Amid all the brouhaha surrounding the circus that is the Suspended Three, the suspensions, the appeals, the rejection of the appeals, the accusations of bias directed at the International Cricket Council (ICC), the television talk shows and the umpteen media interviews for Salman Butt, Mohammad Aamer and their various lawyers, one man from whom little has been heard is Mohammad Asif.
Butt, Aamer and their many lawyers have been churning out their scarcely believable and logic-defying protestations of innocence. Asif, on the other hand, has been strangely quiet. Strange, but not unexpected for those who have followed his career. Asif prefers a low profile both on and off the field.
Asif comes across as one of those rare international cricketers who is not too keen on the limelight. On the field, he simply lets his bowling do the talking; very eloquent it is, too.
Asif is the most intelligent bowler to come out of Pakistan. His bowling is all about strategy, it is artful, but calculated. He relies on brains rather than brawn to get his wickets; a high-quality seam bowler who can extract movement off the pitch, even when his peers find nothing.
Asif's methods might be different to past Pakistani fast bowlers, but they are equally devastating. In the 12 months prior to his suspension, Asif had been the most successful pace bowler in the world, taking 55 wickets in 12 Tests. And this despite having numerous catches dropped off his bowling, thanks to poor Pakistani slip fielding and Kamran Akmal's dodgy wicketkeeping.
This summer, Asif reached the milestone of 100 wickets in just his 20th Test, a rare feat for modern-day pace bowlers that only Waqar Younis and Dale Steyn have matched in the past 30 years.
As many leading batsmen, such as Kevin Pietersen and Sachin Tendulkar would attest, Asif has the knack of conjuring an unplayable delivery out of nowhere, and has done this time and time again.
He hits the pitch hard, bowls in tight lines, and is adept at working out batsmen, relentlessly probing their weaknesses and their fears, exploiting them and then getting them out.
This ability is acknowledged by batsmen the world over, with many recognising Asif as the most fearsome current Pakistani bowler.
However, Asif's impressive feats and potential have often been overlooked by both fans and selectors while other, poorer (but faster) bowlers have been seen as "saviours".
Of course, his lack of "glamour" and his abhorrence for pure pace are not the only reasons Asif is not as big a star in Pakistan as some of his far less accomplished compatriots. The other reason is Asif's troubled history. He has tested positive for steroids twice, banned for it, been caught with a recreational drug in his wallet at Dubai's airport and detained for it.
No surprise then, that while the alleged spot-fixing by Salman Butt and Aamer shocked almost every Pakistani, the allegations about Asif were met with a shrug: "Oh, that Asif, up to his usual tricks again."
Few contemporary players have had as chequered a disciplinary record as Asif. While the talent and the intelligence on the field are undoubted, so it seems, is the foolishness off it. The spot-fixing allegations at Lord's this summer were followed by revelations by Veena Malik, his former girlfriend and Pakistani actress, about Asif's contacts with Indian bookmakers and his apparent involvement in match-fixing.
Any other player, and her allegations would have been laughed off.
However, controversy and Asif seem to be permanent bedfellows and many argue that in Asif's case, there is no smoke without fire.
sports@thenational.ae
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No more lice
Defining head lice
Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
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.”
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
