West Indies and Pakistan get a three-Test series underway on Friday at Sabina Park in Jamaica with both teams struggling in the midst of challenging transition periods.
Despite victories in both the T20 and One-Day International series earlier in the tour, the tourists have shaped up as a far more vulnerable outfit in the traditional format of the game.
The home side, who remain mired in the lower reaches of the international rankings, look set to make further alterations to their line-up in the quest for a consistent winning formula.
Pakistan topped the Test rankings last September following their drawn series in England.
But a slump of six consecutive defeats, ironically initiated by the West Indies in Sharjah five-and-a-half months ago at the end of an otherwise disastrous campaign for the Caribbean team, has seen them slip to fifth and increased public pressure on Misbah-ul-Haq to step down as captain.
After much speculation Misbah has announced that this series will be his last before retiring from the international game.
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■ Comment: Misbah rescued Pakistan cricket from its lowest point
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And only last week fellow veteran Younis Khan, Pakistan's most prolific run-scorer in Test history, also revealed that the West Indies tour will be his last in national colours.
Khan goes into the match needing just 23 more runs to become the first Pakistani to amass 10,000 runs in Tests, and while the milestone will be of immense personal significance, of even greater concern to the visiting team is completing their first-ever Test series triumph in the West Indies by the time the final Test concludes in Dominica in mid-May.
Sabina Park’s 50th Test since the first was staged in 1930 against England is likely to be an intriguing affair given Pakistan’s less than flattering display in their lone warm-up match ahead of the series where they were outplayed in a drawn three-day fixture by a West Indies Board President’s XI in the western Jamaican town of Trelawny.
Three of the representative team who starred with the bat against the tourists — Kieran Powell and the uncapped pair of Vishaul Singh and Shimron Hetmyer — were named in the West Indies squad of 13 for the opening Test although it is anticipated that Hetmyer, captain of the victorious team at last year’s Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, and fast-medium bowler Miguel Cummins will be omitted from the final eleven.
Kraigg Brathwaite, the mainstay at the top of the batting order over the past three years, goes into the match still basking in the glow of his historic effort in the Sharjah Test victory when his unbeaten innings of 142 and 60 guided the West Indies to their first Test win over Pakistan away from home in 26 years.
Notwithstanding his outstanding entry to senior international cricket during the limited-over leg of the tour, Pakistan’s Shadab Khan may not make his Test debut alongside established wrist-spinner Yasir Shah unless the pitch looks extremely dry before the toss on Friday morning.
Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Aamir are set to spearhead their attack but with Hasan Ali nursing an injury sustained in the warm-up match, there is speculation that 27-year-old fast bowler Mohammad Abbas will earn his first Test cap in support of the senior men.
Teams (probable)
• West Indies: Jason Holder (capt), Kraigg Brathwaite, Kieran Powell, Shai Hope, Vishaul Singh, Jermaine Blackwood, Shane Dowrich, Roston Chase, Devendra Bishoo, Alzarri Joseph, Shannon Gabriel.
• Pakistan: Misbah ul Haq (capt), Azhar Ali, Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Aamir, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas.
* Agence France-Presse
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The specs
Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder
Power: 70bhp
Torque: 66Nm
Transmission: four-speed manual
Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000
On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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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Company%20Profile
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The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe
Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 204hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 300Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
