DUBAI // There was a time when the spectacle of Shoaib Akhtar facing off against Brett Lee would have been a box-office hit in itself. Never mind the side issue of an intriguing series between the world champions, Australia, and the crowd-favourites, Pakistan.
The 2003 ICC World Cup in South Africa, when both players reached their maximum velocity, was illuminated by their race to see who could break the 100mph mark first.
How times have changed. When the duo arrive in the UAE later this month for their duel in the desert, it will be less a case of discerning who is fastest and more about settling which of these goods has been damaged least.
Shoaib, 33, has been beset by disciplinary as well as fitness problems in the recent past. He has recovered from the knee injury which ruled him out of the Pakistan squad for their aborted tour of Bangladesh in time to tour the UAE for the first time since the 2002 Sharjah Cup.
Lee, meanwhile, has persuaded Australia's selectors he is fit to travel to the Emirates, following a remarkably swift recovery from an ankle and foot operation in January.
The initial plan was to test him in the physically forgiving climate of the Indian Premier League, but he is eager to prove his fitness at the earliest opportunity.
His participation is still not 100 per cent certain, according to the Australian chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch.
"Brett Lee has been included in the squad subject to fitness," said Hilditch. "His return to bowling at full pace will be monitored carefully and will be reviewed closer to the date of the tour.
"We have added an additional bowler to the squad to enable us to manage the workload of the fast bowlers, and in particular Brett, during the tour."
The haste at which Lee, 32, has returned may be due in part to the success of the new crop of Australian pace bowlers, who have filled the breach admirably in his absence.
According to Rod Marsh, who played 96 Test matches for Australia, Lee will be eager to regain his status as his country's leading strike-bowler, which has since been assumed by Mitchell Johnson.
"I think Brett Lee has got a point to prove," said Marsh. "The Australian pace attack, Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle and Johnson, has done well in South Africa, particularly in the Test match series.
"Johnson has overshadowed Brett Lee, because Lee hasn't been there. He has basically taken on the mantle of No 1.
"Brett Lee is a very proud cricketer. He won't like that, and there is nothing wrong at all with him not liking that.
"He will be peeved that he is not the No 1 and he will be giving it his all to get back to that position. That is a healthy thing for Australian cricket."
The fact that Johnson and Siddle will not travel to the UAE as they are being rested ahead of the Ashes later this summer goes to show the regard in which they are now held by Australia's selectors.
The all-rounder Shane Watson, another player who is convalescing following injury, has been pencilled in to tour as a batsmen, but is expected to bowl later on in the series.
Michael Clarke, Ricky Ponting's understudy, will captain the side, and has his opening partner Brad Haddin as his deputy.
pradley@thenational.ae
Tickets for the series are available through www.boxofficeme.com (+971) 4 367 6699 and www.timeoutdubai.com, 800 4669. Prices range from Dh50 to Dh950. Corporate hospitality packages for all three matches in Dubai are also available direct from Dubai Sports City by calling (+971) 4 425 1111.
If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Athletic Bilbao v Celta Vigo (Kick-off midnight UAE)
Saturday Levante v Getafe (5pm), Sevilla v Real Madrid (7.15pm), Atletico Madrid v Real Valladolid (9.30pm), Cadiz v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday Granada v Huesca (5pm), Osasuna v Real Betis (7.15pm), Villarreal v Elche (9.30pm), Alaves v Real Sociedad (midnight)
Monday Eibar v Valencia (midnight)
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.”
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
INDIA V SOUTH AFRICA
First Test: October 2-6, at Visakhapatnam
Second Test: October 10-14, at Maharashtra
Third Test: October 19-23, at Ranchi
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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.
Brief scoreline
Switzerland 0
England 0
Result: England win 6-5 on penalties
Man of the Match: Trent Alexander-Arnold (England)
The Dark Blue Winter Overcoat & Other Stories From the North
Edited and Introduced by Sjón and Ted Hodgkinson
Pushkin Press
WTL%20SCHEDULE
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Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
