DUBAI // Now that Michael Clarke is no longer one half of the "Australian Posh and Becks", perhaps he will start to get some of the recognition he deserves from the nation's cricket supporters.
That is the hope of Dean Jones, the former Australia batsman, who is backing the troubled middle-order batsman to emerge a stronger player for his recent off-field tribulations.
Clarke returned to the back pages from the gossip columns when he made a satisfying century in the first Test of the Chappell-Hadlee Series in New Zealand last week.
The New South Wales batsman had to rely on a late flight from Australia to make the start of the game, having returned home to deal with a media storm surrounding his fiancee, Lara Bingle. Their high-profile relationship has since ended.
"Michael Clarke has been given a bad rap for a few years now," said Jones.
"He was engaged to the most beautiful girl. He gave her an Aston Martin, an A$200,000 (Dh670,000) ring and I think that's cool. He was in love with the girl, so that is fine.
"People haven't gravitated to him, for whatever reason. There are a lot of Australian supporters who don't judge him properly. Just because he has bought his fiancee an Aston Martin, and he doesn't hit the big sixes or play the same way as an Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden or a Ricky Ponting, he hasn't got cred.
"This guy went through an ugly time in his life, and he has handled it with dignity. To then come out and punch a hundred, under a bit of pressure - this guy deserves respect. People need to get off his back.
"He has 14 Test hundreds. He averages over 50. Is he a future Australia captain? By gee, he is. I think he has been given a hard time by a lot of people, and now he has got through it.
"Every player worth their salt has come through some sort of adversity, and I reckon he has handled it really well."
Jones, in the Emirates for the Foster's Legends of Cricket dinner, warned that players have to be aware they forgo much of their right to privacy because of the remuneration they get for playing in the modern era.
"Players now are dressed up as superstars, compared to my time when we just played," he said.
"Now it is completely full on. You have to be good on the ground as well as off it, you are judged everywhere you go.
"When you sign the dotted line you know what you are getting into. You are getting the big bucks, and with that comes responsibility.
"They were our Posh and Becks couple before this happened. He had media parking outside his house a year ago, waiting for them to show.
"He is from New South Wales, and I have always said he is good enough to be a Victorian, this kid. I rate him."
@Email:pradley@thenational.ae
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi
Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)
Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)
Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)
Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).
Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)
Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)
Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)
Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)
Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia
Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)
Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
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
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
SPEC%20SHEET
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Aayan%E2%80%99s%20records
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
