SHARJAH // So we are still talking about Kevin. It seems a difficult habit to break, even if Giles Clarke, the chairman of English cricket, reckons we should all just move on and forget about him.
He is not coming back, apparently, so we have to consign him to the memory bank, according to officialdom.
Never going to happen. Kevin Pietersen remains all too relevant.
After a miserable first quarter in 2014, when a full stop was applied to the international career of England’s most prolific run-scorer, he is about to get the chance to play some cricket. Injured finger permitting.
It goes without saying he will be keen to impress when he takes to the crease as captain of Delhi Daredevils in Dubai today for the first time since his England contract was torn up.
Bowlers in the Indian Premier League (IPL), with little assistance likely to come their way at batting-friendly grounds in the UAE, could be about to discover that hell hath no fury like KP scorned.
And yet the man reckons he has no point to prove whatsoever.
“What transpired in March has nothing to do with what I’m about to do now,” Pietersen was quoted as saying last week. “I’m not out here to make any point and neither do I play cricket for that reason.”
And if you believe that, you will believe that today is going to begin with a sharp frost over Dubai, heavy rain in Sharjah and a thick blanket of snow in Al Ain.
Either Pietersen has a short memory or he is deliberately missing the point. The particular point he apparently has no need to prove.
He also claimed last week, in the Indian Express: “I don’t read the media, especially in England. No interest.”
Odd claim, seeing how regularly he rails against them. So the offending passages of “lies”, as he terms various reports of his alleged insurrection during this winter’s Ashes, appear on his social media time line via osmosis, apparently.
He has spent his whole career raging against some indignation or other.
It is not as though that is a bad thing. It is the anger within which has fuelled his greatness. When everything is on the line, he thrives. It is the trait which defines his career.
He left South Africa in the first place because of a system that was holding him back. So he said, anyway.
Those he left behind reckoned his move to the UK was driven by finance, not politics.
His arrival on the international stage came via a limited-overs series back in the land of his birth. He was mercilessly abused, yet was astonishingly prolific in the face of intense provocation.
His twin 50s on Test debut in the 2005 Ashes confirmed the point that England were right to take a chance on his unproven potential in such a seminal series.
The 158 he then made at the Oval, when the series was on the line, underlined it in the most unambiguous terms.
More recently, his princely 186 for England in Mumbai in 2012, which laid the platform for England’s first series win in India in 28 years, confirmed that his “reintegration” was complete.
Even those teammates he supposedly alienated acknowledged as much, at the time.
He knows there will plenty of those watching him here, wanting him to fail.
Whether he wants to show them up, or is playing for the fun of it, what is for certain is that his Delhi Daredevils side need him involved as soon as possible.
The franchise broke the bank to bring Pietersen and Dinesh Karthik aboard for this season of the IPL.
Karthik made a first-ball duck in the opening loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore in Sharjah on Thursday night. Meanwhile, Pietersen’s finger injury meant he was only up to holding a television microphone, not a cricket bat.
The Daredevils top order was rudderless without him.
“He is obviously a big loss to our team,” said JP Duminy, the South African batsman who top-scored for Delhi in the opening game.
“He is our team captain, so the sooner we get him back the better. He is ready and waiting to contribute to our team’s performance.”
pradley@thenational.ae
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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.”
More on Quran memorisation:
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
if you go
The flights
The closest international airport to the TMB trail is Geneva (just over an hour’s drive from the French ski town of Chamonix where most people start and end the walk). Direct flights from the UAE to Geneva are available with Etihad and Emirates from about Dh2,790 including taxes.
The trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc takes about 10 to 14 days to complete if walked in its entirety, but by using the services of a tour operator such as Raw Travel, a shorter “highlights” version allows you to complete the best of the route in a week, from Dh6,750 per person. The trails are blocked by snow from about late October to early May. Most people walk in July and August, but be warned that trails are often uncomfortably busy at this time and it can be very hot. The prime months are June and September.
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
THREE
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Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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