The match between a Miandad XI and a Gavaskar XI in Sharjah is rightly considered the moment international cricket in the UAE began.
But it was not the first time two strong international-level sides had played each other in the UAE.
That happened, remarkably, just a month before the Sharjah game, in March 1981, and, as with Sharjah, it happened with the involvement of Pakistani cricketers.
The two games, on March 5 and 6, were arranged as benefit games for Younis Ahmed and held in Dubai, at Al Nasr’s Al Maktoum football stadium.
Ahmed was one of the first in a long and fun line of Pakistani cricket’s bad boys. A gifted left-handed batsman and globe-trotting athlete, he was banned for life by the Pakistan board in 1973 for touring South Africa during the country’s apartheid era.
He played and coached in Rhodesia, played for several English counties and in Australia, he eventually played two more Tests for Pakistan 17 years after his first and then fought with Imran Khan.
In 1981, he landed in Dubai.
MEMORY LANE: Miandad XI v Gavaskar XI in Sharjah — April 3, 1981: The match that changed cricket
He found assistance in Sheikh Mana bin Khalifa, a cousin of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who acted as a patron for the matches.
Don Revie, the former England football manager, who was coach of Al Nasr at the time, was also involved.
Unlike Sharjah and reflective of his travels, as well as the plurality of Dubai, Ahmed went beyond just Indian and Pakistani players and managed to rope in a strong English side, so the two games were between a combined India-Pakistan XI and an English XI.
The smaller dimensions of the field meant that some fans remember those games — both night games — as more exciting and entertaining than the Sharjah game.
“That was a far more exciting match than Sharjah,” said Farid Alvie, who attended both matches.
“Imran Khan and Wasim Raja were there and a whole bunch of girls in the stands spent the match just trying to attract their attention. It was a very relaxed atmosphere and quite busy. But it was a lot of fun and as it was the first time something like that happened, there was a novelty to it.
“It was happening at a football stadium, so it was very small. Imran was bowling off very few paces and sixes were going everywhere.”
The English side won both games, though Imran lit up the stadium. In the first match, he made 179 (in a 35-over game), including 18 sixes and 13 fours, while in the second he was dismissed first ball but took three for 45.
When asked to compare the two sets of games, Abdul Rahman Bukhatir said: “Ours is a permanent series and not a personal one.”
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @NatSportUAE
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.”
88 Video's most popular rentals
Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
