DUBAI // The Desert Twenty20 may be a brand new tournament – and it is the start of a new year – but old habits continue to plague the national team.
The sort of batting meltdown that has become all too common for the UAE over the past 18 months struck again, as they fell to a 24-run loss to Ireland at the Dubai International Stadium.
It was a second defeat in three days, meaning the home side exited the first edition of this new competition at the pool stage.
After Ireland posted 160 for six from their 20 overs, on the back of customary powerful hitting from Kevin O’Brien and Paul Stirling, the hosts succumbed with barely a whimper.
Rohan Mustafa fell to the first ball of the reply to Boyd Rankin. By the time 3.4 overs had been sent down, UAE were five wickets down.
Even by the meagre recent standards, this was bad.
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Read more
■ Amjad Javed: UAE have beaten Ireland before, we can do it again
■ Afghanistan: Thousands of their fans celebrate thrilling win over UAE
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The Emirates Cricket Board says it is almost ready to announce the identity of their new coach, nearly eight months after Aaqib Javed gave up the role to return to Pakistan.
The appointment cannot come soon enough, as results continue to spiral downwards.
Owais Shah, the former England batsman, has been holding the fort of late in an interim capacity.
Despite having scored over 32,000 runs in his professional career, even he has been powerless to stop the batting malaise.
“Unfortunately no one put their hand up out of the top six, to say, ‘Right, it’s my day, I’m going to take the team home’,” Shah said.
“One of the guys normally picks the bat up and you bat around that guy. It didn’t happen for us today.”
More alarmingly for the national team, it was not just the batting that misfired.
The fielding was abject, as the team visibly appeared to lose faith in their own abilities to stop or catch the ball after the first early fumble.
Shah said the team “weren’t at the races”, while Amjad Javed, the captain thought the players lacked belief they could beat a side regarded as one of the best among Associate nations.
“The self belief for winning the match was missing from the players,” Amjad said.
“When you don’t believe or back yourself to chase a total like this, I think that is why we lost early wickets, which cost us the game.”
For Ireland, the comprehensive victory – which looked a lot closer after Amjad hit three sixes off the final over with the game already lost – was another sign they are finding their feet again.
The Irish are top of the Intercontinental Cup, the four-day league for Associate nations, at present, but have struggled in the shortest format of late.
The win over UAE secured their passage to tomorrow’s play-offs, and they will be eyeing a place in the final, possibly against their regular rivals Afghanistan.
“Over the past couple of days I have felt like we have been on that little upwards curve you need in a competition,” Will Porterfield, Ireland’s captain, said.
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
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But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
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The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
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UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
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*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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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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Sabri Razouk, 74
Athlete and fitness trainer
Married, father of six
Favourite exercise: Bench press
Must-eat weekly meal: Steak with beans, carrots, broccoli, crust and corn
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The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
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Occupation: Co-founder of Dots and Links
Nationality: Jordanian
Family: Married, Mother of Yahya, 3.5
Favourite Quote: A Chinese proverb that says: “Be not afraid of moving slowly, be afraid only of standing still.”
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Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
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How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
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Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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Manchester City 3 (Silva 8' &15, Foden 33')
Birmginahm City 0
Man of the match Bernado Silva (Manchester City)