Malaysian captain, Suresh Navaratnam, is hoping his team's stronger qualifying group may give it superior preparation for tomorrow's crucial Asian Cricket Council Trophy semi-final against the host, the United Arab Emirates.

Navaratnam, whose team 'fell' into the semi-finals after unconvincing form in their three Group A matches, said his side has had the tougher match practice going into a game which also doubles as a qualifier for next year's Asia Cup in Pakistan.

"All four teams in our group played good cricket - maybe they (the UAE) haven't seen some real cricket yet," Navaratnam theorised. "They have had easy matches."

UAE skipper, Saeed-A- Saffar, differed, saying his team would have the advantage of playing on their home ground tomorrow.

"They have played their last couple of games in Dubai, and we are playing in Sharjah, which we know."

Navaratnam is unconcerned about his team's patchy form, especially with the bat.

"We always get off to a flying start, then lose wickets and then come again. We tend to give a succession of wickets away in the middle. However, we have a new strategy which we are using tomorrow."

The Malaysian team is stacked with all-rounders, with batting down to number 10.

Navaratnam, Rohan Selvaratnam, and late-order batsmen, Vishnu Suppiah, Imran and Muniandy have all made valuable contributions with the bat, while the team also has good bowling options.

The UAE has only had to chase one sizeable target, sneaking home by one-wicket in its initial group match against Nepal, who lost heavily today to Hong Kong in the first semi-final.

Their side also contains Pakistan born Mohammad Afzal, and Kashir Khan, who both have first-class experience with Lahore CA, as well as Al Saffer, who scored 89 and took five wickets against Nepal.

© CricInfo Ltd.