ABU DHABI // The UAE is unlikely to see top-flight international cricket for some while after Monday night's Twenty20 finale between Pakistan and England.
With a series involving Bangladesh likely to be more expensive than it is worth, and August too hot to play against Australia here, Pakistan are having to look for alternative accommodation away from their chosen second home for their next assignments.
If the prospect of a forthcoming famine is not enough for the UAE's cricket-loving public to make their way to the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Monday evening, then for once the situation in the series should.
Because of back-to-back whitewashes in the Test and 50-over series – one for each team – this tour of the Emirates has thrown up a variety of dead matches. That has hardly been the sole reason for low ticket sales, but it has not helped.
Happily, the three-match Twenty20 series will culminate in a game which is essentially a winner-takes-all final.
After his side levelled the series on Saturday night, Stuart Broad, the England captain, likened this match to the pressure of a knockout cricket World Cup.
With not many opportunities left before September, when England travel to Sri Lanka to defend their World Twenty20 title, he regards tonight as a valuable chance to see how his young side react to pressure.
"We obviously don't have a huge amount of cricket before the next World Cup, and we have to use every game leading towards that," Broad said.
"More importantly, we have to win this series over here. We can learn along the way, but [Monday night] is a huge game for us.
"The pressure will be like a World Cup scenario because it is a must-win game. We want to go home with a trophy."
A month is a long time in Pakistan cricket. At the start of February, Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohsin Khan were being lauded for their roles, as captain and coach, in fashioning a first-ever Test whitewash of England.
A one-day series whitewash and a T20 defeat later, and the vultures are circling again. Misbah is complaining about victimisation in the media, and Mohsin is about to be out of a job, with Dav Whatmore set to take over from the start of next week.
Against that backdrop, it is little wonder Pakistan had the look of the bad old days in their defeat on Saturday night.
"I think this is a good team, but the batting is not playing to its potential," Misbah said. "We have carried on the bad form from the one-day series.
"If you want to win one-day and Twenty20 cricket, I think it is batting which wins you games. We want to end the tour positively."
pradley@thenational.ae
India cancels school-leaving examinations
Fourth-round clashes for British players
- Andy Murray (1) v Benoit Paire, Centre Court (not before 4pm)
- Johanna Konta (6) v Caroline Garcia (21), Court 1 (4pm)
Need to know
When: October 17 until November 10
Cost: Entry is free but some events require prior registration
Where: Various locations including National Theatre (Abu Dhabi), Abu Dhabi Cultural Center, Zayed University Promenade, Beach Rotana (Abu Dhabi), Vox Cinemas at Yas Mall, Sharjah Youth Center
What: The Korea Festival will feature art exhibitions, a B-boy dance show, a mini K-pop concert, traditional dance and music performances, food tastings, a beauty seminar, and more.
For more information: www.koreafestivaluae.com
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'Young girls thinking of big ideas'
Words come easy for aspiring writer Afra Al Muhairb. The business side of books, on the other hand, is entirely foreign to the 16-year-old Emirati. So, she followed her father’s advice and enroled in the Abu Dhabi Education Council’s summer entrepreneurship course at Abu Dhabi University hoping to pick up a few new skills.
“Most of us have this dream of opening a business,” said Afra, referring to her peers are “young girls thinking of big ideas.”
In the three-week class, pupils are challenged to come up with a business and develop an operational and marketing plan to support their idea. But, the learning goes far beyond sales and branding, said teacher Sonia Elhaj.
“It’s not only about starting up a business, it’s all the meta skills that goes with it -- building self confidence, communication,” said Ms Elhaj. “It’s a way to coach them and to harness ideas and to allow them to be creative. They are really hungry to do this and be heard. They are so happy to be actually doing something, to be engaged in creating something new, not only sitting and listening and getting new information and new knowledge. Now they are applying that knowledge.”
Afra’s team decided to focus their business idea on a restaurant modelled after the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Each level would have a different international cuisine and all the meat would be halal. The pupils thought of this after discussing a common problem they face when travelling abroad.
“Sometimes we find the struggle of finding halal food, so we just eat fish and cheese, so it’s hard for us to spend 20 days with fish and cheese,” said Afra. “So we made this tower so every person who comes – from Africa, from America – they will find the right food to eat.”
rpennington@thenational.ae
TOURNAMENT INFO
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Regional Qualifier
The top three teams progress to the Asia Qualifier
Thursday results
UAE beat Kuwait by 86 runs
Qatar beat Bahrain by five wickets
Saudi Arabia beat Maldives by 35 runs
Friday fixtures
10am, third-place playoff – Saudi Arabia v Kuwait
3pm, final – UAE v Qatar
