Aaqib Javed says stronger teams have only a ‘60-40’ chance of beating weaker sides in T20. Satish Kumar / The National
Aaqib Javed says stronger teams have only a ‘60-40’ chance of beating weaker sides in T20. Satish Kumar / The National

Teams more evenly matched in short format, says Aaqib



ABU DHABI // The UAE are expected to be among the six teams to progress from the 16-team qualifier into the World Twenty20 Cup next year in Bangladesh.

Aaqib Javed, the UAE coach, rates his team’s chances to qualify as “good” but warned his players that the margin for error is minimal in the shortest format of the game.

His team begin their journey with a meeting with Uganda in the Group A opener on Friday at the Abu Dhabi Cricket Council Oval 1.

It will be followed by games against Namibia, Ireland, Hong Kong, Canada, Italy and the United States, in that order.

“We are positive of our chances,” he said. “It is not only us, even the other teams feel that we have a good chance to be among the six qualifiers. So let’s see what is in store for us.

“I think we have a good chance, particularly the bowling as we have more options than any other teams. If we can manage with our fielding then I think we can do it.

“Batting and bowling are skills, and fielding is fitness. If we can train six days a week, which we cannot, as all the players have day jobs, we can improve in this area.

“If they give me 20 players to train full-time, I can fix it within six months, but otherwise this is going to be an area of concern because part-time cricketers cannot be good fielders.”

The UAE lost to Nepal in their first warm-up match in Dubai on Tuesday and Aaqib blamed it on the “four to five” catches they dropped. They bounced back to beat Denmark in a second warm-up game in Abu Dhabi the following day.

Aaqib picked out Ireland as the obvious team to beat while he says Canada, Namibia, and Uganda are “not bad” in the T20 format.

“In my opinion if you compare teams in the four-day games, the stronger team has a 80-20 chance of winning over the weaker side, in the 50 over-a-side format it is about 70-30 and in the T20 the equation is 60-40,” he said. “What we have so far developed is that we now have between 40 to 50 players to select from. When I first came, this number was between 20 to 24.”

Aaqib has done well to raise their levels since taking charge of the team in April last year.

He took them to third place in the eight-team ICC World Cricket League Championship behind Ireland and Afghanistan, who booked their passage to the 2015 World Cup from that result.

The UAE also finished fourth in the ICC Intercontinental Cup behind Ireland, Afghanistan, and Scotland. “I am quite happy on how the team is shaping up because they have understood they need to work hard to be on the team,” he said.

In January, the UAE travel to New Zealand for the 2015 Cricket World Cup play-offs. The Netherlands, UAE, Kenya, Namibia, Canada, Uganda, Hong Kong, Nepal, and Papua New Guinea and Scotland will be vying for the two remaining places.

apassela@thenational.ae

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

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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Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.

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Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)

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Age: 32

Favourite Al Wasl player: Alexandre Oliveira

First started supporting Al Wasl: 7

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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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Install an air filter in your home.

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Emergency

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The specs: 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross

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Engine: Turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder


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Game Changer

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Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5