At the height of a chess confrontation that drew comparisons with the Cold War of the time, Garry Kasparov was asked what he thought of Anatoly Karpov, his rival. "Do the [New York] Yankees like the [Boston] Red Sox?" was his answer.
That one quip tells you all you need to know about the nature of sporting rivalries. When Barcelona played Real Madrid off the park last Monday night, you did not need to look up at the bedlam in the stands to understand that it was more than just a game.
When Sachin Tendulkar tells you seriously that he did not sleep for nearly a fortnight before India played Pakistan at the 2003 World Cup, you know it is not just for effect.
Certain contests quicken the pulse more than others, primarily for reasons of geography.
Many rivalries involve a border (India-Pakistan and Brazil-Argentina), others religion (Rangers-Celtic, the Glasgow giants in Scotland) and some are all about local bragging rights (Everton-Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur-Arsenal).
Each is so intense that factors such as form and ranking count for little when the teams go head-to-head.
Much has been said in recent times about keeping Test cricket relevant in the modern age.
All sorts of solutions - a Test championship, and day-night games - have been mooted, but if we are really serious about finding an answer, we need to look to Asia, where Test attendances have been plummeting.
Any talk of reviving interest in the region is pointless until and unless administrators (and the politicians who control them) can find a way to get India and Pakistan playing again.
Cricket already has one of sport's epic rivalries, the Ashes series between England and Australia. Even in the mid-to-late 1980s, when both teams were downright mediocre, the crowds still thronged venues, drawn by tradition as much as anything else.
Though they first played each other as long ago as 1952, India and Pakistan have been unable to build a similar narrative.
A 17-year hiatus between 1961 and 1978 - during which time there were two wars - did not help, and over the past two decades they have played just 15 Tests.
A generation of all-time greats - Tendulkar, Wasim Akram, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Anil Kumble, Waqar Younis and Rahul Dravid - hardly played one another, and there has scarcely been a contest that will live for eternity like the Ashes matches at Headingley, Leeds, in 1981 or Edgbaston, Birmingham, in 2005.
Political realities mean that India and Pakistan are unlikely to be able to host each other any time soon, but three years after the last bilateral series, it is time that both boards considered the possibility of playing at a neutral venue.
Before the sour end to Pakistan's summer of cricket in England this year, that would have been the perfect choice, with hordes of expatriates from both sides of the border guaranteed to sell out whichever ground they played at.
If England is no longer an option, then perhaps they can play in the UAE. It was India and Pakistan that inaugurated the Zayed Cricket Stadium more than four years ago and provided it can come up with a slightly more sporting surface than the one on which Pakistan and South Africa played out a drab draw recently, it would be an excellent backdrop in which to resume cricketing ties.
Local derbies are special because they usually come along just twice a year. India and Pakistan have played just 59 times in 58 years, most of them dire contests dominated by the fear of defeat.
As they watch the Ashes unfold in Australia, fans on both sides of the Radcliffe Line will hope that the time soon comes when they too can play ball. Politics permitting.
sports@thenational.ae
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
BRAZIL%20SQUAD
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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.
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Real Sociedad v Leganes (midnight)
Saturday
Alaves v Real Valladolid (4pm)
Valencia v Granada (7pm)
Eibar v Real Madrid (9.30pm)
Barcelona v Celta Vigo (midnight)
Sunday
Real Mallorca v Villarreal (3pm)
Athletic Bilbao v Levante (5pm)
Atletico Madrid v Espanyol (7pm)
Getafe v Osasuna (9.30pm)
Real Betis v Sevilla (midnight)
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Leaderboard
63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)
66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)
67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)
Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)
Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Arrogate's winning run
1. Maiden Special Weight, Santa Anita Park, June 5, 2016
2. Allowance Optional Claiming, Santa Anita Park, June 24, 2016
3. Allowance Optional Claiming, Del Mar, August 4, 2016
4. Travers Stakes, Saratoga, August 27, 2016
5. Breeders' Cup Classic, Santa Anita Park, November 5, 2016
6. Pegasus World Cup, Gulfstream Park, January 28, 2017
7. Dubai World Cup, Meydan Racecourse, March 25, 2017
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
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The years Ramadan fell in May