As great sides grow old together, there comes a point when the future becomes a worry.
How to manage the transition from old guard to new? Will what follows ever be able to match what has gone before? Have Generation Next got the goods?
Whether the Pakistan side of Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan could be considered truly great is open to debate. Definitely very good, at the least. Reaching No 1 in the Test standings in 2016 confirmed that much.
In short time, though, Pakistan have drifted out to seventh, with just Bangladesh, West Indies and Zimbabwe below them in the official standings.
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They had lost nine of 11 Test matches before arriving in the UK this summer. And, fair to say, they were already on the turn in the final throes of the Mis-You era, anyway.
Clearly, it was the batting order that most obviously needed replenishing when those two titans made their exit this time last year.
And yet, judged on the first day of the Test series in England, it seems as though a new battery of pace bowlers is the foundation on which Pakistan’s Test future can be built.
Between them, Mohammed Abbas, Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf took as many wickets in England’s first innings – nine – as they had played Test matches before arriving at Lord’s.
Abbas, 28, was the old campaigner among them, having played a princely sum of six matches before the first of this series.
He bowled like a seasoned veteran on his first outing at the Home of Cricket, immediately finding the exact zone on a helpful pitch to cause most trouble.
This was relatively predictable, for those who have seen him be a threat on the featherbeds of Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the past. Abbas’ method is infinitely better suited to lush Lord’s than the docile tracks of the UAE desert. He proved it at the first opportunity, by taking a four for 23 in 14 masterly overs.
Abbas had first forced his way into Pakistan’s Test reckoning just under a year ago through sheer weight of wickets in the relative anonymity of first-class cricket back at home.
By contrast, the other leading lights of Day 1 for Pakistan cut their teeth in limited-overs cricket first of all. Hasan, 24, and Faheem, 24, are stars of the white-ball game.
Hasan’s “explosion” wicket celebrations, for example, neatly fit with the tempo of Pakistan Super League’s Twenty20 matches, or in the green of Pakistan in the Champions Trophy, say.
They felt a little out of kilter with the genteel ambience of a Lord’s Test, but he was still able to employ them four times on his best day yet as a Test cricketer.
Faheem’s part might have been more cameo than headline. Yet his delivery to dismiss Jonny Bairstow, who had been threatening to rebuild the England innings, was arguably the best of a very good bunch of dismissals from Pakistan’s viewpoint.
It arced in, as is Faheem’s habit, then held its line up the Lord’s slope and took the top of Bairstow’s off-stump.
“Unbelievable performance by this young Pakistan side,” Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan pace great, said on commentary. And he did not seem to be using “unbelievable” as a superlative. Literally, difficult to believe, more like.
Pakistan’s young guns had entered England’s batting nightmare just as the home team might have been hoping to awaken from their miserable winter slumber.
Rolled for 184 on a return to what they must have hoped is a home fortress will be a worry to say the very least for an England who did not win a Test in series in Australia and New Zealand in the winter.
Of course, Pakistan’s batting line up can be brittle, too, and England’s main strength on paper appears to be their own pace attack.
Stuart Broad picked up Imam-ul-Haq cheaply, but Azhar Ali and Haris Sohail marshalled the tourists through to 50-1 by stumps.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
Book%20Details
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
The specs: 2019 Mini Cooper
Price, base: Dh141,740 (three-door) / Dh165,900 (five-door)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder (Cooper) / 2.0-litre four-cylinder (Cooper S)
Power: 136hp @ 4,500rpm (Cooper) / 192hp @ 5,000rpm (Cooper S)
Torque: 220Nm @ 1,480rpm (Cooper) / 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (Cooper S)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 4.8L to 5.4L / 100km
Biography
Favourite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Holiday choice: Anything Disney-related
Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.
Family: Wife and three children.
Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.
Full Party in the Park line-up
2pm – Andreah
3pm – Supernovas
4.30pm – The Boxtones
5.30pm – Lighthouse Family
7pm – Step On DJs
8pm – Richard Ashcroft
9.30pm – Chris Wright
10pm – Fatboy Slim
11pm – Hollaphonic
Uefa Nations League
League A:
Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, France, England, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Iceland, Croatia, Netherlands
League B:
Austria, Wales, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Turkey
League C:
Hungary, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia, Greece, Serbia, Albania, Norway, Montenegro, Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania
League D:
Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Malta, Andorra, Kosovo, San Marino, Gibraltar
Results
5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,600m, Winner: Panadol, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
6.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m, Winner: Mayehaab, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
6.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh85,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Monoski, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
7.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Eastern World, Royston Ffrench, Charlie Appleby
7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Madkal, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
8.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Taneen, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
Company Profile
Company name: NutriCal
Started: 2019
Founder: Soniya Ashar
Based: Dubai
Industry: Food Technology
Initial investment: Self-funded undisclosed amount
Future plan: Looking to raise fresh capital and expand in Saudi Arabia
Total Clients: Over 50
UAE rugby season
FIXTURES
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers v Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Division 1
Dubai Sharks v Dubai Hurricanes II
Al Ain Amblers v Dubai Knights Eagles II
Dubai Tigers II v Abu Dhabi Saracens
Jebel Ali Dragons II v Abu Dhabi Harlequins II
Sharjah Wanderers v Dubai Exiles II
LAST SEASON
West Asia Premiership
Winners – Bahrain
Runners-up – Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership
Winners – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners-up – Jebel Ali Dragons
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners – Dubai Hurricanes
Runners-up – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Conference
Winners – Dubai Tigers
Runners-up – Al Ain Amblers
THE CARD
2pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
2.30pm: Handicap Dh 76,000 (D) 1,400m
3pm: Handicap Dh 64,000 (D) 1,200m
3.30pm: Shadwell Farm Conditions Dh 100,000 (D) 1,000m
4pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (D) 1,000m
4.30pm: Handicap 64,000 (D) 1,950m
'Dark Waters'
Directed by: Todd Haynes
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, William Jackson Harper
Rating: ****
Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
MATCH INFO:
Second Test
Pakistan v Australia, Tuesday-Saturday, 10am daily at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Entrance is free
Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
Caroline Sullivan
Carlton Books