on 68 and UAE won by eight wickets with 2.2 overs to spare.
Scotland were put into bat again in the second game yesterday, with Matthew Cross's 35 their top score as they made 121-8 from their 20 overs. Junnaid Siddique was the pick of the bowlers again, this time taking 4-18.
This time Scotland's total proved to be enough as they restricted UAE to 112-9 from their 20 overs, losing by nine runs. Jack Jarvis was Scotland's leading wicket-taker with 3-21.
Today's deciding contest was an even lower scoring game. George Munsey's 21 was Scotland's top score as they were bowled out for 94. Aayan Afzal Khan and debutant Omid Shafi Rahman both took three wickets for the hosts.
The UAE quickly collapsed to 19-7, before a knock of 28 by Akif Raja helped give a little more respectability to the UAE effort. They were bowled out for 62 to lose by 32 runs. Bradley Currie, Jack Jarvis and Mark Watt all took three wickets, with Currie conceding just seven runs in his four overs.
Scotland's next scheduled fixtures will be in early May when they host Namibia and Oman for the third leg of CWC League 2, followed by a single T20I against the Omanis. The UAE next play in the ACC Premier Cup in April, where they have been drawn in a group with Bahrain, Cambodia, Kuwait and hosts Oman.