MELBOURNE // Given the other distractions at hand, the fact the Dubai World Cup was on this weekend may have bypassed Brendon McCullum.
It would not usually have done. New Zealand’s cricket captain is an avid fan of horse racing, and even owns his own bloodstock company.
When the Black Caps toured the UAE recently, he had planned a team night out at Meydan, only for it to fall through because the Dubai Test against Pakistan was delicately poised at the time.
And even though he is just about to be a central protagonist in the biggest cricket match in his country’s history, he has still found time for the races.
“I went to Moonee Valley [on Friday night], and managed to watch some horses,” McCullum said on the eve of the World Cup final against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
“That was good fun. We got entertained there and it was great to get to relax leading into such a big game.”
If New Zealand’s cricketers are overawed by the challenge they about to face, they are not showing it.
Australia, the world’s No 1 ranked side, the country who have won the World Cup more times than anyone else, on their own patch, with the best part of 100,000 people watching in person, and millions more on the television.
Daunting? Exciting, more like, according to McCullum, who deems it the “ultimate game”.
“A hundred thousand people in Australia’s backyard, Melbourne Cricket Ground and the history and traditions and against a very good Australian side,” he said.
“It’s been a great ride so far. This is the ultimate game for us to be able to play in.
“So with that I’m sure some guys will be nervous tomorrow morning. I guess there is some excitement about us going out there tomorrow and putting our skills against the best in their backyard.
“That certainly whets the appetite and creates the greatest stage we can ask for. So it’s certainly going to be a special day.”
It is a tough assignment, definitely, but McCullum has an impenetrable can-do attitude.
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In a throwaway comment on a different topic this week, he used the phrase “nothing is too difficult”.
It turned out that was actually in reference to a game of golf he was trying to organise.
Fitting nine players into two tee-times, it seems, was providing more of a headache than the boundaries at the MCG.
The dimensions of this stadium, and the fact New Zealand rarely play at such big grounds, has been much talked about in the build up to this match.
McCullum pointed to the fact they have recently played at the Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, in the series against Pakistan, as reason to believe they can cope with the extra range of hitting.
“If you look at Abu Dhabi in the emirates, that’s a big ground as well,” he said.
“Obviously it doesn’t have the same amphitheatre the MCG presents, but I think boundary size it’s bigger.
“But in this day and age with bigger bats as well it still brings into play the fours and sixes.
“So we’ll adapt accordingly. It’s something that we’ll relish, I think.”
The idea there will be a partisan crowd, barking raucous support for the home time may also be wide of the mark, too.
While McCullum and Michel Clarke, his opposite number, were giving their obligatory pre-match press conferences, there were hundreds of Indians outside the ground.
Many are said to have bought up tickets in advance of the final, on the assumption MS Dhoni’s side would be there.
Plenty were queuing for New Zealand shirts at the merchandising stalls on the concourse outside the stadium, and McCullum is expecting some borrowed support.
“I reckon we might have the home crowd,” the captain said.
“I think it’s probably no secret most of the other teams around the world would probably prefer New Zealand to win.
“So hopefully we’ll get a good smattering of support tomorrow, and I’m sure the Indian guys will certainly be rooting for us.”
pradley@thenational.ae
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Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
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Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
UNSC Elections 2022-23
Seats open:
- Two for Africa Group
- One for Asia-Pacific Group (traditionally Arab state or Tunisia)
- One for Latin America and Caribbean Group
- One for Eastern Europe Group
Countries so far running:
Company Profile
Company name: Namara
Started: June 2022
Founder: Mohammed Alnamara
Based: Dubai
Sector: Microfinance
Current number of staff: 16
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Family offices
Fighting with My Family
Director: Stephen Merchant
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Florence Pugh, Thomas Whilley, Tori Ellen Ross, Jack Lowden, Olivia Bernstone, Elroy Powell
Four stars
The years Ramadan fell in May
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
Listen to Extra Time
The Matrix Resurrections
Director: Lana Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick
Rating:****
Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
