Sport

Finn in line to replace Onions

Graham Onions, the England bowler, has been ruled out of the first Test match against Bangladesh with a back injury.

Graham Caygill

March 11, 2010

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Graham Onions, the England bowler, has been ruled out of the first Test match against Bangladesh with a back injury. The Durham paceman picked up the problem during net practice after joining up with the one-day international squad. Fellow bowler Stuart Broad also has a back injury and was due to have a fitness test last night as he looks to prove his fitness for the match which starts tomorrow in Chittagong.

James Tredwell seems certain to come in after taking eight wickets against Bangladesh A in a warm-up match and, if Broad is also ruled out, there could be a whirlwind Test bow for Steve Finn. The 6ft 7in 20-year-old only arrived in the country on Saturday, but caught the eye against Bangladesh A and may have leapfrogged Liam Plunkett and Ajmal Shahzad in the pecking order. Andy Flower, the England coach, said: "I wouldn't rule Finn out. He's been added to the party and he's a contender for selection. "He's bowled with pace on a slow pitch and bowled with accuracy; he's quite a good prospect."

Tredwell, meanwhile, has also done a fine job of proving his credentials to Flower. "He's got a bit of confidence now and, if we decided to play two spinners in the Test, he's feeling good about himself," added Flower. Meanwhile, Mark Greatbatch, the New Zealand coach, says his side are fully focused on trying to level their one-day series with Australia when they play the fourth game in Auckland today. Australia lead 2-1 and the Black Caps have to win today to avoid Sunday's game in Wellington being a dead rubber.

"They're 2-1 up, we've got two to win," Greatbatch said. "We're not thinking about Wellington, we're thinking about Auckland. We just need to go longer and better over the next 100 overs." The hosts are likely to be without James Franklin (hamstring) and Daryl Tuffey (calf) for the match. Australia, despite losing vice-captain Michael Clarke after he returned home for personal reasons, have won the last two games and captain Ricky Ponting is hoping his men can continue that form.

"The momentum, if there's any to be taken out of this game, is with us. If we start the game strongly hopefully the momentum continues for us there." he said. @Email:gcaygill@thenational.ae

Series result

1st ODI Zimbabwe won by 6 wickets

2nd ODI Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets

3rd ODI Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets

4th ODI Zimbabwe won by 4 wickets

5th ODI Zimbabwe won by 3 wickets

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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.”

The specs: 2018 Jaguar F-Type Convertible

Price, base / as tested: Dh283,080 / Dh318,465

Engine: 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 295hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 400Nm @ 1,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 7.2L / 100km

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