A general view of Newlands Cricket Ground after the postponement of the first ODI between South Africa and England. Getty Images
A general view of Newlands Cricket Ground after the postponement of the first ODI between South Africa and England. Getty Images
A general view of Newlands Cricket Ground after the postponement of the first ODI between South Africa and England. Getty Images
A general view of Newlands Cricket Ground after the postponement of the first ODI between South Africa and England. Getty Images

Cricket

South Africa v England ODI series to go ahead after full set of negative coronavirus results

Series had been in jeopardy after an unnamed Proteas player tested positive from within the bio-secure bubble

The National

December 05, 2020

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The One-Day International series between South Africa and England will start in Paarl on Sunday after a full set of negative results was returned by the host's squad in their latest round of coronavirus testing, officials have confirmed.

The series was initially scheduled to begin on Friday, but the first match at Newlands was postponed an hour before its start after a South Africa player tested positive in the team's bio-secure hotel environment.

There had been suggestions that the entire series would be called off if more positive tests were reported from the latest round of mandatory testing.

England expressed concern over the strength of the bio-secure environment after the positive result, while a South Africa team investigation has not yet shown how the unnamed player caught the virus.

"The entire Proteas team has returned negative results from the Covid-19 tests that were conducted yesterday evening in Cape Town ahead of the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series," Cricket South Africa (CSA) confirmed in a statement on Saturday.

The latest positive test was the third for South Africa either before or during the six-match white-ball tour by England that is supplying much-needed revenue for the embattled CSA.

Team doctor Shuaib Manjra admitted they were at a loss to explain how the player contracted the virus in the bio-secure hotel that is shared by South Africa and England.

"We have spoken to the player, looked at security cameras and other information, and we have not been able to date to identify where that source was. But clearly it is cause for concern,” Manjra said in a statement on Friday.

He denied any player had left the team hotel without authorisation.

"I can categorically state that no player is able to leave the hotel environment. The security will not allow the player to leave, unless he is doing so in an assigned, official vehicle."

After Sunday’s opening match in Paarl, there will be further games at Newlands in Cape Town on Monday and Wednesday. The ODI series comes after the tourists swept the Twenty20 series 3-0 which means England now top the ICC rankings for both limited-overs formats.

Dubai World Cup factbox

Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)

Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)

Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)

Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)

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.”

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