DUBAI // While a member of England's support staff fumbled over slotting the finicky GPS device into its sports bra-style holster, Jonathan Trott, the hassled wearer, might have been debating how much merit there really is in progress.
Not long before, the purveyor of old-fashioned dobbers had taken a wicket with a classic in-ducker. He probably did not need any satellite-generated data to tell him how far he had run to do it.
This England team live by the mantra that if you stand still you will be overtaken. Everything about their cricket is thoroughly modern, from their high-visibility, brilliant white kit, to their bleep test fielding drills with musical accompaniment.
Their methods obviously do work. They are the world’s best side in an era in which macho players can score Test match hundreds in 69 balls.
By stark contrast, Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan's insouciant captain, barely moved out of second gear yesterday – and off-white gear it is, too.
His side crawled along at 2.7 runs an over, eschewing risk and thrills. And they ended day two of the first Test of the series in a position of great power. Ironically, given the sport’s oldest format being played in one of its newest and most high-spec venues, yesterday was a strike back for the good old days.
Pakistan’s batsman succeeded in playing what Matt Prior, the lone England batsman to emerge in credit from their first innings, had termed “the long game”.
They blunted the world’s best bowling attack by placing an emphasis on old values of doggedness, a straight bat and a high front elbow.
Misbah himself took 144 balls to reach his 15th Test match half-century. So entrenched was he, it felt like he was a 150 year old fossil, from the days when 220 in a day was a noteworthy achievement.
His side's most productive, not to mention fluent, scorer was Mohammed Hafeez. The opener, who played an important hand with the ball, struck 88 before falling victim to Graeme Swann, the off-spinner.
Swann played a sizeable role in reviving England’s wilting hopes late in the day, too, when he trapped Misbah in front in the penultimate over.
When that was followed almost immediately afterwards by James Anderson bowling Abdul Rehman, England ended the day in high spirits.
“We would have hoped for a little more today,” Hafeez said. “The fast bowlers were good and Swann bowled very well, so we are a bit down.
“Still we are in a good position where we can dominate this game. We are in control of this game, and with two spinners in our team, we have a really good chance.”
Before this series started, Stuart Broad, the England fast-bowler, forecast "old school Test cricket" would be the order of the next month of cricket.
The day they lost trying to play a forceful modern game might be decisive in this match, but Broad insists all was not lost when they were bowled out for 192 on the opening day.
“You can look back to Brisbane [in the first Ashes Test] and Trent Bridge [against India] when we had an average first innings, and the bowlers kept us in the game,” he said.
“In our second batting innings we went really big. It is going to be up to a couple of batsmen to go and score big hundreds. The batsmen are excited to be putting the wrongs of the first innings right.”
Pakistan's top order set a good template for the England players to follow. In a manner of speaking, Misbah's methodology is massively groundbreaking by Pakistan standards.
He believes winning, even if it means playing defensively, beats losing by playing aggressively. It is a crazy theory, but it might just work.
pradley@thenational.ae
Also see our related coverage from yesterday:
Pakistan's Ajmal has England reeling in First Test in Dubai
England's Barmy Army always bring the weather with them
Slowly does it in Dubai's spin city for Pakistan
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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
Neymar's bio
Total club appearances 411
Total goals scored 241
Appearances for Barca 186
Goals scored for Barca 105
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
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
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
ON%20TRACK
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Afcon 2019
SEMI-FINALS
Senegal v Tunisia, 8pm
Algeria v Nigeria, 11pm
Matches are live on BeIN Sports
The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
Caroline Sullivan
Carlton Books
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cyl
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Power: 190bhp
Torque: 300Nm
Price: Dh169,900
On sale: now
Manchester United v Club America
When: Thursday, 9pm Arizona time (Friday UAE, 8am)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Essentials
The flights
Etihad (etihad.ae) and flydubai (flydubai.com) fly direct to Baku three times a week from Dh1,250 return, including taxes.
The stay
A seven-night “Fundamental Detox” programme at the Chenot Palace (chenotpalace.com/en) costs from €3,000 (Dh13,197) per person, including taxes, accommodation, 3 medical consultations, 2 nutritional consultations, a detox diet, a body composition analysis, a bio-energetic check-up, four Chenot bio-energetic treatments, six Chenot energetic massages, six hydro-aromatherapy treatments, six phyto-mud treatments, six hydro-jet treatments and access to the gym, indoor pool, sauna and steam room. Additional tests and treatments cost extra.
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
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.
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
PAKISTAN SQUAD
Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali (test captain), Babar Azam (T20 captain), Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imran Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Kashif Bhatti, Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah.
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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
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16. first leg
Atletico Madrid v Juventus, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
More about Middle East geopolitics
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The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
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)
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
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
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
RESULT
Al Hilal 4 Persepolis 0
Khribin (31', 54', 89'), Al Shahrani 40'
Red card: Otayf (Al Hilal, 49')
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.
The%20specs
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What is 'Soft Power'?
Soft power was first mentioned in 1990 by former US Defence Secretary Joseph Nye.
He believed that there were alternative ways of cultivating support from other countries, instead of achieving goals using military strength.
Soft power is, at its root, the ability to convince other states to do what you want without force.
This is traditionally achieved by proving that you share morals and values.
