Going 'one better' was always going to be a prime motivation for United Arab Emirates captain Saleem Al Saffer leading into next month's Asian Cricket Council Trophy in Dubai and Sharjah next month.

And while the Dubai-born banker is keen to improve on the UAE's loss in the final to Bangladesh in the 1997 version in Nepal, a more altruistic reason is set to inspire the man celebrated for scoring the only double hundred in the history of limited overs matches between national teams.

As the only indigenous player in the United Arab Emirates team to contest next month's ACC Trophy, wooing over his Arab brethren with a tournament win on home turf is a strong incentive for a man keen to see UAE cricket transcend its South Asian foundations.

"It is high time we win this tournament. It would be a real boost for cricket here. The two finalists get into the Asia Cup and that would raise the profile enormously," he said.

Saleem recently called for the mandatory inclusion of at least one Arab in each team in the UAE's series of domestic competitions and sees a bright future for cricket in the UAE.

"We wouldn't want to rely on expatriate players in the future. We have pretty good juniors coming on."

Saleem said cricket suffered by lack of recognition of the UAE Government. "Our sport is not under governent control. Once the government gets involved cricket will get into the schools, and we will get [more] coaches and [access to] cricket grounds."

He said he would not be deliberately seeking to emulate his double hundred against Thailand in the 1997 ACC Trophy in Nepal.

"I'd rather score two separate hundreds than a 200. The bottom line is the team performance - the whole team is pretty determined to win this."

So who else in the team is expected to stand out?

"Arfan Saeed is a good all-rounder while Ahmed Nasim, who had a stint in India is a good right arm fast bowler."

While Saleem will obviously relish the chance to play in the town of his origins, Hong Kong's ACC Trophy coach, Adam Hollioake, sees returning to the UAE as almost a spiritual homecoming. Indeed the role gives him the chance to marry an association of two of his favourite locations.

"Sharjah is one the grounds I most enjoy playing at, having been there with England and Surrey a few times," Hollioake said this week from Perth.

"And Hong Kong is a place I have always liked. I lived there when I was aged from 10-12 and love the place. It is set up well for cricket."

Hollioake freely admitted he was adopting an open minded approach to the ACC Trophy campaign.

"I am not really aware of how the team plays as I only know a few of the players. I will just be telling them to play to win the game."

© CricInfo Ltd