Ben Stokes admitted England failed to measure up as they crashed to a series defeat against Pakistan but suggested there would be no scapegoats for the rout in Rawalpindi.
The tourists were railroaded for 112 in the second innings of the decisive third Test, with their lowest total since Stokes took charge two and a half years ago, leaving their opponents chasing just 36.
It took Pakistan only 19 deliveries to put England out of their misery as home skipper Shan Masood blitzed Shoaib Bashir for six to seal the deal before lunch on day three.
It was all a far cry from the opening Test at the start of the month, an innings victory that saw England declare with a merciless score of 823 for seven on a flat track in Multan.
In the next two matches, both played on extreme turning pitches, they scored 814 across four innings for the loss of all 40 wickets.
Sajid Khan and Noman Ali, Pakistan’s spin bowling brothers in arms, accounted for 39 of those as familiar failings and a series of wild dismissals came back to haunt Stokes’ side.
“Losing games for England hurts,” he said. “We’ve obviously underperformed because we’ve lost the last two games. We got thrown challenges and weren’t able to stand up to those challenges for long enough to get the results we wanted.
“It doesn’t always work out the way in which you want. With the ability our batters had, we felt we were still in with a very good chance of winning this game but credit to Noman and Sajid for the way they bowled. We’ve got to hold our hands up and say those two were too good for our batting line-up.”
The make-up of that batting order is back under scrutiny after three defeats in the last four games, including a shock reverse at the hands of Sri Lanka at the Oval.
Ollie Pope is attracting most attention at number three, having managed a threadbare 55 runs in five innings on tour.
He increasingly resembles an all-or-nothing player, with three fine centuries and 11 single-figure scores in an up-and-down 2024 that sees him average a modest 32.
Stokes, though, appeared steadfast in supporting his vice-captain.
“You can’t shut the door on everything, then you are being single-minded to what you want to do, but there is no doubt in my mind that we have the best top-six batsmen in England,” he said.
“Everyone goes through highs and lows. I’ve played a lot of cricket and I know that
“When you take very small games or series and use that to assess what you’re doing going forward, it’s a bit of a cut-throat way to go about it.
“We’ve got some batsmen who’ve come off a really good summer, got some hundreds and some good scores that allowed us to be successful throughout our English summer.
“We’ve celebrated a lot of Popey’s individual brilliance over last couple of years.”
England are likely to make good on those supportive words in the coming days, when they announce their squad for next month’s Test tour of New Zealand.
Pope is virtually certain to take his place, but is in need of a strong end to his rollercoaster year.
Stokes’ opposite number Masood was a contented man, having overseen his country’s first series win at home since early 2021.
“When we played in Multan, we were told that it’s not sustainable, that we can’t take this forward,” he said.
“I thought the gloss was taken off a bit from our (second Test) win by people saying that the toss was very important. So I’m very satisfied we lost this toss and won the match.”
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
The specs: Hyundai Ionic Hybrid
Price, base: Dh117,000 (estimate)
Engine: 1.6L four-cylinder, with 1.56kWh battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 105hp (engine), plus 43.5hp (battery)
Torque: 147Nm (engine), plus 170Nm (battery)
Fuel economy, combined: 3.4L / 100km
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
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.”
