In May 2003, just after Australia had won the Cricket World Cup for the third time, a trial was held in Kabul with a view to setting up an Afghanistan cricket team for the first time.
The aspiring players were newly returned from exile across the border in Pakistan, where they had learnt the favourite sport of their hosts while housed in refugee camps.
That team of pioneers started its competitive life on international cricket’s furthest extremities, playing against the likes of Japan, Jersey and Botswana.
None of the players had been on an airplane before their debut cricket tour. In transit in Dubai for the first time, they could not work out how to use the escalators.
Among them was Mohammed Nabi, the champion allrounder who has – 21 years later – just helped his side beat Australia to a place in a T20 World Cup semi-final.
Afghanistan’s team of cricketing supermen will play South Africa in Trinidad in the early hours of Thursday morning UAE time. Such has been their fairytale rise in the sport, there is no reason why they will feel further progress in the competition is beyond them.
On Tuesday, they sealed their place in the last four in the most gripping fashion imaginable – and at the expense of Australia.
They navigated rain delays in St Vincent, score revisions, an iffy pitch, and a Bangladesh side who themselves had a shot at advancing to clinch their place.
“It is like a dream for us as a team being in a semi-final,” Rashid Khan, the Afghanistan captain, said after the eight-run win over Bangladesh that sent them through in second place in the group behind India.
“It is all about how we started the tournament. The belief came from when we beat New Zealand. It is unbelievable. I don’t have the words to describe my feelings. Everyone back at home is so, so happy for this big achievement.”
The stage for their semi-final meeting against the Proteas might be a fitting one. Trinidad is the home island of Brian Lara, the West Indies great.
According to Rashid, Lara was one of the only people who backed the Afghans to make the last four of the competition.
“We proved him right,” he said. “It is what we discussed before the competition and the welcome party. I told him, ‘We won’t let you down, we will prove you right.’ I think that is something everyone is proud of. I’m super proud of the team.”
This T20 World Cup has been characterised by variable batting conditions, and it has made for captivating cricket.
Poor wickets in New York and elsewhere have meant the team defending have never been out of the game, no matter what they post.
Like the big one in the Big Apple when Win Predictor had Pakistan at over 90 percent to beat India during their chase of 120 to win. They ended up losing by six.
The opposite is true on flat wickets. The shirtfront in St Lucia, for example, meant India could never sit comfortably in their defence of 205 in their final Super Eight match against Australia.
Win, and Australia would guarantee themselves a place in the semis. Lose, and there was still an opportunity for Afghanistan or Bangladesh to pinch the spot.
Rohit Sharma assessed the importance of a fast start perfectly. The India captain’s blitz against Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins at the Daren Sammy International Stadium was a masterpiece.
At the other end, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant looked like they were still struggling in the park in Long Island, scratching around trying to make sense of things.
Rohit, by contrast, knew there was no time to waste, and got straight on the front foot. His 92 from 41 balls was thrilling stuff, but Australia started their chase with purpose.
While Travis Head was at the wicket, they were always a chance, but when he went for 76, the game swung inexorably India’s way. Their 24-run win had sizeable ramifications across the Caribbean Sea in Jamaica.
A win of any kind for Afghanistan would guarantee their progress. Bangladesh, meanwhile, needed an ever altering target, which eventually settled on needing to win within 12.1 overs, to make it through themselves.
The wicket proved to be of the challenging variety. It meant Afghanistan, with an enviable bowling attack, felt they had a chance even though they only posted 115 for five from their overs.
The fact they took wickets at regular intervals meant they always had belief, but the two sides flip-flopped in terms of who held the advantage.
Each time there was a rain interruption, though, it was always Afghanistan who held the edge according to the Duckworth Lewis Stern calculations.
In fact, so preoccupied were they by that scenario, at one point Gulbadin Naib – another of the originals in the side – went down holding his left hamstring, stalling for time.
The veracity of the injury was questioned by the commentators. When the sides did reemerge after the subsequent shower had passed, it was not long before Gulbadin had the ball in his hand. He delivered a vital wicket, too, with Bangladesh inching ever closer towards the target.
The equation reached the point where Bangladesh needed nine to win from the same number of deliveries. At which point, Naveen-ul-Haq started the party with two wickets in consecutive balls.
“We were dreaming and waiting for this day,” said Naveen, who took four for 26 in all. “When this day happens, it is a surreal experience. I am lost for words.
“These are the games where you never know what can happen. After conceding one boundary you feel like the game is gone, then suddenly you pick up a wicket and you are back again.
“We have worked for this day. We have worked for the semis and we are looking forward to that that now.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
The biog
Favourite Emirati dish: Fish machboos
Favourite spice: Cumin
Family: mother, three sisters, three brothers and a two-year-old daughter
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
Company%20Profile
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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