Round-the-world ticket
Have a crooked elbow, will travel. Sachithra Senanayake, the Sri Lanka spin bowler, has had a good look around this summer.
He was reported by the umpires after the fourth one-day international against England at the start of this summer.
He returned to Colombo at the series end then flew back to the UK a few days later to be tested at Cardiff Metropolitan University’s ICC-approved biomechanics laboratory.
When he failed that test, which ruled him out of bowling, he headed to Australia to have remedial work on his flawed bowling action.
He then returned to Sri Lanka and was soon back in Cardiff to see if his remodelled method passed the 15-degrees of flexion test.
It has been a storied time for Senanayake, who also played a role in winning the Asia Cup and the World Twenty20 during the past year, and then created a rumpus by “Mankading” England’s Jos Buttler.
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A CCTV video tape
One would have been useful. In fact any recording device would have been handy, or even a credible independent witness who might have been able to nip in the bud the Ravi Jadeja versus James Anderson furore at its source.
There are CCTV cameras at the door to dressing rooms at international grounds, which were recommended initially to ward off unscrupulous types bent on laying a fix.
When Anderson was supposed to have pushed Jadeja against a wall outside the dressing room at Trent Bridge, the closed circuit camera was inactive.
“I stand for what’s right and what’s wrong,” said MS Dhoni, India’s captain who pressed on with attempts to see Anderson sent down for what he said he saw him do. “If something wrong is happening I will go against it irrespective of who is doing it.”
Good on him. There is way too much ugliness that is excused by the trite phrase “we just play hard, aggressive cricket”.
Hopefully Anderson heeded his lesson for good and not just the summer.
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Charity wristband
Is there anything not to like about Moeen Ali? This summer, England unearthed a cricketer who bats with languid grace, bowls well and fields like a trialist – in other words, he never stops wanting to impress.
His attitude seems impeccable too. He showed enough initiative – and knowledge of past players – to ask Kumar Dharmasena, the former Sri Lanka spinner turned umpire, for some tips on bowling.
Then followed a flurry of wickets with his off-breaks against a side who purportedly has the best players of spin in the world.
Furthermore, he has a conscience and regularly does charity work – even if a picture showing him supporting the Ummah Welfare Trust was in fact a fan’s snap while he was out shopping at Asda with his family, he later admitted.
“I do like to do charity work but that particular day I wasn’t actually doing it, I was just going shopping,” said Moeen, who wore “Free Palestine” wristbands in a Test against India.
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How to lose friends and alienate people, by Irving Tressler
"His remarks were not that helpful – especially from a so-called friend – but he is entitled to his opinion," Alastair Cook said of Graeme Swann, after his former teammate deigned to point out the bleeding obvious.
It was not the only time this summer England’s troubled captain had taken it personally when commentators did the job they are paid to do.
To be fair to Swann, it would have been a dereliction of his duty had he not said it as he saw it as England continued to blunder on in the one-day game.
Swann was also the first pundit, when Cook reached his lowest ebb after the Lord’s Test defeat against India, to back him to succeed.
Given the straits Cook’s England were in at the time, Swann’s verdict seemed to be unrealistic, probably jaundiced by their friendship. Either that, or mad. Yet he was proved correct, as the Test side bounced back.
Then the prickly response during the limited-overs shemozzle.
Still, mates are mates. But the easiest way to lose them is join the media and speak the truth.
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A McChicken sandwich
At the start of last winter’s Ashes, England’s exhaustive list of dietary requirements was leaked to the media.
Predictably, delights such as “mung bean curry with spinach” and “piri piri breaded tofu” were given short shrift by the locals, prompting headlines such as: “We thought all England served up was pies.”
Not exactly the diet of champions if the subsequent run of events are anything to go by.
When England’s team of svelte calorie counters succumbed in the limited-overs series against India, the away side knew how best to celebrate.
Ahead of the final game, bagfuls of McDonalds (and a Nando's, for good measure) were delivered to India's players on the outfield while they were at nets.
Perhaps it is the answer to the conundrum facing an England side who find the transition from Test to one-day cricket impossible.
For Test excellence, try raw superfoods. For the limited overs formats, hold the quinoa and goji berries, and have a side of fries, instead.
pradley@thenational.ae
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Du Football Champions
The fourth season of du Football Champions was launched at Gitex on Wednesday alongside the Middle East’s first sports-tech scouting platform.“du Talents”, which enables aspiring footballers to upload their profiles and highlights reels and communicate directly with coaches, is designed to extend the reach of the programme, which has already attracted more than 21,500 players in its first three years.
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The biog
Favourite food: Tabbouleh, greek salad and sushi
Favourite TV show: That 70s Show
Favourite animal: Ferrets, they are smart, sensitive, playful and loving
Favourite holiday destination: Seychelles, my resolution for 2020 is to visit as many spiritual retreats and animal shelters across the world as I can
Name of first pet: Eddy, a Persian cat that showed up at our home
Favourite dog breed: I love them all - if I had to pick Yorkshire terrier for small dogs and St Bernard's for big
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.”