As starts go, this was the batting equivalent of a juicy, half-tracker from a teenaged debutant. Nevertheless, Alastair Cook will not be complaining, as he racked up his first win as England captain in convincing fashion against Bangladesh yesterday.
England's hierarchy are using this tour of Test cricket's weakest nation as a chance to plan for the future, meaning the Essex opener is serving as Andrew Strauss's locum as captain.
The strategy has hardly met with universal acclaim, but Cook could not have done any more than has been asked of him so far. He followed up two facile wins in warm-up matches with a six-wicket triumph in the opening one-day international in Dhaka, to which he contributed a breezy 64 of his own.
It was never likely to have been as taxing as his first effort in England colours. Due to an injury to the incumbent, Paul Collingwood, Cook only had three hours to prepare the first time he wore the armband. On that occasion, England proceeded to haemorrhage more runs than they ever had before in a Twenty20 match, against South Africa before Christmas.
He put that down to inexperience, and was far better prepared this time around. Riding a wave of excitement surrounding the debut of Craig Kieswetter, the bright young batting hope who impressed on the tour of the UAE last month, England were dominant.
Cook might even have surprised himself as he outscored his new opening partner, Kieswetter, as the captain enjoyed perhaps his most fluent display with the bat in the blue of the limited-overs side.
When he departed, he was quickly followed by Kevin Pietersen but England's stutter was only brief as Collingwood, the nominal vice-captain on this tour, marshalled the chase neatly. By the time the tourists passed the victory mark of 229, Collingwood had an unbeaten 75 to his name.
In the lead up, England had made the typical noises about guarding against complacency against an "excellent" side, as Cook deemed Bangladesh.
The truth may be a little different, but some players in the home side at least proved they are up to the task.
For so long, Mohammed Ashraful, the pint-sized batting whizzkid, was supposed to be the man best placed to lead the Bangladeshis to where they want to be. However, his career has stalled to the extent he is not even in the squad for this series.
While he has been treading water, others have advanced. Shakib al Hasan, their captain and all-rounder, who will became the first Bangladeshi to play county cricket later this summer, is now their leading light.
Tamim Iqbal, the lusty-hitting opener, has also been busy carving out a reputation for himself, and he added another noteworthy entry against England, reaching a fine century in 94 balls.
En route to his hundred, he did his best to dispel the accepted wisdom that batsmen from the subcontinent are susceptible against short-pitched bowling.
Most memorably, he hit Stuart Broad for two fours and a six in an over that eventually cost the bowler 18.
Iqbal is still only 20, yet has played more than 70 one-day matches for his country. He is probably best known for a half-century which contributed to India's exit from the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, but this effort announced him to a new audience.
However, he was deprived support of any substance, due mainly to the continued excellence of Graeme Swann, the off-spinner who was man-of-the-series in the T20s against Pakistan in Dubai last week, who took three wickets.
pradley@thenational.ae
England 229-4 in 46 overs (Alastair Cook 64, Paul Collingwood not out 75; Naeem Islam 3-49)
Bangladesh 228 all out in 45.4 overs (Tamim Iqbal 125; Graeme Swann 3-32, Stuart Broad 2-46).
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TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
THE SPECS
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: Automatic
Power: 530bhp
Torque: 750Nm
Price: Dh535,000
On sale: Now
Suggested picnic spots
Abu Dhabi
Umm Al Emarat Park
Yas Gateway Park
Delma Park
Al Bateen beach
Saadiyaat beach
The Corniche
Zayed Sports City
Dubai
Kite Beach
Zabeel Park
Al Nahda Pond Park
Mushrif Park
Safa Park
Al Mamzar Beach Park
Al Qudrah Lakes
Opening weekend Premier League fixtures
Weekend of August 10-13
Arsenal v Manchester City
Bournemouth v Cardiff City
Fulham v Crystal Palace
Huddersfield Town v Chelsea
Liverpool v West Ham United
Manchester United v Leicester City
Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur
Southampton v Burnley
Watford v Brighton & Hove Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre V6
Power: 295hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 355Nm at 5,200rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
Price: Dh179,999-plus
On sale: now
SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.4-inch IPS LCD, 400 nits, toughened glass
CPU: Unisoc T610; Mali G52 GPU
Memory: 4GB
Storage: 64GB, up to 512GB microSD
Camera: 8MP rear, 5MP front
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C, 3.5mm audio
Battery: 8200mAh, up to 10 hours video
Platform: Android 11
Audio: Stereo speakers, 2 mics
Durability: IP52
Biometrics: Face unlock
Price: Dh849
More on Quran memorisation:
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
Global institutions: BlackRock and KKR
US-based BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with $5.98 trillion of assets under management as of the end of last year. The New York firm run by Larry Fink provides investment management services to institutional clients and retail investors including governments, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, banks and charitable foundations around the world, through a variety of investment vehicles.
KKR & Co, or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a global private equity and investment firm with around $195 billion of assets as of the end of last year. The New York-based firm, founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, invests in multiple alternative asset classes through direct or fund-to-fund investments with a particular focus on infrastructure, technology, healthcare, real estate and energy.
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
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
