Cricket might be set for a bright new dawn in Sharjah this week, when the first tournament is played in the format of 10-overs-per side. Or T10 cricket might just be consigned straight to the file marked: “Well, it seemed a good idea at the time …”
Only time will really tell. The creators of it have ambitions for it to go global, spawning leagues of similar length elsewhere, and for matches to be played between the leading teams at international level.
Those are bolder ambitions than Twenty20 ever had when it was set up as a bid to win back families, as well as new supporters, to English county cricket 14 years ago. And look what has happened there.
The T10 League, taking place at Sharjah Cricket Stadium from December 14 to 17, has solid financial backing. Some of the leading players in the game, including five current international captains, are playing. So what can we expect?
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How many runs will be scored?
Clearly, it is difficult to know what a good score will be in T10. When the first official innings of T20 took place in England in 2003, Hampshire scored 153.
No-one knew whether that was good, bad, or indifferent, but it felt like a lot at the time. Even 14 years on, that would probably pass as a par score in T20 on many grounds, particularly if the pitch is slow, as in Sharjah.
The most rudimentary gauge for predicting a decent 10-over score might be just to halve the standard T20 score. Of course, batsmen will now be looking to minimise the time used up on dot balls and singles even further than they do already in the 20-over game, but presumably the bowlers will have a few tricks stored up, too.
Will the scoring rate per delivery be much greater than in T20? It remains to be seen.
Is Sharjah a high scoring ground?
Traditionally Sharjah is regarded as tough for bowlers, given the rock-hard, bone-dry nature of the central wicket. However, scoring is not that easy, either, with the general characteristics of a low bounce and slow outfield.
The 12 T20 internationals that have been played there to date have seen 3,339 runs scored off 2,783 balls, which is a run-rate of 1.19 per delivery that is bowled. In a 10-over match, that would equate to a total of around 72.
It is a generally consistent tally for T20 matches in Sharjah. In matches played there during the 2016 Pakistan Super League, 2,500 runs were scored off 2,076 balls – so 1.2 per ball. Translating directly to 10 overs, that is also around 72.
Who might be the players to watch?
Well, Mohammed Amir was the first draft pick. Those who did the recruiting at Maratha Arabians believe the Pakistan pace bowler’s thriftiness, as proved in T20 cricket over the past two years in particular, will be crucial.
"I think is that T10 will be all about bowling," Wasim Akram, the Arabians' team mentor, said. "The best team will be the team with the better bowling attack. That is why Amir was the pick, because he bowls a good yorker, and he has got pace."
Dougie Brown, the Arabians’ coach, said: “He is an outstanding death bowler, and you would suggest that in a 10-over competition, two overs per bowler is going to be two overs of death.”
Elsewhere, Imad Wasim is miserly with the ball, and can hit big with the bat. Fakhar Zaman was the first batsman picked, which is a nod to his remarkable emergence over the past two years. Carlos Brathwaite has six appeal. Alex Hales will be wanting to return to form on the cricket field. There is no shortage of stars.
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Is it creating interest?
There has certainly been a buzz about the new format, not least because many of the leading Pakistani players are involved. The organisers are confident Sharjah Stadium will be packed.
The absence of any Indians of note, other than Virender Sehwag, means a sizable chunk of the potential market are barely aware of the format’s existence, though.
And retaining interest on the match days could be a struggle. The idea behind 10-over matches was that they will be completed within 90 minutes, along similar lines to other major international sports like football and rugby.
When the fixtures were released for the opening tournament, though, there were four matches listed per day – meaning seven-and-a-half-hour days.
From the evidence of the past in the PSL – and even at football's ongoing Fifa Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi – double headers can be a tough sell.
Enthusiasm for one match can turn to ambivalence – and then absence – for the other, and thus empty seats. If that is the case for two matches back-to-back, then what about four?
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
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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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
