'Nothing untoward' during Sydney Test believes Hussey



Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey, the Australia cricketers, said they did not suspect anything untoward in the Test match against Pakistan in January, despite allegations that the match may have been fixed. In the same report that exposed the "spot-fixing" scandal in the England-Pakistan Test series, Mazhar Majeed, the agent, also boasted of his involvement in the Sydney Test result, reportedly saying Australia's remarkable win netted one betting syndicate £830,000 (Dh4.74 million).

The wildly fluctuating nature of that match raised suspicions of match fixing, especially when four dropped catches by Kamran Akmal, the Pakistan wicketkeeper, allowed Australia to set the tourists 176 for victory, a total which they never looked like making after some ill-disciplined batting. But Hussey, who made what proved a match-winning 134, said despite the multiple chances dropped by Kamran, he did not sense that any of the Pakistan players had ulterior motives.

"It all happens in a split second, the catches off me in particular were all up to the stumps," Hussey said. "With those sort of catches, they either go in or they don't, I don't think you can try and drop those. I didn't think that there was anything untoward going on. They were certainly going very hard to get the wickets out there, they were going hard at me and they were certainly going very hard at Peter Siddle as well."

Ponting, speaking on a Melbourne radio station, agreed that Australia felt they had won the match fairly. "Certainly not through the middle of that game was there any thought at all. I guess we would just like to think that we totally outplayed them for the last three or four days of that Test match," he said. The Australia captain said he had been left stunned by the fall out of the News of the World story.

"I am absolutely shocked at some of the things that I saw on the TV the last couple of days," Ponting said. "I'm just blown away at some of these allegations." With one of cricket's greatest comebacks now shrouded in controversy, Hussey said he felt the memories of that Test have been sullied. "If the allegations are proved correct then it will take the gloss off," he said. "But at this stage they're just allegations from one newspaper and so I think we've just got to be careful not to start making our own conclusions about things that are just alleged at this stage.

"[But] if the allegations are proved correct, then yeah it's definitely disappointing and very sad for the game of cricket." * Press Association

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
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Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
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if you go

The flights

Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.

The hotel

Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.

The tour

Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg

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The biog

Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists. 

Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.

Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic 

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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

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Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

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1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

THE BIO

BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.

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'Outclassed in Kuwait'
Taleb Alrefai, 
HBKU Press 

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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode

Directors: Raj & DK

Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

Rating: 4/5


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