ABU DHABI // The England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen is confident that his side will tour India after their stay in Abu Dhabi, despite fresh security concerns following the attacks on Mumbai.
Indian airports have been put on high alert of a terrorist attack, casting more doubt over England's two-Test series, but Pietersen and England and Wales Cricket Board managing director Hugh Morris refused to panic before they departed for the UAE.
The team are due to net at the capital's Zayed Stadium today and are set to play a full-scale match on Sunday.
Pietersen has urged a show of solidarity and to support the Indian people at a time of crisis, although there was a note of caution, with both men claiming that preparing in Abu Dhabi until Sunday "buys them some time".
"We'll assess the situation on Sunday night but I'm very confident we'll have 15 lads who are going to play a Test match next week," said Pietersen.
"We can buy ourselves some time in Abu Dhabi and I think it's fantastic we've got a bunch of players who went to India initially and now want to go back there.
"It's very important that we go and rub shoulder to shoulder with the Indian people in their time of need and show our support by going back there to hopefully play some Test cricket."
In the meantime, the ECB will continue to implement security plans in Chennai and will report back to Morris over the weekend, when a final decision will be made.
"If there are any major catastrophes or alarm bells ringing I think Hugh will be ringing the board to say the collective decision would be to come home," Pietersen continued.
"But at the moment we're very focused on going to Abu Dhabi and to start a Test match on Thursday.
"The guys just want to get out there and play cricket. That's what we love doing and it's a huge stance by this England team to jump on a plane and go and do the business."
Pietersen stressed that no player had to be "persuaded" to go to India, particularly Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison, who both have young families and were initially thought to be against the tour.
"I think everybody's become a lot more open-minded as to their decisions," he said.
"They've come home and spoken to their families which has been very, very important.
"I didn't persuade anybody. I respect everybody's individual concerns. They are men and make decisions for themselves. Nobody was told or persuaded what to do.
"I think they (Flintoff and Harmison) have become a lot more open-minded in the last couple of days. They are two big players and we certainly want them in our team.
"I just feel really proud to be captain of such a great bunch of guys who want to play for their country."
Asked what would happen if the security results were positive but one player still did not want to go, Morris replied: "One thing we don't want to do is twist someone's arm up their back.
"Over the next couple of days we'll be collecting absolutely up to date information and presenting that to the players.
"I would like to think if our security team came back and said it was safe and secure, we would all go over there.
"If the situation isn't safe and secure, I'll be making a call to the board."
Dilawar Mani, president of the Abu Dhabi Cricket Council, which is hosting the tour party, said: "It is a great honour for Abu Dhabi to be able to do this.
"We aim to make their stay here as enjoyable and safe as it could possibly be and hope that they enjoy our excellent facilities here."
India's middle order batsman Yuvraj Singh has been rewarded for his rich form in the aborted one-day series with England with a recall for the Tests.
The left-hander hit successive match-winning hundreds in the first two games of last month's one-day series, which India clinched 5-0.
Yuvraj, overlooked for the home test series against Australia which India won 2-0 last month, made his last Test appearance in April, in the third and final match against South Africa in Kanpur.
The attacking batsman, who hit 138 not out and 118 at the start of the England one-day series, is a strong contender for the middle-order slot vacated by former skipper Saurav Ganguly, who retired after the Australia series.
The selectors dropped left-arm paceman Rudra Pratap Singh owing to poor form and included left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha. The 22-year-old, who has played five one-day internationals, will be the back up for off spinner Harbhajan Singh and leg spinner Amit Mishra.
Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Subramaniam Badrinath, Munaf Patel, Murali Vijay, Pragyan Ojha.
The specs: 2017 Lotus Evora Sport 410
Price, base / as tested Dh395,000 / Dh420,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission Six-speed manual
Power 410hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 420Nm @ 3,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.7L / 100km
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The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
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.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
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
Company%20Profile
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
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How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
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SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List
James Mustich, Workman
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Playing records of the top 10 in 2017
How many games the top 10 have undertaken in the 2017 ATP season
1. Rafael Nadal 58 (49-9)
2. Andy Murray 35 (25-10)
3. Roger Federer 38 (35-3)
4. Stan Wawrinka 37 (26-11)
5. Novak Djokovic 40 (32-8)
6. Alexander Zverev 60 (46-14)
7. Marin Cilic 43 (29-14)
8. Dominic Thiem 60 (41-19)
9. Grigor Dimitrov 48 (34-14)
10. Kei Nishikori 43 (30-13)
