When CP Rizwan reached a century for the first time in his international cricket career on Friday afternoon, his respective cheer squads in Sharjah and Kerala responded in contrasting fashion.
In Tellicherry, it meant his mother, Nazreen Rauf, was able to breathe again, after she had been asphyxiated with nerves as he battled through the 90s.
Meanwhile, in Sharjah, his wife Fathima thought to herself: that’s the first job done – now go and win the match for your team.
As it turned out, he fell before the mission was fully complete. But his innings of 109, and contribution to a seminal alliance worth 184 with Mohammed Usman, had done the trick.
Usman made a century, too, and hit the winning runs as the UAE sealed a six-wicket win over Ireland in the first one-day international in Abu Dhabi.
The partnership was the highest ever in the UAE’s ODI history, and the win just their second against a Test nation in the format.
Rizwan termed it the proudest moment of his career in cricket to date, and he immediately phoned his nearest and dearest to celebrate.
“First I called my wife – she was very happy – then my mother,” Rizwan, 32, said.
“They are the main two people in my life. My mother is in Kerala. She was watching the match live on the telecast.
“She could not watch when I got into the 90s. She was asking my cousins to update her as she was very nervous.
“When I got to 100, she was very happy. She already started getting messages from all our relatives.”
It was the first competitive action for the UAE in nearly 11 months because of the pandemic.
Rizwan’s day job is as an electrical engineer for a construction company, and he had to go to his office even during lockdown.
When time permitted back then, he honed his cricket skills in the front room of his apartment in Sharjah, with his wife giving him throw-downs.
Fathima had not been a fan of cricket till she met her husband. Now she is a canny student of the game.
“She watched till I got to 50, then by God’s grace I got to 100, and she said I should have finished the match,” Rizwan said.
Dual blow
“I said, ‘We won, it’s fine!’ It was a good catch that got me out.
"I got out with around 25 needed, but we knew we had the power at the back end to finish it off, and that’s exactly what happened.”
The victory said much about UAE’s character. Paul Stirling had scored a fine hundred as Ireland posted 269 for five from their 50 overs for a side who had beaten world champions England the last time they had played.
The UAE were then struggling at 51 for three, before the Rizwan-Usman resistance.
Even before that, the national team had been hit by a dual blow. It was announced on the morning of the game that Chirag Suri and Aryan Lakra had tested positive for Covid 19.
Neither is displaying symptoms, but it meant Lakra was deprived a shot at a debut, while the team were denied the services of their vice-captain, Suri.
“We were sad about the news, and we really missed him, given the calibre which he has,” Rizwan said of the loss of opener Suri.
“But we can’t do much it. We were shocked to hear the news, but we gelled together.
"We said, whatever is gone is gone, now we need to play. That is what we did, and luckily everything went our way.”
The win was a pick-me-up for Ahmed Raza, the UAE captain, who was playing his first match since returning from his father’s funeral in Pakistan.
“I asked the boys to do it for me,” Raza said. “I lost my father recently. This is the first international game since that.
“This is for him, and I’m sure he was blessing me from the heavens.”
The sides will play the second of their four ODIs at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Sunday, with Andy Balbirnie, the Ireland captain, confident his side can bounce back.
“We can certainly learn from that,” Balbirnie said of the opening day loss.
“We haven’t played cricket in a long time, but the games are coming thick and fast.
"We have had a better look at their batsmen, and we have to sit down and come up with some different plans.
“It is a big challenge for us to turn this around, 1-0 down with three to go. As long as we are getting better with every game, I can’t really ask for much more.”
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JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO
Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday
Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
Circuit Length: 5.807km
Number of Laps: 53
Watch live: beIN Sports HD
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
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Engine: 3.7-litre V6
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Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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MATCH INFO
Rajasthan Royals 158-8 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 143/7 (20 ovs)
Rajasthan Royals won by 15 runs
LAST-16 EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES
Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)
FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm
Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm
Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm
Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm
Thursday
Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm
Sevilla v Roma (one leg only) 8.55pm
FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm
Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
The chef's advice
Troy Payne, head chef at Abu Dhabi’s newest healthy eatery Sanderson’s in Al Seef Resort & Spa, says singles need to change their mindset about how they approach the supermarket.
“They feel like they can’t buy one cucumber,” he says. “But I can walk into a shop – I feed two people at home – and I’ll walk into a shop and I buy one cucumber, I’ll buy one onion.”
Mr Payne asks for the sticker to be placed directly on each item, rather than face the temptation of filling one of the two-kilogram capacity plastic bags on offer.
The chef also advises singletons not get too hung up on “organic”, particularly high-priced varieties that have been flown in from far-flung locales. Local produce is often grown sustainably, and far cheaper, he says.
Who are the Soroptimists?
The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.
The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.
Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
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Employees: 76
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
