What batting feat has Ajit Agarkar, who once held the record for the most consecutive ducks, achieved that master batsmen Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara and Rahul Dravid have not?
Give up?
Agarkar has his named engraved on the honours board at Lord's for the defiant hundred he made in India's defeat to England at the famous ground in 2002.
Since 1884, when England and Australia played the first Test at the spiritual home of cricket, the venue has hosted 120 games of the longer version and 210 centuries have been scored in those matches, earning those players - along with those who have taken five wickets - a place in history on the board.
But, astonishingly, the names of Ponting, Tendulkar, Dravid or Lara, the decorated quartet who have racked up 149 Test centuries between them and broken countless records in the game, are missing. Lara, the West Indian left-hander, has retired while there is no date planned for India's next tour of England, meaning Tendulkar and Dravid, who are both 37, may have played their last game on the hallowed turf.
Ponting will be 38 by the time Australia return to Lord's for the Ashes Test and he will hope his scores of 26 and nought against Pakistan this week were not his last contribution at the bastion of cricket.
Ponting, however, was pragmatic about the possibility of finishing his career without a century at Lord's. "I have not got a great record at Lord's as far as Test cricket is concerned," he said before the start of the current Test. "I made a one-day hundred there, which is obviously a nice feeling. I honestly look at Lord's as being no different to any other ground in the world as far as wanting to make a hundred there ? it would be nice to make a hundred there. But if that doesn't happen, there's not much I can do about it."
Tendulkar seems more determined to address the one glaring omission to his cricket resume.
"This is the ground all the players dream of getting a hundred," Tendulkar said before his last Test at Lord's, in 2007.
"I am no different. I would want to get one.
"I don't want to put any pressure on myself on that because of not being able to do that. In Test cricket I have not been able to do that, but in the game between MCC XI and Rest of the World I had managed to get one."
The emotions of reaching the three-figure mark at Lord's are high. Tamim Iqbal, the exuberant Bangladesh opener and the last man to achieve that feat, had an anxious overnight wait before he could get his name on the honours board.
"I was just speaking to Pete who looks after the honours board and the players, and I asked if he can make a 50 board for me, but he said, 'No, you'll get there'," Iqbal said after his century in May.
"So I promised him I wouldn't leave Lord's without a hundred and now I've done it, I'm really proud."
After reaching the three-figure mark against the West Indies last year, Ravi Bopara, the England all-rounder, was immediately thinking about the board as well.
"I signalled to the boys to get my name on the honours board," said Bopara, explaining his writing gesture after crossing into three-figures.
"When you come to Lord's for county matches or one-day matches you wonder if your name will ever be up there. It's a very proud moment."
Should Ponting remain fit and in form for the Ashes tour in 2013, he would be well-served to draw inspiration from the late Sid Barnes.
In 1948, as part of Sir Don Bradman's visiting "Invincibles", Barnes, who once fielded as a 12th man with a suit and tie on, made a duck in the first innings but followed it with a 141 in the second.
If Ponting does not return to England and finishes his illustrious career without a century at Lord's, he will find himself in illustrious company.
Sunil Gavaskar, the Indian great, scored 34 Test centuries, but not one at Lord's.
Pakistan's Zaheer Abbas and Javed Miandad.
Sri Lanka's Aravinda de Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga and Sanath Jayasuriya are also notable absentees.
Legends like Neil Harvey, Ian Chappell and Clive Lloyd are missing as well, and so also some of the greats of the modern era such as Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Stephen Fleming. Present-day heavyweights like Jacques Kallis, Virender Sehwag and Kumar Sangakkara are still waiting. Perhaps the most heartbreaking near miss came in 1993 when Michael Atherton, the dogged England opener, was run out on 99.
So, there is some solace for Ponting there, but as Graham Gooch, who scored six Test centuries at Lord's for England, once said: "There is no better place to score a hundred."
@Email:arizvi@thenational.ae
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
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Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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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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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
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Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
