While the focus of the sporting world is on Qatar and the Fifa World Cup, another sporting carnival concluded in the Gulf region as Abu Dhabi T10 completed a successful season.
The sixth edition of cricket' newest format did face the challenge of being staged alongside the biggest event on the planet, but it had a few things going for it – namely two new franchises from across the Atlantic.
New York Strikers and Morrisville Samp Army are established names in the nascent American cricket market and ventured out of the continent for the first time.
And it has turned out to be a dream start for both franchises. Strikers and Samp Army finished first and second in the group phase of the T10 tournament. The Strikers made it all the way to the final, where the ultimately lost to Deccan Gladiators by 37 runs on Sunday.
The New York team, owned by Sagar Khanna, won six out of seven games in the opening round to make an immediate mark on the tournament. Captained by veteran Kieron Pollard and bolstered by franchise cricket stars Rashid Khan, Eoin Morgan and Paul Stirling, the Strikers seemed to have found the perfect recipe for success on the field.
For any franchise, good results off the pitch are just as important for the long-term viability. It definitely helps to be a part of a business that is already attractive. Last season, the league's total economic impact was valued at $621.2 million, while the tournament reached 342 million television and over-the-top (OTT) digital viewers. Also, Abu Dhabi T10's sponsorship value rose by 81 per cent to $279.3 million last season.
Judging by those numbers, the future looks bright for Abu Dhabi T10 and a new franchise like New York Strikers.
The American team paid a franchise fee of $750,000, while player fees cost $400,000. One of the major sources of income for franchises is a share of the central pool, which includes Abu Dhabi T10 broadcast rights, ticket sales, advertisements and sponsorship. But the teams themselves need to build their source of revenue to grow their base. The Strikers are aware of the task at hand.
"We are trying to build a brand and by next year, I think we should break even," Khanna told The National.
"We are here to add value to the competition, not just fill in the numbers. After an incredible run in the United States, we are now expanding.
"Our main focus is to ensure that our players have the best opportunities and that our sponsors compensate them well."
Khanna realises that to stay competitive on the economic front, being pragmatic pays off.
"We are working hard to ensure that New York Strikers has one of the best merchandise reach for all cricket fans. Apart from sponsorship, we are leaving no stone unturned in focusing on franchising costs because, at the end of the day, your brand must be monetised."
Helping Khanna and the Strikers in their mission is Salman Hanif, who is their advisor. Hanif provides expertise in cricket operations in the UAE. He is Dubai Sports City's head of cricket business and is also associated with International League T20 – the UAE's own franchise T20 tournament that will begin early next year.
"Mr Hanif is our advisor and consultant guide who helps us understand how and where to improve. He is an expert who bring in a lot of experience as he has also been involved with the Asia Cup."
One of the reasons international entities are looking to UAE cricket market – be it through Abu Dhabi T10 or the new ILT20 – is the proximity to India's market and also the entry of IPL owners such as Reliance Industries and Knight Riders in UAE's franchise cricket sector.
"We are looking to sign a deal with a leading branding in the Gulf and Indian region. Hopefully we will close the deal before the end of the year," Khanna said.
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Feeding the thousands for iftar
Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth
Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people
The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box
350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley
Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
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Tips for entertaining with ease
· Set the table the night before. It’s a small job but it will make you feel more organised once done.
· As the host, your mood sets the tone. If people arrive to find you red-faced and harried, they’re not going to relax until you do. Take a deep breath and try to exude calm energy.
· Guests tend to turn up thirsty. Fill a big jug with iced water and lemon or lime slices and encourage people to help themselves.
· Have some background music on to help create a bit of ambience and fill any initial lulls in conversations.
· The meal certainly doesn’t need to be ready the moment your guests step through the door, but if there’s a nibble or two that can be passed around it will ward off hunger pangs and buy you a bit more time in the kitchen.
· You absolutely don’t have to make every element of the brunch from scratch. Take inspiration from our ideas for ready-made extras and by all means pick up a store-bought dessert.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Iraq negotiating over Iran sanctions impact
- US sanctions on Iran’s energy industry and exports took effect on Monday, November 5.
- Washington issued formal waivers to eight buyers of Iranian oil, allowing them to continue limited imports. Iraq did not receive a waiver.
- Iraq’s government is cooperating with the US to contain Iranian influence in the country, and increased Iraqi oil production is helping to make up for Iranian crude that sanctions are blocking from markets, US officials say.
- Iraq, the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumped last month at a record 4.78 million barrels a day, former Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi said on Oct. 20. Iraq exported 3.83 million barrels a day last month, according to tanker tracking and data from port agents.
- Iraq has been working to restore production at its northern Kirkuk oil field. Kirkuk could add 200,000 barrels a day of oil to Iraq’s total output, Hook said.
- The country stopped trucking Kirkuk oil to Iran about three weeks ago, in line with U.S. sanctions, according to four people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they aren’t allowed to speak to media.
- Oil exports from Iran, OPEC’s third-largest supplier, have slumped since President Donald Trump announced in May that he’d reimpose sanctions. Iran shipped about 1.76 million barrels a day in October out of 3.42 million in total production, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
- Benchmark Brent crude fell 47 cents to $72.70 a barrel in London trading at 7:26 a.m. local time. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was 25 cents lower at $62.85 a barrel in New York. WTI held near the lowest level in seven months as concerns of a tightening market eased after the U.S. granted its waivers to buyers of Iranian crude.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Burnley 1 (Brady 89')
Manchester City 4 (Jesus 24', 50', Rodri 68', Mahrez 87')
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
