The winners and losers from the Pakistan versus Sri Lanka series were abundantly clear. The home team won a second successive series clean sweep, while the tourists remain mired in woe. But who and what shone the brightest?
Three up
Lahore
Pakistan’s players looked happy enough when they clinched the respective limited-overs series in Abu Dhabi.
The celebrations were nothing, though, compared to the joyous frenzy that followed the final win – achieved at a canter, in a match that counted for little – in Lahore.
The UAE has been a productive home away from home for Pakistan in the past eight years. But clearly, the players’ hearts are elsewhere. Rightly so.
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Shadab Khan
The harshest thing about it was he let Sri Lanka think they were in with a chance! The limited-overs phase of the series was tortuous for the away side.
When their young bucks finally agitated their way into a position to force a win in the second T20 in Abu Dhabi, Shadab snatched it away with the “million dollar shot”.
A straight six with the game on the line? That is just showing off, by one of international cricket’s most luminous young talents.
Sarfraz Ahmed
Since the Champions Trophy was sealed against all odds in the summer, Sarfraz has made 38 runs in 11 limited-overs internationals for Pakistan.
And yet his stock has continued to soar. It says much about how well the side have functioned on his watch that he has not been required to bat in five of those 11 games.
He has a global trophy. Then three straight series wins, two by whitewash. Lauded as a fine ambassador for the sport for reporting an alleged corrupt approach.
Even Misbah-ul-Haq would have been envious of his approval ratings.
Three down
Upul Tharanga
Sri Lanka's 50-over captain was not even there for the 20-over series, as one of a group of senior players overlooked for selection due to an unwillingness to tour Pakistan. Even in absentia, his struggles continued.
The way the youthful replacement cricketers acquitted themselves in the three matches was a credit to Thisara Perera, who was handed the captaincy basically as the last senior player standing.
Such a spirit of resistance had been miserably lacking in the one-day international series, when Tharanga was at the helm.
Mohammed Amir
The left-arm quick recovered lost ground by taking four wickets in the final match, which was, surprisingly, the first international he has played in Pakistan.
However, his form until then had not been good. Just one wicket in three innings in the Test matches, followed by a shin injury.
Added to that, newcomers like Usman Khan Shinwari caused a stir in his injury-enforced absence. Amir is no longer a guaranteed starter.
Dilshan Munaweera
Munaweera is afforded the type of privileges all schoolboy cricketers hope for – namely, the chance to open both the batting and the bowling.
He struggled to capitalise on his opportunities, though. In the three matches against Pakistan, he managed just 20 runs and one wicket.
The final indignity arrived in Lahore, when a fine, fast in-swinger from Mohammed Amir dismissed him for a duck.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
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Ticket prices
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Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
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More from Neighbourhood Watch
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Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
