Earlier this month, Hong Kong lost a match against Jersey, an island whose entire population would fit inside the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad with room to spare.
On Wednesday, they will face the might of cricket’s most populated nation when they play India in Dubai.
It would be understandable if they were feeling a sense of trepidation, given all the gilded names they will be confronted with, as well as India’s “Blue Billion” supporters.
And yet Hong Kong are approaching it without fear. After all, they did give their celebrated combatants a real scare the last time they met on the same patch of turf, back at the 2018 Asia Cup.
The Associate side looked well placed to produce the ultimate shock when they were 174 for no loss, chasing 286 in what was a 50-over game at Dubai International Stadium.
The Indians brought their experience to bear as they closed out a 26-run win, but Hong Kong had proved they were worthy opponents.
Now, having qualified to be here from a four-team event involving UAE in Muscat last week, they will get another shot at glory.
“The way we are approaching these games, there is no intent on our side to be making up the numbers,” Scott McKechnie, Hong Kong’s wicketkeeper, said.
“We pushed India pretty hard in 2018 and we plan to do the same again. They are two incredible oppositions, first and third in this format, so we are realistic.
“They are two very tough games of cricket, but you never know. Everyone loves an underdog, right?”
Hong Kong do have recent form for upsetting odds. They had to beat UAE to reach this Asia Cup. Set in context, the UAE were closer to India and Pakistan in the ICC’s T20I rankings than Hong Kong were to the national team.
“The bottom line was we found ways to win games of cricket, and we plan to bring that blueprint with us,” McKechnie said.
“If two guys turn up, we could be right in the game. We don’t have to be consistent over 100 overs like we did four years ago. Now we have to do it over 35 to 40 and that could be enough.
“We are realistic. These are two tough games but they will be two of the best days of our life, even more so if we can create an upset.”
McKechnie personifies the difference between the Hong Kong side and the IPL millionaires who lie in wait.
The 31-year-old keeper retired from international cricket in March 2020 in order to focus on work, his new business, and family life instead.
In the two years that followed he did not play any sport at all, such were the Covid-enforced limitations in Singapore, where he was living.
Having returned to live in the UK, where he is originally from, he started playing again for his local club side, Dartford in Kent, at the start of this summer.
It led to a recall for Hong Kong, a three-month tour that has taken in Uganda, South Africa, Namibia, Jersey, and Oman, and will now culminate in matches against India and Pakistan in the UAE.
“I wasn’t going to let my business, my full-time job, or my marriage slide, so international cricket had to go to one side,” he said.
“Since then, I have been able to build the business so I now work solely for myself. Paired with a super supportive partner, it has all become a lot more feasible again. Thus, in June of this year, I came out retirement in Zimbabwe.”
Judged by his remarkable stumping of UAE captain CP Rizwan at a crucial stage of the final qualifying match, he has fully shaken off the rust of retirement. And now he, like his team, is ready to compete with the best.
“I don’t think it’s any coincidence we were here in 2018 and we are here again in 2022," he said of Hong Kong's consecutive Asia Cup appearances in UAE.
“I think we are starting to be more consistent across formats and across many years. We have started to deliver more consistent results.
“What comes of that is greater expectation for us to turn up and compete with the big boys.
“We know within our camp we have enough match-winners. The beauty about T20 is that if one or two of your match-winners come off, on your day you can turn over just about anybody.”
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
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.
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
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Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
Villains
Queens of the Stone Age
Matador
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.”
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
