DUBAI //Pakistan's supporters wielded fluffy animals and homemade placards celebrating the revival of their nation's "cornered tigers" in the stands at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium last night.
The current vintage may still have much to do to repeat the feats of the players that Imran Khan famously inspired to success in the 1992 World Cup final with a speech invoking the spirit of trapped animals.
They subsided to a two-run defeat to South Africa in Sports City last night, but following on so quickly from their against-all-odds win two nights earlier, nobody should be in doubt: this team knows how to fight.
Once again all had appeared lost. They hit back and, though they eventually fell just short and thus fell 2-1 behind in the series, Pakistan are now a credible force again in international cricket.
At his current rate of progress, Hashim Amla should overtake his teammate, AB de Villiers, at the top of the rankings for one-day international batsmen as soon as the results of this series are entered in to the database next week.
The Proteas built their triumph on Amla's serene 119 not out. Amla's bookish appearance and timid body-language make him seem better suited to the library than the international batting crease.
There was a time, not so long ago, when he was thought to be unsuited the limited-overs form at all. How ludicrous that out-dated theory seems now.
In 18 ODI innings since September 2009, Amla's lowest score has been 11, and he has passed 50 seven times, with an additional five hundreds. Over the course of the 100 overs, he was the only batsman who really looked comfortable on a tired-looking batting track.
He also admitted the same, saying, "It was a tough wicket, but I got some rhythm going. I realised from the beginning that I needed to bat through. I knew 200-220 is a good score here."
He was certainly the only South African who got to grips with Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistan's renaissance man with the ball.
At 35 years old, Akhtar should be thinking about slowing down. It has been a good few years since he relied on raw pace alone, and he proved here just how potent the judicious use of slower balls can be.
His opening two victims both fell to slower balls. First he picked up the returning Jacques Kallis, who chopped a length ball on to his stumps. Then, Colin Ingram, the in-form player, chipped up a return catch straight to Akhtar, after mistiming his drive at a slower ball.
Johan Botha bore the brunt. He was set up by an Akhtar fast-ball which crashed into his helmet. On the very next delivery, his stumps were splayed by a rapid yorker.
His three-wicket haul kept the South Africans to 228 for nine, which had appeared gettable at the break. However, Pakistan's challenge faltered on the back of a strong return from Morne Morkel, who picked up four wickets including the key one of Shahid Afridi, and the equally vital scalp of Wahab Riaz.
Riaz has caught the eye with the ball so far in this series, but it was his 10-ball cameo of lusty hitting, worth 21, late in the night which nearly swung the game towards Pakistan. When he departed, Alam took up the slack and guided his side to within two of victory. In a frantic finish, he ended on 59, but he was eventually forced to watch on helplessly from the non-striker's end as Rusty Theron closed out a thrilling win for the Proteas.
pradley@thenational.ae
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How Voiss turns words to speech
The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen
The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser
This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen
A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB
The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free
Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards
Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser
Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages
At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness
More than 90 per cent live in developing countries
The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device
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.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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