Monty Panesar gives England selectors food for thought

DUBAI // With screaming engines from practice for the Dubai 24 hour race at the neighbouring Autodrome providing the background noise, England were given evidence that cricket in the UAE is suited to life in the slow-lane yesterday.

If the wail from the endurance cars was not enough to induce a headache for the touring side, then the decision they face over the make-up of their team for the first Test next week might.

Monty Panesar seems a timid soul, but he presented his case for inclusion in the XI in the most forceful terms he could muster, by taking five wickets against the Pakistan Cricket Board side.

His success provides a conundrum for the selectors. England's formula for reaching the summit of Test cricket has been based on three seam-bowlers, plus Graeme Swann as the lone spinner. If they decide Swann will need additional slow-bowling assistance to bowl Pakistan out at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, then Panesar has now proved he is ready.

The left-arm spinner, who is well-versed in UAE conditions having toured here with Sussex before the past two county seasons, has not played Test cricket for two years.

His last cricket of any note was in a grade match beside Coogee Beach in Sydney before Christmas, and he was pleased to get his chance to show his worth in full view of the decision makers.

"I've worked very hard on my game and I am still hungry to play Test cricket," Panesar said. "If and when that opportunity presents itself, I want to be ready for it. If the option is there for [England] to play two spinners, then they know that I'm ready.

"I'm ready to play and there will be no doubts in their minds about selecting me, because I have bowled lots of overs."

With this match being played on the same strip as the first warm-up match at the Global Cricket Academy, this was essentially a fourth day wicket, and Panesar found the wear to his liking. He took five for 57 as the PCB XI declared on 200 for nine.

"I have missed playing for England," he said. "It was nice being able to reconnect with the boys here.

"We have very skilful bowlers in terms of our seamers as well, they have learnt how to bowl reverse swing and bowl in these conditions.

"We have a healthy squad balance where many permutations can happen, which will help us be successful out here."

England will start this morning with a lead of 151, with Jonathan Trott enjoying his best return from four trips to the wicket so far on tour, as he is not out on 39 from a total of 82 without loss.

pradley@thenational.ae

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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Monty Panesar gives England selectors food for thought

The spinner presented his case for inclusion in the Test XI in the most forceful terms by taking five wickets against the Pakistan Cricket Board side.

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