Steven Smith vows to be a ‘more aggressive’ Australia captain after dismal Ashes tour
Australia's Steve Smith has vowed to be a more aggressive captain if he is appointed to lead the side as expected following a disastrous Ashes campaign which prompted Michael Clarke's retirement.
Australia’s Steve Smith has vowed to be a more aggressive captain if he is appointed to lead the side as expected following a disastrous Ashes campaign which prompted Michael Clarke’s retirement.
The 26-year-old, in line to take over after Clarke’s final Test at The Oval later this month, has promised to be less defensive than he was while captaining against India at home earlier this year.
"I think the two games that we drew I could probably be a bit more aggressive there and give ourselves more of a chance to bowl the opposition out," Smith told The Australian.
“But in regards to my captaincy I think it’ll be pretty similar.”
Smith captained Australia in Tests against India during the last home season when Clarke was sidelined with a hamstring injury, and made centuries in all three Tests where he was skipper.
“Every game I’ve captained so far I’ve scored a hundred. I’d like that ... to keep going, hopefully it does,” he said.
“If I am named the captain I would like to lead from the front with my performances, for sure.”
Smith said one of the lessons of this miserable Ashes tour, in which Australia were all out for only 60 runs in their first innings at Trent Bridge in the fourth Test, was patience.
“They make you earn your runs ... all of their bowlers swing the ball both ways,” Smith said in comments to Australian Associated Press.
“The learnings are just about trying to get yourself in. Be really patient at the start of your innings.
“In Australia we’re taught to play out in front a little bit more. You have to really wait for the ball here in England.”
Clarke, 34, announced he was retiring after England completed a crushing innings and 78-run victory at Trent Bridge on Saturday to take an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
Rumblings about his captaincy continued on Tuesday, with former Australia coach John Buchanan saying the culture of the team’s ‘Baggy Green’ cap suffered under the prolific batsman.
“Players like Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and others really tried to make the ‘Baggy Green’ culture something special, but I could sense it was under threat and under Michael’s captaincy I can sense it has disappeared a bit and that disappointed me,” he told News Corp.
“I can remember guys like Hayden and (Justin) Langer sitting him down in a corner and trying to get him to understand what we were trying to achieve.
“There were times when I felt Michael did not understand or did not want to understand.”
Clarke angrily dismissed claims of team disunity, saying Monday that the players were “as tight as any team I’ve been a part of”.
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The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes. The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
Scoreline
Switzerland 5
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
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UAE Conference: Winners– Dubai Tigers; Runners-up – Al Ain Amblers
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
150 tonnes to landfill
50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
Brief scores:
Toss: Northern Warriors, elected to field first
Bengal Tigers 130-1 (10 ov)
Roy 60 not out, Rutherford 47 not out
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US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
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Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
