Peshawar Zalmi 158 for 5
(Hodge 85 not out, Allenby 31; Sammy 1-13, Yamin 1-21)
Karachi Kings 152 for 7
(Simmons 49, Bopara 23; Bhatti 2-36)
Peshawar won by five wickets
DUBAI // Watching Brad Hodge play, it is difficult to rid the sense of regret and sadness, of a career unfulfilled. One of Australia’s most prolific domestic scorers, he only played six Tests for his country, and averaged nearly 56 in them, denied by an exceptional crop of talent during his best years.
He put that aside and went on to become one of the world's best Twenty20 batsman, a point he reminded us of again on Wednesday evening at the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in Dubai.
See also:
Drinks Break podcast: PSL experience makes Pakistan Asia Cup T20 favourites - Ep 18
PSL: Quetta stars Sangakkara and Pietersen cast gloom over Gayle’s Lahore in run feast
Drafted in by Peshawar Zalmi after completing a stint in the Masters Champions League (MCL), Hodge exploded onto the league with an unbeaten 45-ball 85 to secure a sixth win for Peshawar.
Karachi Kings, on the receiving end of the onslaught, still retain a chance of going through to the play-offs, but Lahore Qalandars must lose to Islamabad United in the evening game.
Peshawar looked in some strife at one stage; chasing 153 for the win, they were 98 for four after 15 overs and struggling to get some disciplined bowling away.
But Hodge changed the game in the 16th over, bowled by the promising legspinner Usama Mir. He began with fortune, under-edging a four past the keeper, but then hit three monstrous sixes in a row: one straight, one swept and one flat and hard over extra cover.
When he cut a Mohammed Amir full toss for six over covers, victory had been effectively sealed. For good measure he pulled Ravi Bopara twice for six in the penultimate over of the chase.
Bopara has been Karachi’s most successful bowler and yet, bizarrely, Shoaib Malik, the captain, did not introduce him into the attack until that over, when the game was over.
That capped a hopelessly off-the-pace performance from the most expensive franchise in the league. Lendl Simmons apart, none of their batsmen could get Peshawar’s attack away; Peshawar’s bowlers have been the best in the league, but this was, effectively, a third-string attack and it would have galled Karachi that they could not profit to a greater degree.
That, in turn, encapsulates their league run: they made four changes to their XI, and the tinkering with their line-up has been a constant feature of their campaign.
They are still in it, but their fate is not in their hands.
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
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Civil%20War
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Brief scores:
Kashima Antlers 0
River Plate 4
Zuculini 24', Martinez 73', 90 2', Borre 89' (pen)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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