Below, a guide to the Masters Champions League, which begins on Thursday in Dubai when the Libra Legends of Jacques Kallis and Graeme Swann play the Gemini Arabians of Kumar Sangakkara and Virender Sehwag.
What
The Masters Champions League is a Twenty20 league that will feature retired (from international cricket, at least) greats in a six-team competition spread out across roughly two weeks in the UAE. (Of course, the actual definition of "retirement", and therefore eligibility, has been something of an issue.) The brainchild of Zafar Shah, the idea is that it takes on the profile of being something like an IPL for past greats.
When
The first match is on Thursday in Dubai, where three days of matches will be played before the tournament moves to Sharjah from February 3-7, and then returning to Dubai for the play-offs February 11-13. To make things easier, here’s a full schedule:
January 28, 7.30pm, Dubai – Libra Legends v Gemini Arabians
January 29, 3pm, Dubai – Capricorn Commanders v Leo Lions; 7.30pm – Virgo Super Kings v Sagittarius Strikers
January 30, 3pm, Dubai – Arabians v Lions; 7.30pm – Strikers v Commanders
February 3, 3pm, Sharjah – Legends v Super Kings; 7.30pm – Arabians v Commanders
February 4, 3pm, Sharjah – Legends v Strikers; Lions v Super Kings
February 5, 3pm, Sharjah – Strikers v Arabians; 7.30pm – Legends v Commanders
February 6, 3pm, Sharjah – Arabians v Super Kings; 7.30pm – Lions v Strikers
February 7, 3pm, Sharjah – Super Kings v Commanders; 7.30pm – Legends v Lions
Semi-final 1 – February 11, 7.30pm, Dubai
Semi-final 2 – February 12, 7.30pm, Dubai
Final – February 13, 7.30pm, Dubai
Read more: Masters Champions League – The National's preview coverage and reporting
Who
Anybody who’s anybody, or at least close to it. Each team has three icon players, as follows:
Gemini Arabians – Virender Sehwag, Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan
Sagittarius Soldiers – Mahela Jayawardene, Daniel Vettori, Adam Gilchrist
Capricorn Commanders – Michael Vaughan, Abdul Razzaq, Paul Collingwood
Libra Legends – Sourav Ganguly, Graeme Swann, Jacques Kallis
Virgo Super Kings – Graeme Smith, Azhar Mahmood, Brett Lee
Leo Lions –Brian Lara, Scott Styris, Heath Streak
Photo gallery: Jacques Kallis, Owais Shah, Brendan Taylor and more – Masters Champions League players to watch
That’s without even acknowledging the likes of Robin Peterson, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Jonathan Trott dotting rosters. Point being: There are big names involved.
Where
Dubai and Sharjah. The league is wholly contained within the UAE, though there is no Abu Dhabi leg.
Dubai International Cricket Stadium lies off Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road in Dubia, part of the Dubai Sports City complex; Sharjah Cricket Stadium sits along side S117, off King Abdul Aziz Street / Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Road, next to Sharjah Football Stadium.
What else?
Tickets are available at ticketmaster.ae. Full squads are available at the MCL website as well.
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Rating: 4.5/5
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- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
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- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
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- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
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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COMPANY PROFILE
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Schedule:
Pakistan v Sri Lanka:
28 Sep-2 Oct, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
6-10 Oct, 2nd Test (day-night), Dubai
13 Oct, 1st ODI, Dubai
16 Oct, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
18 Oct, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
20 Oct, 4th ODI, Sharjah
23 Oct, 5th ODI, Sharjah
26 Oct, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
27 Oct, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
29 Oct, 3rd T20I, Lahore
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THE SPECS
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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