DUBAI // Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan cricket captain, last night drew a line under his dispute with teammate Mohammed Yousuf as his side settled in the Emirates ahead of a two-match Twenty20 series against England here.
Yousuf, the captain on the tour of Australia, and Malik have blamed each other for the team's poor performance on their recent tour to Australia, where they lost all their games.
They traded allegations again on Saturday in front of a six-member inquiry committee set up by the Pakistan Cricket Board to look into the team's failure on the tour.
Yousuf had reportedly called Malik a disruptive influence, but the stand-in Pakistan captain said he was looking to the future and not the past.
"We appeared before the six-member probe committee [on Saturday] and I told them what I had to," said Malik, who is leading the team as Shahid Afridi, the regular Twenty20 captain, is serving a two-match suspension for ball tampering.
"When you lose, these things of course come up. But that's history now. I just want to concentrate on my cricket.
"We had quite a few meetings and we talked about everything that happened in Australia. You always learn from your mistakes."
Malik said Pakistan cricket will come out stronger from the turmoil. "Whatever is happening is for the betterment of Pakistan cricket and I am sure it will help the team," he said.
"Anyway, the Australian tour and everything that followed is history now, and we are looking forward to these two matches.
"We did not play well in Australia, but we have worked hard for these two matches and we will be looking to utilise these opportunities before the World Twenty20."
Pakistan take on England at Dubai Sports City on Friday and Saturday.
arizvi@thenational.ae
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
The five pillars of Islam
More from Neighbourhood Watch
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.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
