Josh Davey steps in to seal Saltires win

By WILLIAM DICK
Published on 27/02/2013 01:07

JOSH Davey claimed three wickets without conceding a run as the Saltires beat the United Arab Emirates Blues in Abu Dhabi yesterday.

Davey’s haul polished off a fantastic comeback after the tourists slumped to 51-6, with Blues paceman Naveed Saleem taking all six.

But Sussex batsman Matt Machan sparked the recovery with a fighting half-century while Moneeb Iqbal made 43.

There was still work to be done at 132-8 but Gordon Goudie’s 21-ball 27 and an unbeaten 13 from Majid Haq hoisted the tally to 186 on a difficult batting track.

Safyaan Sharif then staked his claims for inclusion in next week’s matches against Afghanistan, taking three wickets in a blistering new-ball spell, while Yorkshire’s Iain Wardlaw claimed two before Davey’s decisive intervention secured an emphatic 117-run win.

The Saltires have a final warm-up match against the same opposition tomorrow before facing Afghanistan in all three formats of the game.