England left Dubai for Bangladesh today having gleaned plenty of positives from their drawn Twenty20 series against Pakistan - but the biggest impact may have been made by a man who took no part in either match.
Paul Collingwood, England's captain in the shortest form of the game, will hand the leadership to Alastair Cook when the team touch down in Dhaka, having presided over an entertaining 1-1 draw against the world champions.
But before passing the baton to Cook, Collingwood had time for an assessment of the squad's progress.
Graeme Swann, whose measured bowling earned him the man of the series award, is sure to have impressed, as did big-hitting duo Eoin Morgan and Kevin Pietersen.
But it was the emergence of South Africa-born Craig Kieswetter which has drawn much of the attention over the last fortnight.
The wicketkeeper-batsman's fine form on the Lions tour of the UAE, including a knock of 81 against the senior side in a warm-up match, earned him a last-minute call-up to the one-day side, a move which earned Collingwood's blessing.
The captain said: "The way he played against us, and the way he played for the Lions against Pakistan A has opened everyone's eyes and he deserves inclusion into the senior squads.
"He's an exciting player and he hits the ball extremely hard, which is great for one-day and Twenty20 cricket. He deserves his chance."
Despite the fact he has been keeping wicket for the Lions, and also does so for Somerset, Kieswetter's emergence does not appear to directly challenge Matt Prior's place in England's limited-overs set-up.
Prior is Andy Flower's first choice gloveman in all three formats and Collingwood was fulsome in his praise of the Sussex man earlier this week.
Instead, it is Kieswetter's fearless ball striking at the top of the order that the England selectors covet after their opening partnership misfired on both occasions against Pakistan.
* PA Sport
Ways to control drones
Countries have been coming up with ways to restrict and monitor the use of non-commercial drones to keep them from trespassing on controlled areas such as airports.
"Drones vary in size and some can be as big as a small city car - so imagine the impact of one hitting an airplane. It's a huge risk, especially when commercial airliners are not designed to make or take sudden evasive manoeuvres like drones can" says Saj Ahmed, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research.
New measures have now been taken to monitor drone activity, Geo-fencing technology is one.
It's a method designed to prevent drones from drifting into banned areas. The technology uses GPS location signals to stop its machines flying close to airports and other restricted zones.
The European commission has recently announced a blueprint to make drone use in low-level airspace safe, secure and environmentally friendly. This process is called “U-Space” – it covers altitudes of up to 150 metres. It is also noteworthy that that UK Civil Aviation Authority recommends drones to be flown at no higher than 400ft. “U-Space” technology will be governed by a system similar to air traffic control management, which will be automated using tools like geo-fencing.
The UAE has drawn serious measures to ensure users register their devices under strict new laws. Authorities have urged that users must obtain approval in advance before flying the drones, non registered drone use in Dubai will result in a fine of up to twenty thousand dirhams under a new resolution approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Mr Ahmad suggest that "Hefty fines running into hundreds of thousands of dollars need to compensate for the cost of airport disruption and flight diversions to lengthy jail spells, confiscation of travel rights and use of drones for a lengthy period" must be enforced in order to reduce airport intrusion.
Notable cricketers and political careers
- India: Kirti Azad, Navjot Sidhu and Gautam Gambhir (rumoured)
- Pakistan: Imran Khan and Shahid Afridi (rumoured)
- Sri Lanka: Arjuna Ranatunga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan (rumoured)
- Bangladesh (Mashrafe Mortaza)