England opener Jason Roy will have a fitness test before play on Tuesday to see if he can take part in the third and deciding one-day international against India at Headingley.
If Roy misses out, Hampshire captain James Vince could be in line for his first ODI appearance in nearly two years, although Monday saw England call up Kent's Sam Billings as additional batting cover for the series finale in Leeds.
Roy sustained a laceration to the little finger of his right hand while fielding during England's 86-run victory over India at Lord's on Saturday.
"He remains a doubt for tomorrow [Tuesday] and will have a fitness test in the morning at the ground to ascertain whether he’ll be fit to play," a team spokesman said on Monday.
Vince last played a one-day match for England during the tour of Bangladesh in October 2016.
Opener Alex Hales has missed the whole of the series with India with a side strain while Dawid Malan, his replacement, has already been released to take part in the second-string England Lions' four-day match with India A.
Vince lost his Test place at the start of the season in one of the first major decisions by new England selection chief Ed Smith.
But he has been in brilliant domestic white-ball form, scoring more than 500 runs during Hampshire's victorious One-Day Cup campaign.
England may be top of the world ODI rankings but, following last year's Champions Trophy semi-final loss to Pakistan, doubts remain about their ability to win truly high-stakes games.
'Beaten into the dirt'
Now Durham paceman Mark Wood hopes England, who will aim to win a first World Cup title when they stage the 2019 edition, will respond well to the pressure if Tuesday's winner-takes-all contest and lay down a marker head of next year.
"I think this has an impact for the World Cup," Wood said on Monday. "We can use it as a game where it might be [like] a semi-final or a knockout game.
"It's a series decider here, which will be like a World Cup match - it's a must-win," the England paceman added. "Luckily, over the past year we've managed these situations really well. Hopefully we can carry on that trend."
India, second to England in the ODI standings, won the series opener by a decisive eight wickets at Trent Bridge only to be equally well-beaten at Lord's.
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Read more:
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Holding sports stars like Stokes and Shami to higher moral standard asking to be deceived
Stats and form point to India and England as huge favourites for 2019 cricket World Cup
India must use Johannesburg cricket Test win as inspiration ahead of their England tour
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"It's two very good sides - when they're on top, they really are on top, you keep your foot on the throat and don't let opposition up," Wood said.
"Everyone in the England team will hold their hands up and say in the first game we were absolutely drilled, we were beaten into the dirt. We knew we had to improve for the second game.
"I don't know why the margins are so big, maybe it's just two really good teams and when they are on top the quality really comes through," he added. "I'd like to think that this one could still be a big margin for us."
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Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
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.”
