Reigning champions England are facing uncertain times as their fate at the T20 World Cup appears to have slipped out of their control.
England have suffered one washout against Scotland and a defeat to Australia in the T20 showpiece event and are edging closer to an early exit ahead of their match against Oman in Antigua on Thursday.
Jos Buttler's team need a lot of things to go their way if they are to qualify for the Super Eight stage. Firstly, England need to defeat Oman and Namibia comfortably and also hope Scotland fall to a heavy defeat in their last group game against Australia. This would mean that they are tied on points with the Scots and net run rate comes into play.
Right now, Scotland have five points and a robust net run rate of 2.164 compared to England's one point and a net run rate of -1.8.
What has made the path ahead even more difficult for England would be if Australia, who are already through to the next stage, play their match against Scotland in a way that net run rate sends Scotland through and England out; effectively rigging the system.
After the match against Oman, England face Namibia on Saturday. Australia and Scotland, however, will meet on Sunday.
The St Lucia match will begin hours after England's clash with Namibia finishes, which could give Australia enough time to work out exactly what margin of victory for them would ensure they top the group but Scotland also progress as runners-up.
Australia fast-bowler Josh Hazlewood said “it's in our best interest” to see defending champions England suffer an early exit when the Aussies and Scots meet at St Lucia.
“In this tournament you potentially come up against England at some stage again and they're probably one of the top few teams on their day,” said Hazlewood after Australia cruised past Namibia by nine wickets on Tuesday, chasing down 73 in just 5.4 overs.
“We've had some real struggles against them in T20 cricket so if we can get them out of the tournament that's in our best interest as well as probably everyone else.
“It'll be interesting to see. We've never really been in this position before as a team. Whether we have discussions or not, or we just try to play again the way we played [against Namibia], that’ll be up to people, not me.”
Hazlewood said Australia will aim for victory over Scotland but admitted there will be a temptation to help the Scots preserve their superior run rate over England.
“Whether you get close and you just knock it around and drag it out. There's a few options there,” he added.
“We take confidence from winning and winning well, I think that's almost more important than potentially trying to knock someone else out.
“They [England] have still got a lot to do on their behalf as well, so I think it'll become clearer the closer we get to that sort of stuff.”
Australia will have to be mindful of Article 2.11 of the ICC code of conduct rules, however, which take into account “the inappropriate manipulation of a net run rate” in one of its events “in order to affect the standings of other teams”.
“The team captain of any team guilty of such conduct shall be held responsible (and subject to sanction) for any offence found to have been committed,” it reads.
England’s Australia-born coach Matthew Mott said he hopes Hazlewood’s comments were “tongue in cheek”. He told BBC Sport: “Having grown up in Australia and the will to win every game, I am sure they will come to the fore. I am very much hoping it was an off-hand remark by a really good bloke who is having fun.”
Earlier, England captain Jos Buttler warned his side not to become “consumed” by the idea of improving their net run rate against Oman.
“I think it's quite clear what we need to do and how we need to play,” he said. “First and foremost, we need to win the game against Oman to have any chance going forward into the next one.
“If we can get ourselves in a position to affect our net run-rate, obviously that's what we need to do. That's the situation we find ourselves in, so we have to be aware of that but not be consumed by it.”
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
'Ghostbusters: From Beyond'
Director: Jason Reitman
Starring: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace
Rating: 2/5
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Haircare resolutions 2021
From Beirut and Amman to London and now Dubai, hairstylist George Massoud has seen the same mistakes made by customers all over the world. In the chair or at-home hair care, here are the resolutions he wishes his customers would make for the year ahead.
1. 'I will seek consultation from professionals'
You may know what you want, but are you sure it’s going to suit you? Haircare professionals can tell you what will work best with your skin tone, hair texture and lifestyle.
2. 'I will tell my hairdresser when I’m not happy'
Massoud says it’s better to offer constructive criticism to work on in the future. Your hairdresser will learn, and you may discover how to communicate exactly what you want more effectively the next time.
3. ‘I will treat my hair better out of the chair’
Damage control is a big part of most hairstylists’ work right now, but it can be avoided. Steer clear of over-colouring at home, try and pursue one hair brand at a time and never, ever use a straightener on still drying hair, pleads Massoud.
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
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Why does a queen bee feast only on royal jelly?
Some facts about bees:
The queen bee eats only royal jelly, an extraordinary food created by worker bees so she lives much longer
The life cycle of a worker bee is from 40-60 days
A queen bee lives for 3-5 years
This allows her to lay millions of eggs and allows the continuity of the bee colony
About 20,000 honey bees and one queen populate each hive
Honey is packed with vital vitamins, minerals, enzymes, water and anti-oxidants.
Apart from honey, five other products are royal jelly, the special food bees feed their queen
Pollen is their protein source, a super food that is nutritious, rich in amino acids
Beewax is used to construct the combs. Due to its anti-fungal, anti-bacterial elements, it is used in skin treatments
Propolis, a resin-like material produced by bees is used to make hives. It has natural antibiotic qualities so works to sterilize hive, protects from disease, keeps their home free from germs. Also used to treat sores, infection, warts
Bee venom is used by bees to protect themselves. Has anti-inflammatory properties, sometimes used to relieve conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, nerve and muscle pain
Honey, royal jelly, pollen have health enhancing qualities
The other three products are used for therapeutic purposes
Is beekeeping dangerous?
As long as you deal with bees gently, you will be safe, says Mohammed Al Najeh, who has worked with bees since he was a boy.
“The biggest mistake people make is they panic when they see a bee. They are small but smart creatures. If you move your hand quickly to hit the bees, this is an aggressive action and bees will defend themselves. They can sense the adrenalin in our body. But if we are calm, they are move away.”
