SHARJAH // Mohammed Hafeez countered what he described as the most pronounced reverse swing he has seen in his career to guide Pakistan to the brink of a series win over England.
The opening batsman enjoyed some good fortune in making 151 as Pakistan set England an unlikely target on 284 to win the Sharjah Test and draw the three-match series.
He was given out on two, before being spared by a television review. He survived two close calls in the opening over of Day 4, bowled by Adil Rashid, when he was three runs short of his century.
First an lbw shout was rebuffed, then, two balls later, Jonny Bairstow missed a stumping. Stuart Broad also missed a return catch when Hafeez was on 113.
Given the amount of turn this pitch has provided since Day 1, England will regard their selection of three spinners to have been the correct decision. The slow bowlers have been found severely wanting, though.
Between them, Rashid, Moeen Ali and Samit Patel took seven for 423 in the match. By contrast, seamers James Anderson and Broad managed 11 for 136.
The success of the pacemen was partly due to unerring accuracy, and partly due to significant movement they produced from the old ball. “I’ve been playing international cricket for the past 13 years, and I haven’t faced that much reverse swing in my career,” Hafeez said.
“To be honest, I am very surprised to see that much reverse swing happening in the game.
“I watched a couple of the games when Wasim (Akram) and Waqar (Younis) used to do these things. Nowadays I think James Anderson and Stuart Broad got that.”
Hafeez said he and his colleagues have profited from a gameplan devised around going after the inexperienced spinners in the touring side.
“Their planning was right, because this track is giving more assistance to the spinner,” he said. “As a batting unit we didn’t allow them to adjust. We attacked them, and they didn’t bowl to the right area on a consistent level. Attacking them worked for us.”
From the evidence of the 18 overs they sent down in England’s reply in the evening session, Pakistan’s spin bowlers can be relied upon to provide a more sustained assault today than England’s did.
Shoaib Malik, the least heralded of the three Pakistan slow bowlers, dismissed Moeen Ali and Ian Bell, to make England’s task even harder.
Maybe the final throes of the Test will be instructive for the away side’s spinners.
“It’s a big learner,” Anderson said. “They’re bowling at batsmen who have grown up playing against spin, and some of their guys are experts at it.
“They’re going to take a lot from it. In international cricket you have to learn fast. If you don’t, you don’t stick around. They’ll have to learn fast if they’re going to improve and help us win next winter [when England tour Bangladesh and India].”
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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.
RESULT
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')
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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.”
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The specs: 2018 Renault Megane
Price, base / as tested Dh52,900 / Dh59,200
Engine 1.6L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission Continuously variable transmission
Power 115hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 156Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.6L / 100km
Bawaal%20
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Explainer: Tanween Design Programme
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
