Intro:

United Arab Emirates captain Mohammad Tauqir says his side's presence at the Cricket World Cup will inspire other Emiratis to play the game despite their 129-run defeat to Pakistan.

Script:

SOUNDBITE: (English), Mohammad Tauqir, UAE:

"Yes, I agree it's an ex-pat dominant sports in UAE, but I believe our presence in the World Cup definitely would inspire many more Emiratis to follow the game. I mean the kind of infrastructure and facilities we have, it's a growing - it's growing amongst the Emirati population as well.

"We had a couple of close games against Zimbabwe and Ireland. I think even today's game playing 50-over against Pakistan, it's a big positive for the team. Our effort is to do well against the Test nations and put up a decent performance against these Test nations. In batting we need to do the basics right and play all 50 overs."