SHARJAH // Skipper Michael Clarke failed again as Australia lost a four-day warm-up game against Pakistan A by 153 runs in Sharjah on Saturday.
Clarke, who is recovering from a hamstring injury and needed batting practice ahead of Wednesday’s first Test against Pakistan in Dubai, scored five off as many balls before being bowled by left-arm paceman Rahat Ali on the fourth and final day.
Clarke made 10 in the first innings, but not much can be read into Australia's loss as the match was for practice.
Australia, chasing 339 to win, were bowled out for 185 in their second innings with paceman Mohammad Talha (3-32) and left-arm spinner Raza Hasan (3-60) hampering Australia’s plans for some useful practice.
Pakistan A had made 305 for eight declared and 306 for three declared in their two innings.
Australia made 273 for eight declared in their first knock.
Australia batsman Phil Hughes promised a different showing in the Tests.
“It’s good to see them going out there and performing well,” Hughes said of Pakistan A. “But it’s going to be a different story and a different pressure in a Test match.”
Pakistan A captain Asad Shafiq said it was pleasing to see Clarke out cheaply.
“It’s an inspiration to get Clarke out early in both the innings and very satisfactory but I don’t think this win means much as it was just a practice game,” said Shafiq who scored a hundred in the first innings and is a regular member of Pakistan’s Test squad.
“But surely this win gives confidence to some of our players who will play in the Test.”
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On Instagram: @WithHopeUAE
Although social media can be harmful to our mental health, paradoxically, one of the antidotes comes with the many social-media accounts devoted to normalising mental-health struggles. With Hope UAE is one of them.
The group, which has about 3,600 followers, was started three years ago by five Emirati women to address the stigma surrounding the subject. Via Instagram, the group recently began featuring personal accounts by Emiratis. The posts are written under the hashtag #mymindmatters, along with a black-and-white photo of the subject holding the group’s signature red balloon.
“Depression is ugly,” says one of the users, Amani. “It paints everything around me and everything in me.”
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In addition to With Hope UAE’s frank social-media presence, the group holds talks and workshops in Dubai. “Change takes time,” Reem Al Ali, vice chairman and a founding member of With Hope UAE, told The National earlier this year. “It won’t happen overnight, and it will take persistent and passionate people to bring about this change.”
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