WELLINGTON// Michael Clarke put all his off-field dramas behind him to notch an unbeaten century as Australia took charge on the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand in Wellington.
At stumps he was 100 not out with Marcus North unbeaten on 52, the pair having put on 140 runs as Australia ended the day 316 for four.
The Australia vice-captain, whose recent high-profile split from model Lara Bingle was played out in the full glare of the media, was given a respectful welcome by the Basin Reserve crowd when he came to the crease with Australia at 115 for three.
And loud applause followed when he celebrated reaching three figures in the penultimate over of the day.
After taking 16 balls to get off the mark, Clarke made nine off 45 deliveries by tea but stepped up the pace in the final session to bring up his fifty in 103 deliveries.
He then took just a further 38 balls to bring up his 14th Test hundred, which included 10 boundaries and two sixes.
Up until the late flourish from the Clarke, Simon Katich (79) had led the scoring for the visitors after Ricky Ponting won the toss and chose to bat.
In the first two sessions New Zealand had largely been able to keep the Australians in check with some good tight, accurate bowling with seamer Brent Arnel having a debut to remember with the wickets of opener Phillip Hughes (20) and Katich.
Daryl Tuffey (none for 35 off 16 overs) and Daniel Vettori (none for 69 off 21) were the most miserly but went unrewarded.
It was Arnel (two for 70) who got the early breakthrough for the hosts, getting the wicket of Hughes with only the fifth ball of his Test match career.
Hughes, who came in at the top of the order after all-rounder Shane Watson was a late withdrawal with a hip injury, made 20 off 24 balls before edging one to Ross Taylor in the slips.
But it was the only wicket to fall in the morning session as Ponting and Katich comfortably steered their side to 93 by lunch.
The New Zealanders struck twice in the first hour of the afternoon session, getting the key wickets of Ponting (41) and Michael Hussey (four).
Ponting, who looked set for a big innings, was run out by BJ Watling when Katich called for a single off Arnel.
The captain was well short of the crease when the 24-year-old opening batsman got a direct underarm hit.
Watling was in the thick of the action again to remove Hussey when the left-hander, promoted to number four, edged a Chris Martin delivery to the slips.
Katich made some amends for running out his skipper to reach his 21st Test half-century with his seventh boundary of the innings the ball before drinks, his 51 taking 132 balls.
But tight bowling from the home side put the brakes on the Australian innings, and by tea Katich had moved on to 74, Clarke was unbeaten on nine and Australia went into the break 163 for three.
Katich was fortunate to still be at the crease after two chances went begging just prior to the break, however.
First he was dropped on 68 by wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum, then Tuffey failed to take a running catch after the left-hander skied one trying to slog-sweep Vettori.
The opener could not make the most of his reprieve, though, trapped leg before wicket by Arnel early in the final session having added just five more runs to his total.
Clarke and North showed plenty of patience following the dismissal of Katich as the New Zealand bowlers kept the pressure on.
But as the session wore on they cut loose to bring up their 100-run partnership before Clarke and then North brought up their respective milestones in the final two overs.
* PA Sport
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Company%20Profile
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Chinese Grand Prix schedule (in UAE time)
Friday: First practice - 6am; Second practice - 10am
Saturday: Final practice - 7am; Qualifying - 10am
Sunday: Chinese Grand Prix - 10.10am
Company%20profile
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Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
COMPANY PROFILE
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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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The biog
Favourite food: Tabbouleh, greek salad and sushi
Favourite TV show: That 70s Show
Favourite animal: Ferrets, they are smart, sensitive, playful and loving
Favourite holiday destination: Seychelles, my resolution for 2020 is to visit as many spiritual retreats and animal shelters across the world as I can
Name of first pet: Eddy, a Persian cat that showed up at our home
Favourite dog breed: I love them all - if I had to pick Yorkshire terrier for small dogs and St Bernard's for big
ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh810,000
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PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
Manchester United v Club America
When: Thursday, 9pm Arizona time (Friday UAE, 8am)
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
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The specs
Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder
Power: 70bhp
Torque: 66Nm
Transmission: four-speed manual
Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000
On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970
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Living in...
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23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
